Chapter 2 - Five Minutes
Daniel spent those five minutes laughing.
He returned to his office with Vanessa beside him.
She poured champagne.
It was barely noon.
Daniel accepted the glass.
“She finally lost it.”
Vanessa smiled.
“She has been losing it for years.”
Daniel looked toward the city beyond the glass walls.
“She thinks she can threaten me.”
“She can't.”
“I built this company.”
Vanessa leaned against his desk.
“And I told you she was dead weight.”
Daniel nodded.
That phrase had been repeated so often that he had stopped questioning it.
Dead weight.
Emily had heard it before.
She had heard it from Daniel.
She had heard it from Vanessa.
She had heard variations of it from executives who had no idea how many problems Emily had solved behind closed doors.
What they didn't know was that Emily had never needed public credit.
She had always preferred silence.
That had been her advantage.
While Daniel built relationships, Emily built structures.
While Daniel signed deals, Emily studied the contracts.
While Daniel celebrated acquisitions, Emily tracked ownership.
While Daniel believed he controlled the company, Emily quietly maintained the one thing he had never bothered to understand.
The legal architecture beneath it.
Daniel's phone rang.
He answered.
“What?”
His CFO sounded nervous.
“Sir, we have a problem.”
Daniel frowned.
“What kind?”
“Some internal authorization requests are being rejected.”
“By whom?”
“We don't know.”
“Fix it.”
“We're trying.”
Daniel hung up.
Vanessa laughed.
“Probably some software issue.”
Daniel smiled.
“Exactly.”
Another phone rang.
This time it was his general counsel.
Daniel answered.
“Make it quick.”
“Daniel, have you spoken to Emily?”
His expression hardened.
“Why?”
“She just contacted Mark Reynolds.”
Daniel sat up.
“About what?”
“I don't know.”
“Find out.”
The attorney hesitated.
“There is something else.”
“What?”
“A court filing was submitted this morning.”
Daniel's smile disappeared.
“What court filing?”
“We're trying to determine that.”
Daniel stood.
“You're telling me you don't know what has been filed against my company?”
“We're working on it.”
“Work faster.”
He hung up.
Vanessa looked concerned.
“Could she really do something?”
Daniel scoffed.
“She has no authority.”
Vanessa smiled.
“Then there's nothing to worry about.”
Daniel nodded.
But something bothered him.
He remembered Emily's voice.
Five minutes.
He checked the clock.
Four minutes had passed.
Then his computer chimed.
A notification appeared.
AUTHORIZATION REQUEST DENIED.
Daniel stared at it.
A second appeared.
Then a third.
He grabbed the mouse.
“What the hell?”
Vanessa came closer.
The screen changed.
ACCESS RESTRICTED.
Daniel typed his password.
Denied.
Again.
Denied.
His assistant called.
“Mr. Carter?”
“What?”
“I think you should come to the operations floor.”
“Why?”
“Something is happening with the payment systems.”
Daniel's face hardened.
“Lock everything.”
“We can't.”
“Why?”
The assistant's voice shook.
“Because someone already did.”
Daniel looked at Vanessa.
She had stopped smiling.
The elevator doors opened.
Emily stepped into the lobby downstairs.
Her attorney was waiting outside.
She walked toward him.
Mark looked at her hair.
He didn't comment.
Instead, he opened the passenger door.
Emily got inside.
Mark sat behind the wheel.
“You ready?”
Emily looked through the window at the enormous headquarters.
“Yes.”
“What do you want first?”
Emily answered without hesitation.
“The accounts.”
Mark nodded.
“And after that?”
May you like
Emily looked at the building again.
“Everything Daniel thought he owned.”
