Chapter 13 - Projected Guilt
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Nathan pulled a sleek laptop from his bag, opened the lid, and connected it to the boardroom’s high-definition wall projector.
With a few quick keystrokes, a series of confidential files filled the massive screen on the wall.
Bid analyses. Internal vendor rankings. Proprietary pricing algorithms from the merger eighteen months ago.
Every single document displayed a faint, translucent digital watermark across the text.
“These files prove your mother-in-law manipulated the market valuation during the acquisition,” Nathan boasted, pointing at the wall. “If these hit the press, Grant Meridian’s stock will drop twenty percent by noon.”
Arthur Pendelton, our legal counsel, leaned forward slightly.
“Mr. Vale,” Arthur asked in a measured, lawyerly tone. “Did anyone on the board authorize you to download or remove those files from corporate servers?”
Nathan laughed, leaning back in his chair. “Of course not. But that’s the beauty of leverage, isn't it? I have them, and you need them back.”
“So you are confirming on the record that you personally took these files without authorization?” Arthur pressed softly.
“I’m confirming that I hold all the cards,” Nathan sneered. “Now, are you signing the three-million-dollar wire authorization or not?”
I leaned forward, looking Nathan straight in the eye for the first time that morning.
“You don't hold any cards, Nathan,” I said quietly. “You never did.”
Nathan’s smile faltered slightly. “What did you say?”
Dana slid two thick blue folders across the table, stopping them directly in front of Lorraine and Nathan.
“The first report,” Dana explained calmly, “is a complete forensic audit tracing $1.8 million in fraudulent kickbacks from your shell company, Vale Strategic Consulting, directly into Lorraine’s bank accounts.”
Lorraine’s face instantly flushed bright red. “That’s a lie! That’s an illegal audit!”
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“The second report,” Dana continued, ignoring her outburst, “is a digital footprint report confirming that the watermark on those stolen files belongs exclusively to your employee credentials, downloaded at 11:42 p.m. last Tuesday.”
Nathan’s jaw went slack. “Where... where did you get those account numbers?”
