I came home early to surprise my fiancée—and found our housekeeper tied to a marble column, sobbing while Vanessa held a lighter inches from her face. “She needed to learn her place,” Vanessa snapped when she saw me. I stared at the woman I was supposed to marry, then quietly locked the front door. “No, Vanessa,” I said, pulling out my phone. “Tonight, you’re going to learn yours.” She still had no idea what I had just discovered about her. / Chapter 6 / 10

Chapter 6 - The Fall of ApexThe morning sun broke over the Seattle skyline, casting long, sharp shadows across the glass facade of Mercer Aerospace headquarters.

I sat behind my executive desk on the top floor, watching the financial news tickers scroll across my multi-monitor setup. On Bloomberg, the headline flashed in bold red letters: APEX INDUSTRIES SHARES HALTED AFTER FBI RAID; CEO ARTHUR VANCE RETAINS EMERGENCY COUNSEL.

The door to my office opened quietly, and Agent Vance from Blackwood Investigations stepped inside, holding a thick manila folder.

“Morning, Elijah,” Vance said, tossing the folder onto my desk. “You’re looking remarkably rested for a man who dismantled a billion-dollar conspiracy in under twelve hours.”

“Sleep is a powerful restorative when the air in your house stops smelling like betrayal,” I replied, opening the folder. “What’s the damage on Apex?”

“Total devastation,” Vance grinned, pulling up a chair. “Federal prosecutors have locked down their entire R&D division. The proprietary propulsion schematics Vanessa transmitted were intercepted before they could be fully implemented, meaning their copied patents are legally dead in the water. Arthur Vance is facing twenty years under the Economic Espionage Act, and his board has officially voted to liquidate their remaining assets.”

I traced my finger along the edge of the financial report. “And Vanessa?”

“Arraigned an hour ago at the federal district court downtown. Her defense attorney tried to argue she was manipulated by Vance, but when the prosecutors played the audio files of her bragging about cleaning out your corporate trust... let’s just say the judge wasn't sympathetic. She’s being held without bail at the federal detention center.”

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I leaned back in my leather chair, letting out a long, measured breath. The chapter of my life involving Vanessa was officially closed—sealed behind iron bars and federal indictments.

“Good,” I said, standing up and straightening my suit jacket. “Let’s go down to the engineering floor. It’s time to show the team that Mercer Aerospace is stronger than ever.”