Chapter 7 - The Panic in the Executive SuiteWithin fifteen minutes of the federal agents' arrival, the entire 42nd floor of Meridian Logistics was locked down under emergency protocols.
Junior analysts and administrative assistants pressed their faces against the glass walls of the open bullpen, whispering frantically as boxes of physical ledgers, corporate credit card statements, and personnel files were carried past toward the elevators.
My phone buzzed continuously against the wooden table of the café across the street.
I didn't answer. I simply watched through the expansive plate-glass window as a pale, sweating HR director was escorted out of the building by a federal marshal, clutching a cardboard box of personal belongings to his chest like a shield.
The panic inside the executive suite had escalated from professional alarm to outright chaos.
According to Marcus Vance, who was monitoring the docket filings from his office on Tremont Street, the emergency asset-freeze injunction had successfully locked all corporate liquidity across Meridian’s domestic accounts, as well as the personal bank accounts tied to Vanessa Cole and Derek Mercer.
My phone buzzed yet again. A direct text message from an unsaved number—though I recognized the frantic cadence immediately.
“Emma. Please. Whatever you gave the authorities, it’s a massive misunderstanding. Let’s talk. Name your price. Reinstatement, a promotion, a direct equity stake in the firm—just tell us what it will take to make this go away.”
I stared at the screen, a quiet, humorless smile touching my lips.
They still didn't get it. They still believed that every person had a price tag, that justice was just another commodity to be negotiated away in a back-room conference table meeting.
I tapped the screen, typed a single sentence, and hit send:
May you like
“You should have stayed in your lane.”
I blocked the number, slipped the phone back into my bag, and watched the digital clock tick forward toward noon. The first phase of the dismantling was complete. Now came the reckoning.
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