Chapter 14 - The Prison ConfrontationThree days later, I sat in the high-security visitors' room of the federal penitentiary, waiting behind a thick glass partition. The room smelled of industrial disinfectant and stale institutional coffee.
The heavy metal door clicked open, and two guards marched Julian in.
He was unrecognizable. His head was shaved, his skin had a sickly, pale prison pallor, and he wore the bright orange jumpsuit of an inmate. The arrogant smirk, the tailored Armani suits, the effortless swagger—all of it was gone, replaced by a hollow, sunken-eyed shell of a man.
When he sat down on the other side of the glass and looked up, his eyes locked onto mine. For a split second, a flash of pure, venomous hatred crossed his face, instantly swallowed by overwhelming panic.
He picked up the heavy plastic telephone receiver. I slowly picked up mine.
"Elena," his voice crackled through the speaker, tight and shaking. "Why are you here? To gloat? To rub my face in the dirt?"
"I'm here because I found your hidden digital archive, Julian," I said, my voice calm, steady, and loud enough to echo faintly in the sterile room. "The E-Exit Strategy folder. Complete with your plans to frame me for insider trading."
Julian’s breath hitched. His pupils dilated in sheer terror. "That... that was encrypted. How did you—"
"Chloe gave it to me," I interrupted smoothly. "Your precious corporate director. Turns out loyalty among thieves is non-existent. She handed over every single file to save her own skin."
Julian slammed his fist against the glass partition, shouting obscenities that were muffled by the heavy acoustic glass. The two guards instantly stepped forward, placing their hands on their batons, glaring warningly at him. Julian slumped back down, chest heaving, his face twisted in utter despair.
"What do you want, Elena?" he whispered, his voice cracking with tears of absolute humiliation. "You took everything! The company, the house, my freedom! What more could you possibly want from me?"
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"I didn't come to take anything else, Julian," I said, leaning slightly closer to the glass, letting him see the cold, absolute triumph in my eyes. "I came to show you how a real executive finishes a game. You thought you were the master architect. You were just a minor obstacle on my path to the top."
I hung up the phone without waiting for his reply, stood up gracefully, and walked out of the prison without looking back once.
