Quiet.
In debt.
No family here except a sick mother.
People would believe she took the money and ran.”
The confession settled over the table.
He had not intended to merely fire me.
He had intended to erase me from the story entirely.
My knees weakened, but I refused to step back.
“What was supposed to happen after I left the room?” I asked.
Marco did not answer.
Dominic did.
“The elevator cameras went offline seven minutes before the meeting began.”
My skin turned cold.
Dominic looked toward the men by the door.
“Security found the outage before she arrived.
That is why the meeting started late.”
I remembered standing outside with the coffee tray, wondering why Marco had repeatedly checked his watch.
He had expected me to enter, be accused, be dismissed, and walk into an unwatched elevator.
Whatever came next would have left no clean report for me to print.
“That’s why you told me not to leave,” I whispered.
Dominic met my eyes.
“Yes.”
The answer carried no romance.
Not then.
It was something more immediate and more important.
Protection without performance.
He had held me in place because the safest spot in the building was the one place Marco could not reach me without exposing himself.
Beside Dominic.
In front of everyone.
Marco moved suddenly.
His hand went inside his jacket.
Chairs scraped backward, but Dominic was faster.
He caught Marco’s wrist before anything could be drawn and drove the hand flat against the table.
There was no wild struggle.
No shouted threat.
Only Dominic’s controlled strength and Marco’s shocked breath.
A small black phone slid from Marco’s jacket and struck the polished wood.
Not a weapon.
A second phone.
One of the men picked it up.
“Prepaid,” he said.
Marco stopped fighting.
Dominic released him only when two security men entered through the side door.
They removed Marco’s access card, took both phones, and placed him under escort.
“Where are you sending me?” Marco demanded.
“Corporate counsel first,” Dominic said.
“The financial-crimes evidence goes with you.”
Marco’s face changed.
He had expected violence because violence was the language he understood.
He had not expected records, witnesses, frozen accounts, fraud charges, and the permanent destruction of the authority he valued more than freedom.
“You can’t hand this outside,” he said.
“You’ll expose everyone.”
“The evidence concerns your theft, your shell company, and your unauthorized access,” Dominic replied.
“I made certain of that before you walked in.”
Marco looked at me one final time.
“This is your fault.”
