Chapter 6 - The Poisoned Ledger
The following morning, the sun rose over the Nashville estate in a pale, freezing haze.
Ethan came downstairs at seven o'clock sharp, wearing a dark gray suit, looking every bit the cold, untouchable billionaire he had been before the paint had ever touched his face.
Maria was in the kitchen, packing a small lunchbox for Maya. When she saw Ethan step into the room, she offered her gentle, respectful smile.
"Good morning, Mr. Cole," she said softly. "Coffee is ready on the side counter."
Ethan didn't smile back. His eyes were impassive, devoid of the warmth he had displayed over the past three weeks. "Thank you, Maria."
Maya was sitting at the kitchen island, swinging her small legs, holding a purple crayon. "Hi, Mr. Cole! Look, I drew a stick house like you showed me!"
Ethan glanced at the drawing for half a second. A simple, shaky box made of purple crayon lines.
"That's nice, Maya," Ethan said, his voice clipped and distant. He turned to Maria. "I have an emergency conference call in Chicago. I will be out of the house until eight o'clock tonight. My private study will be unlocked because the maintenance team is coming to service the air filtration units."
Maria’s hand paused for a fraction of a second over the lunchbox zipper. "Oh... okay, Mr. Cole. I’ll make sure Carol oversees the maintenance team."
"Make sure no one touches the documents on my primary desk," Ethan added, his voice carrying a deliberate, subtle weight. "The Memphis Waterfront bid figures are sitting on the central screen. They are extremely sensitive."
"Of course, Mr. Cole," Maria bowed her head. "I won't let anyone go near your desk."
Ethan picked up his leather briefcase, turned his back on them, and walked out the door.
As his sleek black sedan pulled through the iron gates of the estate, Ethan pulled out his tablet. The screen displayed a high-definition live video feed from four hidden micro-cameras he had installed in his study three hours before dawn.
He watched the screen as he drove toward his downtown office tower.
At 10:14 AM, the hidden camera feed showed Maria entering his private study holding a feather duster. She looked around nervously, checking the hallway twice before stepping inside and closing the heavy oak door behind her.
Ethan watched her face on the screen. She looked pale, her hands trembling violently.
She walked over to his desk. She looked at the gowing computer monitor, where a bold, encrypted file labeled MEMPHIS_WATERFRONT_FINAL_BID_v4.pdf was clearly displayed.
She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a small, metallic silver thumb drive.
Ethan leaned back against the leather seat of his car, a bitter, cold smile touching his lips. There it is, he thought. The sting.
On the screen, Maria raised the thumb drive toward the USB port. But then, she stopped.
Her hand froze in mid-air, inches from the computer tower.
She stood completely still in the quiet study for thirty seconds, her chest heaving as if she were suffocating. She looked down at the desk. Her eyes caught something sitting beside the mousepad.
It was the purple crayon drawing of the twig house Maya had made that morning—the drawing Ethan had left lying right next to the computer.
Maria pulled her hand back. She looked at the thumb drive in her trembling fingers, and then suddenly, she burst into silent, violent sobs. She covered her face with her hands, dropping to her knees on the rug beside Ethan's desk, weeping hysterically.
Ethan stared at the tablet screen in utter shock.
May you like
She didn't plug the drive in.
She stood up, wiped her face, thrust the metallic thumb drive back into her apron pocket, and ran out of the study, slamming the door behind her.
