Chapter 3 - The Boardroom Strike
By eight o'clock the next morning, the news of my broken engagement hadn't reached the press yet. Cole and Tessa were likely still basking in the victory of their smug cruelty, assuming I was sobbing in my apartment, helpless and broken.
They had no idea I was sitting in the executive penthouse suite of Marston Tower, wrapped in a silk blouse Adrian had arranged for me, drinking black coffee while three of the top corporate lawyers in the state reviewed my financial records.
"The forged signatures are undeniable," stated Vance, Adrian’s lead council, sliding a touchscreen tablet toward us. "Cole used a digital vector copy of Miss Emma’s signature pulled from her family's land trust documents. He authorized six separate wire transfers directly into Tessa’s offshore account."
Adrian sat at the head of the obsidian conference table, unbuttoning his waistcoat, his dark eyes fixed on the live security feed from the building's lobby.
"Has Cole arrived?" Adrian asked softly.
"Just pulled into the executive parking bay, sir," the head of security reported over the intercom. "Miss Tessa is with him. She’s carrying a garment bag from the bridal shop."
My hands clenched around my coffee cup. The sheer audacity of Tessa bringing her wedding prep to the corporate headquarters of the family she was robbing made my stomach turn.
"Let them come up," Adrian ordered smoothly. He turned his gaze to me. "Emma. Do you want to hide in the back room?"
"No," I said, standing up straight, feeling a sudden surge of spine-chilling clarity. "I want to watch."
Three minutes later, the frosted glass doors of the penthouse conference room slid open. Cole walked in, looking relaxed in his tailored navy suit, his arm draped casually around Tessa’s waist. Tessa was wearing a bright red designer coat—paid for, no doubt, with my stolen inheritance—and holding a pastry bag from Port Mercy’s most expensive bakery.
"Adrian?" Cole stopped dead in his tracks, his casual demeanor evaporating the moment he saw his older brother sitting at the head of the table. Then, his eyes drifted to me.
Cole’s eyebrows twitched. "Emma? What the hell are you doing here? I thought we agreed last night that you were leaving quietly."
Tessa giggled, leaning into Cole's side. "Oh, sweetie, did you come to beg Cole to take you back? We told you—he chose me. You're just making this embarrassing for yourself."
"Shut up, Tessa," Adrian said. His voice wasn't loud, but the sheer menace in it caused Tessa to freeze instantly, her smug smile vanishing.
"Adrian, don't talk to my fiancé like that," Cole snapped, trying to puff out his chest. "Emma is just upset because she found out the truth. She’s trying to stir up family drama—"
"You're fired, Cole," Adrian interrupted cleanly.
The silence in the room became absolute.
Cole blinked. "What? You can't fire me. I'm the Executive Vice President of Marston—"
"You were," Adrian corrected, tossing a thick black folder onto the center of the table. "Until six minutes ago, when the Board of Directors held an emergency vote based on evidence of grand larceny, corporate embezzlement, and wire fraud."
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Cole’s face drained of color. He looked from the folder to the team of lawyers standing behind Adrian, and finally to me. "What did you tell him, Emma?"
"She didn't have to tell me anything," Adrian said, standing up. His imposing six-foot-four frame towered over his younger brother. "You left a paper trail a mile wide, Cole. And you used my firm to do it."
