The Reed Innovations building looked the same as it always had. Glass and steel rising fifteen stories into the morning sky, the company logo gleaming in brushed silver above the doors. But the moment Petrina stepped through those doors, she knew something had happened overnight.The reception area was chaotic.Phones were ringing on every desk, shrill, relentless and unanswered. A cluster of junior staff huddled near the elevator bank, voices low, eyes darting toward her the moment she appeared. The conversation died instantly and they all scattered like birds startled by a gunshot.Petrina's heels clicked against the marble floor, each step echoing loudly. She kept her chin up and her spine straight, even though her hands were trembling inside the pockets of her coat.The elevator ride to the executive floor felt longer than it should have. The mirrored walls reflected a woman she barely recognized. Pale. Hollow-eyed. The silver suit from last night had been replaced with something

The numbers refused to make sense.Charlotte sat at her dining table at three in the morning, surrounded by printouts and spreadsheets that had long since blurred into incomprehensible columns of accusations. Her laptop screen cast a pale glow across her face, highlighting the dark circles under her eyes and the tension carved into her jaw.She'd been at this for six hours straight, cross-referencing financial records, comparing timestamps, tracing digital footprints through Reed Innovations' accounting system. Every document Brian had submitted, every piece of evidence he'd used to condemn Derick, she'd pulled it apart line by line, searching for the truth buried beneath the lies.And she'd found it.Her hands trembled as she clicked open another file, this one a bank statement allegedly showing Derick's embezzlement. The account number matched Reed Innovations' vendor payment system. The transactions looked legitimate at first glance, money flowing out in neat, regular intervals ove

The office felt smaller somehow, like the walls were closing in with each passing hour.Petrina sat at her desk staring at numbers that refused to add up to anything resembling hope. The financial reports spread before her painted a picture so bleak it might as well have been a death certificate. Reed Innovations was bleeding out, and no amount of creative accounting or optimistic projections could hide the arterial spray.Three more clients had pulled their contracts overnight. The stock was trading at levels she hadn't seen since the company's second year, back when she'd been operating out of a converted warehouse with a team of five and more ambition than sense. Except back then, she'd had something she didn't have now.A future.The knock on her door was gentle, almost apologetic. Brian entered without waiting for permission, carrying two cups of coffee and wearing an expression of carefully calibrated concern."You need to take a break," he said, setting one cup on her desk. "Yo

The announcement hit the markets at nine in the morning, carefully timed to catch the opening bell and the attention of every analyst who'd been watching the Reed Innovations collapse like it was prime-time entertainment.CROWNLINK HOLDINGS ACQUIRES TECHSOURCE INDUSTRIESAll Former Reed Innovations Contracts to Be Honored and ExpandedTechSource Industries had been Reed's most crucial supplier, the backbone of their production chain for five years. When Reed started bleeding partners, TechSource had been among the first to jump ship, citing "financial instability concerns" and "strategic realignment" in their carefully worded press release.Now they belonged to Derick.The business networks picked up the story within minutes, anchors stumbling over each other to be first with the analysis. The consensus formed quickly, delivered in that breathless tone reserved for moments when the market did something unexpected and brilliant."This is a masterclass in strategic acquisition," one ana

The invitation went out at eight in the morning with the kind of careful precision that turned simple announcements into seismic events.DERICK SEKWIGA TO ADDRESS ALLEGATIONS IN LIVE PRESS CONFERENCE - 2PM TODAYEvery major business network cleared their afternoon programming. Journalists who'd spent the past forty-eight hours manufacturing scandal suddenly found themselves scrambling for front-row seats to what promised to be either a spectacular defense or a public execution.By noon, the Grand Meridian Conference Center was packed beyond capacity, cameras positioned at every angle, reporters elbowing each other for optimal sightlines. The energy in the room crackled with anticipation, that particular brand of bloodlust that came from watching powerful people either rise or fall with nothing in between.At exactly two o'clock, the side doors opened.Derick Sekwiga walked in wearing a suit that probably cost more than most people's cars, charcoal grey with subtle pinstripes that caug