Evelyn Grant reviewed access logs.
Someone had opened Maya's file forty-seven times.
That wasn't normal.
Most clients' files were accessed only when necessary.
Maya's had been viewed repeatedly.
Evelyn followed the trail.
One name appeared.
Daniel Whitmore.
She called him into her office.
"Why did you access Ms. Carter's account?"
Daniel looked surprised.
"I didn't."
"The system says you did."
"I accessed the initial transaction."
"Forty-seven times?"
Daniel's face became pale.
"No."
Evelyn showed him the records.
Daniel stared.
Then he realized something.
Someone had used his credentials.
"Someone hacked my account."
Evelyn leaned forward.
"Do you have proof?"
"No."
"Then we're not done."
Daniel suddenly remembered something.
Three days before Maya's deposit, he had received an email asking him to reset his password.
He had clicked the link.
His stomach tightened.
"Someone stole my credentials."
Evelyn stood.
"Who sent the email?"
Daniel pulled out his phone.
They found it.
The sender address looked legitimate.
But it wasn't.
The domain contained one extra letter.
A tiny detail.
Almost invisible.
Evelyn stared at the screen.
"Phishing."
Daniel nodded.
"Victor Lang?"
"Possibly."
Then the office door opened.
Jonathan Pierce entered.
"What's going on?"
Evelyn explained.
Pierce listened.
His expression was unreadable.
Then he said:
"Destroy the access logs."
Evelyn stared at him.
"What?"
"You heard me."
Daniel looked shocked.
"Why?"
Pierce closed the door.
"Because if those logs become public, this bank will be exposed."
Evelyn stood.
"You knew?"
Pierce looked at her.
"Victor has people inside the bank."
Silence.
"How long?"
"Years."
Daniel whispered:
"You're working with him."
Pierce shook his head.
"I'm surviving."
Evelyn looked disgusted.
"That's what corrupt people call cooperation."
Pierce's voice hardened.
"You have no idea how powerful that man is."
Evelyn stepped closer.
"Neither do you."
Then another voice came from the doorway.
"Actually, I think she does."
Everyone turned.
Maya Carter stood there.
Pierce froze.
She held a small recording device in her hand.
"I heard enough."
Pierce's face lost its color.
Maya smiled.
"You just made my investigation much easier."
Maya did not immediately expose Pierce.
That surprised Evelyn.
Instead, she asked him to sit down.
"Tell me everything."
Pierce laughed bitterly.
"You think you can threaten me?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"I want the truth."
Pierce looked at her.
"You don't understand Victor."
"I understand him better than you think."
"He can destroy your company."
"He already tried."
"He can destroy your reputation."
"I don't have one worth protecting."
"He can destroy your life."
Maya's expression became cold.
"He already took my father's."
Silence.
Pierce looked away.
"What happened to your father?"
"You know what happened."
Pierce shook his head.
"No."
Maya placed a folder on the table.
"My father's company didn't collapse because of the patent dispute."
Pierce stared at the folder.
"Then why?"
"Because someone leaked his research."
Pierce's face changed.
Maya continued.
"His competitors received his work six months before he filed the patent."
Pierce said nothing.
"The leak came from a financial institution."
Still nothing.
"That institution was connected to Victor Lang."
Pierce sat back.
Maya looked at him.
"Now tell me what happened."
Pierce finally spoke.
"Your father refused Victor."
"Refused what?"
"To sell."
Maya nodded.
"I know."
"Victor wanted the technology."
"Yes."
"Your father wouldn't cooperate."
"What happened next?"
Pierce swallowed.
"Victor made certain offers."
"My father refused."
"Then the pressure started."
Maya's hands tightened.
"How?"
"Suppliers."
"Lenders."
"Insurance companies."
"Regulators."
"Everything."
Pierce looked exhausted.
"Eventually your father couldn't continue."
Maya stared at him.
"And you helped?"
"I was young."
"That isn't an excuse."
"No."
"How much did Victor pay you?"
Pierce looked away.
"Three hundred thousand."
Maya closed her eyes briefly.
Then she opened them.
"And now?"
Pierce's voice broke.
"Now he owns me."
Maya stood.
"No."
Pierce looked up.
"He doesn't own you."
"Yes, he does."
"No."
She pointed toward the door.
"He owns your fear."
Pierce said nothing.
Maya walked out.
That evening, she held a private meeting with Evelyn, Daniel, Samuel, and two attorneys.
They developed a plan.
They would bait Victor.
Maya would announce that she was willing to sell Carter Industrial Solutions.
The asking price would be $30 million.
Victor would believe she was under financial pressure.
He would make an offer.
And when he did, Maya would demand that all negotiations pass through Sterling National.
That would force Victor's network into the open.
Three days later, the announcement appeared.
Carter Industrial Solutions Considering Strategic Acquisition
The financial community reacted immediately.
Victor called Pierce.
"Is she selling?"
"Yes."
"To whom?"
"She hasn't said."
Victor slammed his hand on the desk.
"I want the company."
"Then buy it."
"At what price?"
"Thirty million."
Victor laughed.
"She's desperate."
Pierce didn't respond.
Victor smiled.
"Good."
The offer arrived twenty-four hours later.
$30 million.
Maya rejected it.
Victor increased it to $35 million.
She rejected it again.
$45 million.
Rejected.
$60 million.
Rejected.
Victor became furious.
"What does she want?"
Pierce said:
"Perhaps she doesn't want to sell."
Victor stared at him.
"Then why announce it?"
Pierce didn't know.
But Maya did.
She wanted Victor to reveal how much he was willing to pay.
She wanted his money trail.
She wanted his shell companies.
She wanted his communications.
And she had one more trick.
The supposed sale wasn't real.