Chapter 2 - The Toxic Evidence
I stared at the smug woman standing in my kitchen.
"I have never poisoned anyone in my entire life," I said, my voice shaking with pure outrage.
The officer sighed heavily and handed me a copy of the restraining order.
"I cannot determine the truth of these allegations right now, but a judge signed this order," he explained.
"You have exactly ten minutes to pack a bag and vacate this property," he commanded.
I felt the walls of my own house closing in on me.
Christopher had planned this elaborate ambush down to the very last detail.
He provoked the argument over the European trip knowing the police would eventually be called.
He just didn't expect me to have my own evidence of his financial theft ready.
I walked up the grand staircase to my bedroom and grabbed a small suitcase.
I threw my most important clothes, my passport, and my encrypted backup hard drive into the bag.
When I walked back downstairs, Beatrice was already sipping champagne on my expensive leather sofa.
"Do not ever come back here, Savannah," she warned with a chillingly sweet tone.
I walked out the front door and climbed into my car, fighting back tears of intense frustration.
I drove to a nearby hotel and checked into a quiet room under my maiden name.
I immediately opened my laptop to contact my executive board and explain the horrific morning I just endured.
I needed to assure my company that my personal life would not affect my professional duties.
I typed in my secure password to access the corporate network.
A bright red warning flashed violently across my entire screen.
"Access Denied due to severe security protocol violation," the screen read.
My phone suddenly buzzed with an incoming call from Marcus, my company's Chief Financial Officer.
"Savannah, the board held an emergency vote right after your video feed cut off," Marcus said quietly.
"You have been officially terminated as CEO, effective immediately."
I gasped, completely unable to comprehend how everything was falling apart so quickly.
"They fired me over a domestic dispute?" I asked in pure disbelief.
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"No, Savannah, they fired you because three million dollars went missing from the corporate accounts this morning," Marcus revealed.
"And the IP address used to authorize the transfer was traced directly to your personal laptop."
