Chapter 19: Uncovering the Truth (Almost)

Elena returned to the office at 10:00 AM.

She looked exhausted—dark circles under her eyes, her hair pulled back in a hasty ponytail. But her spine was straight, and her gaze was steady.

Julian met her in the lobby.

“We need to talk,” he said.

“No. We need to work.” She walked past him toward the elevator. “You can explain yourself after you’ve fixed the mess you helped create.”

“I didn’t—”

“You let me fall for you. And all of it was a lie.”

“Not all of it.”

“Enough of it.”

The elevator arrived. They stepped inside. The doors closed.

“I can prove Stern framed you,” Julian said. “I have an email. Sent at 2:15 AM. The subject line is ‘The package has been delivered.'”

Elena turned to face him. “Then why haven’t you shown it to the board?”

“Because it’s encrypted. I need the key. And the key is on Stern’s personal laptop.”

“So get it.”

“It’s not that simple. His laptop is password-protected. And if I try to access it without authorization, any evidence I find will be inadmissible.”

Elena stared at him. “I am the CEO. Order him to hand it over?”

“He’ll refuse. And then we’re in a legal battle that could take months.”

The elevator doors opened. They walked to Elena’s office—her old office, the one she had been escorted out of less than twenty-four hours ago.

“So what do we do?” she asked.

Julian closed the door. “We get the key another way.”

“How?”

“Stern has a mistress. Her name is Candace. She works in marketing. He’s been paying her rent for three years. If we can get her to talk—”

“No.” Elena shook her head. “I’m not blackmailing someone’s mistress.”

“It’s not blackmail. It’s leverage. She has access to his personal email. She might have the key.”

Elena sat down heavily in her chair. She put her head in her hands.

“I can’t believe this is my life,” she said.

Julian knelt beside her. “Elena. I know you’re angry. You have every right to be. But right now, we need to focus on clearing your name. Everything else—the lies, the secrets, us—we can deal with that later.”

She looked up. Her eyes were red.

“But how……. She stared at him for a long moment. Who are you, Jay? Really?”

“I’m someone who made a terrible mistake,” he said. “And I’m trying to fix it.”

“Okay,” she said. “Let’s fix it first.”