Chapter 2 - The Burner Phone
The cool night air hit my face, but it did nothing to calm the fire in my veins.
I reached my car and fumbled for my keys, tears finally spilling over my eyelashes.
A heavy hand gently caught the car door before I could slam it shut.
"Please, just give me five minutes," Nathan begged, panting from running across the parking lot.
I gripped the steering wheel, staring straight ahead into the darkness.
"You have three minutes before I call the police and report you for stalking," I replied coldly.
Nathan took a deep breath, leaning against the frame of the open door.
"I never sent those messages to your mother, Emily."
"Someone cloned my digital footprint to make it look like I was the one sabotaging you."
"Why would anyone go to such extreme lengths to stop me from becoming VP?" I asked, finally looking at him.
"Because the new VP of regional operations is required to conduct a full audit of the previous five years of vendor contracts."
"Someone at the company has been stealing millions, and they knew you were too smart to miss the discrepancies."
I processed his words, my analytical mind taking over my emotional pain.
"They needed me to resign immediately so they could put their own puppet in the VP position," I reasoned.
"Exactly," Nathan confirmed, pulling a small silver device from his pocket.
"And they used your sister's jealousy and your mother's gullibility to execute the perfect character assassination."
"They set it up so I would look like the villain who broke your heart and stole your job."
I looked at the silver device, realizing it was a specialized digital scanner.
"I traced the IP address of the fake texts sent to your mother," he said softly.
"The messages were sent from a burner phone inside the Harrison Medical Group executive suite."
May you like
My blood ran cold.
The enemy was not just in my company; they were at the very top of the food chain.
