Chapter 5 - The Enemy of My Enemy
The federal agents dragged a furious Daniel Torres out of the boardroom in front of the stunned executives.
Victoria stood in absolute silence, her mind racing to comprehend the chaotic turn of events.
She had not called the authorities, and clearly, neither had anyone else in her immediate circle.
Marcus rushed forward, pulling out his mobile phone to call Daniel's high-powered defense attorneys.
"This is a massive misunderstanding," Marcus yelled at the agents, but they completely ignored him.
Once the room was finally clear, Richard collapsed into a leather chair, rubbing his chest in clear physical distress.
"We need to secure the building and lock down the servers before the feds seize everything," Richard gasped.
Victoria ignored her father, walking slowly over to the projector that was still displaying her forged signature.
She examined the digital metadata displayed at the bottom corner of the fraudulent contract.
The document had been created from an IP address located inside this very building, specifically from the executive suite.
She suddenly realized that Daniel might have actually been telling the truth about finding the document, rather than forging it himself.
If Daniel didn't frame her, there was only one person with the access and motive to do so.
She turned to look at Marcus, who was still frantically shouting into his phone in the hallway.
Victoria slipped out of the boardroom and quietly followed Marcus into the private executive stairwell.
She hid in the shadows as Marcus finished his call and turned to speak to a shadowy figure standing on the landing below.
"Daniel is completely out of the way now, just as we planned," Marcus whispered to the hidden person.
"The federal raid bought us exactly forty-eight hours to liquidate the patents and disappear with the cash."
Victoria held her breath, trying desperately to see the face of the true mastermind behind her destruction.
The shadowy figure stepped into the dim light of the stairwell, and Victoria felt her heart completely stop.
It was her own father, Richard Hartwell, smiling warmly at the treacherous lawyer.
"Excellent work, Marcus," Richard praised, patting the lawyer firmly on the shoulder.
"My foolish daughter and that arrogant billionaire will take the fall, and I will retire in absolute luxury."
Victoria backed away slowly, her mind completely shattered by the sheer magnitude of her father's betrayal.
She bumped into a metal trash can, sending it clattering loudly down the concrete steps.
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Both men immediately snapped their heads up toward her location, their eyes wide with lethal intent.
"Grab her, she cannot leave this building alive," Richard ordered coldly, his voice devoid of any paternal love.
