Chapter 4 - The Setup
When I arrived at the Harrison Medical Group headquarters, my keycard glowed red.
Access denied.
The glass doors slid open from the inside, revealing the Director of Human Resources, Marcus Thorne.
Marcus was a charming, impeccably dressed man who had always been overly friendly to me.
"Emily, what a mess," Marcus sighed, shaking his head with rehearsed sympathy.
"Dr. Hart asked me to meet you here."
"Why is my badge deactivated, Marcus?" I asked, keeping my posture rigid.
"There has been a troubling development in the cybersecurity audit," he explained, gesturing for me to follow him to a private conference room.
Inside, Dr. Hart was sitting at a large glass table, looking deeply exhausted.
"Emily, corporate security searched your office last night," Dr. Hart said without preamble.
"They found a hidden hard drive taped beneath your desk."
"It contained over ten thousand confidential patient files and unreleased pharmaceutical patents."
I stared at her, my mind racing to comprehend the setup.
"I have never seen a hidden hard drive in my life," I defended myself immediately.
"The digital logs show those files were downloaded using your password," Marcus interjected smoothly.
"The same password your mother admitted to giving away?" I shot back, glaring at him.
"It looks like you were preparing to sell company secrets and blame your family for the leak," Marcus countered.
Dr. Hart raised a hand to silence us both.
"Until this is resolved by federal investigators, you are on unpaid administrative leave, Emily."
"Marcus will assume the role of interim VP of regional operations to handle the upcoming vendor audits."
I froze.
Marcus was getting the exact job that would allow him to bury the financial discrepancies.
He was Mr. Smith.
I looked at Marcus, catching the brief, triumphant smirk that flashed across his face.
May you like
"I understand," I said calmly, turning on my heel and walking out.
I needed to act fast, and I needed Nathan's help.
