Chapter 7 - The Viper's Strike
The glamour of the ballroom couldn't entirely mask the venom lurking beneath the surface of Sterling Enterprises' corporate hierarchy.
Midway through the evening, while Julian was pulled away by a group of international banking regulators, Marcus Vance cornered Elena near the terrace doors.
“You think you’ve made it, don't you?” Marcus hissed, his eyes bloodshot from too much scotch and wounded ego. “Sleeping your way from the assistant's desk to a director's office?”
Elena didn't flinch; she took a slow sip of her sparkling water and fixed him with a stare so icy it made him step back.
“I earned my desk by fixing your incompetence, Marcus,” she said calmly, keeping her voice low enough that the passing waiters wouldn't hear.
“You think Sterling cares about your brain?” Marcus sneered, leaning in close with a hateful grin. “He likes shiny new toys. As soon as the board reviews the financial leak on the Kensington project, your career is over.”
Elena’s eyes narrowed instantly; Kensington had been sealed, and no one outside the top five executives had access to those files.
“What leak?” she demanded, her analytical mind immediately racing to connect the pieces of Marcus's sudden confidence.
“The press is getting an anonymous tip tomorrow morning that Sterling's new Director inflated the Kensington valuation to trigger her own promotion,” Marcus whispered maliciously.
Before Elena could respond, a heavy, familiar hand landed on Marcus’s shoulder with enough force to make the man gasp in pain.
Julian had returned, his face a mask of cold, terrifying fury as he loomed over the smaller executive.
“If you finish that sentence, Marcus, you won't just be fired,” Julian said, his voice dropping to a register that promised absolute ruin. “I will personally see to it that you never work in finance on this continent again.”
Marcus broke away, trembling with fear, and disappeared into the crowd without looking back.
Julian turned to Elena immediately, his hands grasping her shoulders gently as he searched her face for signs of distress.
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“Did he hurt you?” he asked, his intense concern stripping away every inch of his corporate billionaire facade.
“No,” Elena said, her mind already calculating the data trails. “Julian, he's setting us up. We need to go to your office right now.”
