Chapter 7: The Trap Inside Her Office
Naomi opened the door but blocked the entrance.
“Show me the order.”
Christian’s attorney, Fletcher Dane, handed it over.
“All original company records must be surrendered.”
“These are copies supplied by a witness.”
“Then you won’t object to handing them over.”
Naomi read the second page.
“This order was signed before the court received our fraud filing.”
Fletcher smiled.
“An order remains an order.”
Marisol clutched her laptop.
“They’ll erase everything.”
Sienna held up her phone.
“The recordings are already with the bank investigator.”
Fletcher’s smile weakened.
Naomi gave him the paper statements but retained a receipt for every page.
“Your client now knows we have them.
If one original disappears, explain that to the judge.”
At Sienna’s company headquarters, Callum waited with corporate security and Reid Dalton.
Reid wore the calm expression of a man attending someone else’s disaster.
Callum pointed to a chair.
“Sienna, did you send confidential files to Desert Crown?”
“No.”
Reid folded his hands.
“The transfer came from her login.”
Sienna faced him.
“You delayed a client payment last month.”
“That is a serious accusation.”
“You received sixty thousand dollars from Desert Crown.”
Reid’s face remained still.
His thumb began rubbing the edge of his watch.
Callum looked at him.
“Is that true?”
“No.
She is trying to redirect attention.”
Sienna connected Naomi’s drive to the conference screen.
Christian’s recorded voice filled the room.
“Once Reid gets her work password, we can make the missing project money look like Sienna moved it.”
Reid stood.
“That recording could be fabricated.”
Tessa stepped through the conference-room door.
“Then perhaps your messages are fabricated too.”
Reid stared at her.
“Who are you?”
“The woman Christian treated like a fool.”
She placed her phone on the table.
The screen showed messages between Christian and Reid discussing Sienna’s travel schedule, passwords, and the planned transfer.
Reid reached for it, but the security officer caught his wrist.
“Sit down, Mr.
Dalton.”
Reid pulled free.
“You don’t understand.
Christian said she approved everything.”
“Then why did you need her password?” Callum asked.
Reid turned toward Sienna.
“Help me, and I’ll tell them Christian forced you into the company.
I can clear your name.”
“You want me to protect you?”
“I can protect your career.”
Callum removed Reid’s company badge.
“You no longer have that power.”
Reid’s confidence finally cracked.
“If I go down, Christian will release every file he took from her laptop.
Client contracts, salaries, medical records—everything.”
Sienna stood.
“Where are they?”
“I want immunity.”
“You’re bargaining with information you stole.”
Reid leaned close.
“Your father’s address was in the folder Christian copied.
So was the code to his security system.”
Tessa drew in a sharp breath.
Sienna called her father.
He did not answer.
She called again.
Nothing.
Naomi spoke through Sienna’s phone.
“I’m sending officers to his house.
Do not leave the building alone.”
Callum placed both hands on the table.
“Reid, give security the location of those files.”
“I speak to a federal investigator first.”
The conference-room door opened.
Marcus Reed entered with two investigators and held up his identification.
“I believe I’m the person you requested.”
Reid sank into his chair.
Marcus placed a search authorization on the table.
“We have the bank records, the false guarantee, and Ms.
Vega’s recording.”
Reid pointed at Sienna.
“Christian has a remote drive.
He said if she challenged him, he’d destroy the evidence and disappear.”
Sienna’s phone rang.
Her father’s voice came through at last.
“I’m safe, sweetheart.
But Christian is outside my house.”
May you like
A crash sounded behind him.
Then the line went silent.
