Chapter 6 - Cornered Rats
While Blake International was scaling new heights, Tyler and Melanie were sinking deeper into the quicksand of their own creation.
Without income, legal backing, or industry credibility, their lives were falling apart at terrifying speed. Tyler’s luxury apartment in Tribeca was placed under eviction proceedings after his former law firm froze his severance pay due to the ongoing ethics lawsuit.
Melanie had been forced to move out of her Upper West Side condo, staying in a grimy, short-term rental studio in Queens. The high-society friends who once vied for her company now refused to answer her text messages or let her past their doormen.
One rainy evening, Tyler found Melanie sitting on the steps outside her apartment building, wrapped in a soaked trench coat.
“They rejected the settlement offer,” Tyler said, his voice flat, his eyes bloodshot. He looked like he hadn't slept in a week.
Melanie looked up, her face pale and drawn without her usual professional makeup. “What do you mean rejected? We offered to give her back every cent of the stolen code and walk away!”
“Her lawyer sent a one-line reply,” Tyler laughed hysterically, running a wet hand through his messy hair. “‘We don't negotiate with criminals.’ They’re pushing for full criminal indictment for computer fraud. The district attorney’s office opened an official file this morning, Mel.”
Melanie stood up, trembling with rage. “This is your fault! You said your law firm would protect us! You said you had connections in the DA’s office!”
“My connections dropped me the second that stairwell video hit the internet!” Tyler screamed back, stepping into her face. “You were the one who copied the files on her computer! You’re the one who signed off on the altered contracts!”
“Because you told me to!” she shrieked. “You manipulated me! You told me you were going to leave her anyway and that we could own Manhattan together!”
Passersby on the street stared at them, walking quickly past the screaming couple standing in the downpour. They had become the very thing they feared most: pathetic, desperate nobodies arguing over crumbs in the rain.
“We have one choice left,” Tyler said, leaning close to her, his eyes flashing with a dangerous, unstable glint.
“What?” Melanie asked, shuddering from the cold.
“Olivia’s hosting the European investor gala at the Winterline tomorrow night,” Tyler whispered. “Victoria Sterling is going to be there. If Olivia signs that international contract, she becomes untouchable forever. We’ll be in prison while she builds a global empire.”
“We have a restraining order against us, Tyler!” Melanie gasped. “If we go near the Winterline, we’ll be arrested on the spot!”
“Not if we get into the service building through the old linen delivery tunnels,” Tyler sneered, a terrifying smile creeping onto his face. “You worked the logistics for that venue for three years, Mel. You know the entry codes for the basement service doors. We get in, we confront Victoria Sterling directly, and we expose Olivia’s real estate land purchases as fraudulent before she signs that paper.”
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Melanie stared at him, terrified by the desperation in his eyes, but the venom of her own envy won out.
“Alright,” she whispered, wiping rain from her face. “Let’s destroy her.”
