Chapter 6

"Man, the office is in complete chaos over this," Mark sighed heavily.

"This afternoon, Harrison formally announced that Chloe is leading Project Phoenix."

"That little viper stood up in the all-hands and gave this nauseating speech about how 'even though Ethan had to step away, she would carry on his vision and make the project proud.'"

"I almost puked right onto my keyboard."

"She must be thrilled," I spat bitterly.

"Thrilled? She's treated like Joan of Arc!" Mark lowered his voice. "Everyone's walking on eggshells around her. The female associates are treating her like a queen."

"Harrison granted her unlimited budget access and special privileges. Word is, HR wants to feature her in the company newsletter as an icon against workplace harassment. She's a lock for the annual bonus."

"Ethan, take my advice... just take the L and lay low," Mark urged softly.

"You can't win this. A man fighting a tearful girl over a #MeToo accusation loses his reputation no matter what."

"Ride out the storm. Once the dust settles in a few months, maybe Harrison will let you quietly consult."

"Lay low?" I pushed myself up from the bed, a dangerous fire igniting in my chest.

"Mark, if a rabid dog bites your leg off, do you lie down and take it, or do you grab a bat and smash its skull?"

Mark went dead silent on the line. "...Dude, what the hell are you planning? Don't do something crazy!"

"Relax. I'm not using my fists. I'm using my brain," I enunciated every syllable clearly.

"Mark, I need one favor."

"Tomorrow morning at ten sharp, drop a message in the main department Slack. Tell them I have the complete, uncut security footage from that dinner."

"Tell them I am hosting an emergency clearance presentation in the main boardroom, and Harrison and every single team member need to be there."

"Footage?! You actually have the video?!" Mark gasped.

"Every single second."

"Holy shit! Ethan, you absolute savage! Say less, I'm on it! God knows I've been dying to see that little fraud burn!"

Hanging up, I pulled the black flash drive from my pocket and plugged it into my laptop.

The media player opened, displaying high-definition surveillance video.

The private dining room had a wide-angle lens mounted high in the corner, covering every inch of the space.

I scrubbed forward to the moment Vance started cornering Chloe.

Her distress was obvious.

Then, I stood up, walked over, took the glass, and downed three shots in succession.

Right after drinking, I turned around and walked directly back to my seat—which was separated from Chloe by three empty chairs.

After that, I spent the rest of the evening talking to the reps beside me. I never even turned my head in Chloe's direction again.

And Chloe?

The surveillance showed that the second I took the shots for her, her terrified expression vanished completely.

Instead, she exchanged a knowing look with the associate beside her, flashed a chilling, triumphant smirk, and casually pulled out her phone to text.

My entire body locked up.

I hit rewind and replayed the clip at half speed.

It was unmistakable. A smirk. A cold, victorious, predatory smirk of someone whose trap had just snapped shut.

The blood in my veins turned to liquid nitrogen.

That was never the face of a helpless victim. That was the face of an architect admiring her masterpiece.

The entire incident was an ambush from minute one!

She purposely played the weak little intern to bait my hero complex, then twisted my protection into an accusation solely to seize my career-defining project!

I cut the key segments, saved the raw unedited files with embedded timestamps, and created a backup folder.

Ironclad. Undeniable.

Closing the laptop, I leaned back, exhaling a long, shuddering breath.

I sent one final message to Claire's blocked thread. I knew it wouldn't deliver immediately, but eventually, she would see it.

"Claire. Tomorrow at 10:00 AM, I'm proving my innocence."