Chapter 3 - The Boardroom
The corporate security guards did not wait for Daniel to unlock the door.
They used a master keycard to force their way into the office, stepping aggressively toward him.
The Chairman of the Board, a terrifyingly stern man named Harrison, walked in right behind them.
"Daniel, you are coming with us to the executive conference room right now," Harrison commanded.
Daniel tried to put on his best confident corporate smile, straightening his expensive silk tie.
"Harrison, there has been a massive security breach, and my account was clearly hacked," Daniel lied smoothly.
Harrison did not smile back, nor did he offer any professional courtesy.
He simply gestured for the security guards to escort Daniel down the long glass hallway.
Daniel looked back at Sabrina, desperately hoping she would speak up in his defense.
Sabrina immediately averted her eyes, pretending to be deeply engrossed in a random spreadsheet.
The walk to the boardroom felt like a long, humiliating march to a medieval execution.
Once inside the massive room, Daniel was forced to sit at the far end of the long walnut table.
The entire executive board was already seated, staring at him with pure, unadulterated hostility.
"I am the victim of a sophisticated cyber attack," Daniel announced loudly, going on the offensive.
Harrison simply pressed a button on a remote control, lowering a large projector screen at the front of the room.
"We checked the building's internal security footage before we summoned you, Daniel," Harrison said coldly.
The projector flared to life, showing a grainy black-and-white video of the firm's underground server room.
The timestamp in the corner of the video read 3:14 AM from the previous night.
Daniel's jaw dropped as he watched a man in a dark hoodie walk confidently into the highly restricted server room.
The man in the video looked up at the security camera, clearly revealing his face in the harsh fluorescent light.
It was Daniel.
He was watching himself log into the master terminal and manually attach the illegal files to his own outgoing email.
"That is impossible," Daniel whispered, completely horrified by what he was seeing on the screen.
"I was asleep in my bed in Evanston at three in the morning."
Harrison slammed his fist down on the walnut table, startling everyone in the room.
"The footage is undeniable, and you have officially triggered a federal investigation into this firm," Harrison roared.
Daniel realized with a sickening wave of nausea that Claire had drugged the cold pasta she gave him last night.
She had somehow managed to drag his unconscious body out of the house, bring him to the office, and manipulate his fingerprint to access the server.
"You are officially terminated, your equity is completely voided, and corporate security is packing your desk as we speak," Harrison declared.
Daniel stood up, his legs shaking violently, trying to formulate a desperate legal defense.
"You cannot run this firm without my client relationships," Daniel threatened weakly.
Harrison offered a cruel, deeply mocking smile.
"We don't need you anymore, Daniel."
The heavy boardroom doors opened, and Sabrina walked confidently into the room.
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She took the empty leather chair sitting directly at the head of the table.
"Sabrina has officially been promoted to your position, effective immediately," Harrison announced, finalizing Daniel's total destruction.
