CHAPTER 3 — The CEO's Order That Shocked Everyone
The ballroom erupted into chaos.
Executives whispered frantically.
Employees stared at Melissa as if they had never seen her before.
Her confident smile had vanished.
"This... this picture is fake!" she shouted.
Richard Harrington didn't even blink.
"Bring them in."
The ballroom doors opened.
Two federal financial investigators walked inside, followed by the company's cybersecurity director.
No one expected that.
The lead investigator placed a silver laptop on the podium.
"We recovered every deleted file."
Melissa's knees almost gave out.
Richard nodded.
"Show everyone."
The projector lit up.
One by one...
Emails appeared on the giant screen.
Private messages.
Secret transfers.
Hidden payments.
Every file carried Melissa's employee credentials.
The audience gasped louder with every slide.
Then came the worst one.
A recorded voice message.
Melissa's own voice echoed through the ballroom.
"Use Daniel's login. He's the perfect scapegoat. Nobody will question it."
The room fell deathly silent.
Daniel's former teammates stared at each other in horror.
One woman covered her mouth and began to cry.
"We thought he was guilty..."
Melissa lunged toward the laptop.
"Turn it off!"
Security stopped her instantly.
Richard slowly looked around the room.
"Eight years."
He spoke softly.
"For eight years, Daniel protected this company."
He paused.
"And today..."
He looked directly at every executive.
"...every single one of you watched an innocent man be destroyed."
No one could meet his eyes.
Then Richard asked one simple question.
"Who approved Daniel's dismissal?"
Hands slowly pointed...
Not only toward Melissa.
But toward three board members sitting in the front row.
Richard's expression darkened.
"So this wasn't one person's betrayal."
He opened another folder.
"It was an entire conspiracy."
The room froze again.
May you like
Because every name inside the folder belonged...
To members of the company's own board of directors.
