CHAPTER 5 — The Woman Everyone Betrayed
The board expected Claire to seek revenge.
Instead...
She did something nobody expected.
She walked into the employee cafeteria.
No security.
No cameras.
No speech.
She simply sat beside the same janitor who used to bring her coffee every morning.
"Congratulations, Mrs. Blackwell," he whispered.
Claire smiled.
"You were one of the few people who still said good morning to me."
Word spread quickly.
Within hours...
Employees lined up outside her office.
Not to ask for promotions.
To apologize.
"I should've defended you."
"I was afraid of losing my job."
"I'm sorry."
Claire listened to every apology.
She accepted none.
Because some betrayals...
Arrive wrapped in silence.
Then came the biggest surprise.
Claire announced a company-wide meeting.
Thousands of employees watched through livestream.
She stood at the podium.
Behind her...
No luxury backdrop.
Only the original company logo from twelve years ago.
"I didn't come here to punish honest people."
"I came to rebuild what greed destroyed."
She announced:
No layoffs.
Profit-sharing for every employee.
Scholarships for workers' children.
Healthcare expansion.
Paid family leave.
The room erupted in applause.
Stock analysts were stunned.
Blackwell Technologies' share price climbed higher than it ever had under Ethan.
Investors called it...
The Claire Effect.
But while the company flourished...
Federal agents uncovered something far darker.
Millions of dollars had disappeared through offshore accounts.
The signatures authorizing those transfers...
Belonged to Ethan.
Or so it seemed.
One investigator frowned.
"Something doesn't add up."
"The signatures are too perfect."
Someone...
Had forged them.
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Which meant Ethan might not be the mastermind.
He might also be someone's target.
