Chapter 6 - THE BETRAYAL DEEPENS
The next morning, the headlines in the local business journal read: Former Premier Event Management COO Arrested for Restraining Order Violation Amidst Massive Fraud Allegations.
The humiliation was complete. Logan was denied bail due to his flight risk and his explicit threats against a key witness—me. He was sitting in a county cell, wearing an orange jumpsuit, his perfectly styled hair growing greasy and unkempt.
But the drama was far from over.
Two days before the civil depositions were set to begin, I received an unannounced visitor at the corporate office. Marcus, my security head, buzzed my intercom.
“Boss, Brianna is here. She says it’s a medical emergency and she needs to speak to you. She’s completely frantic. Do you want me to have her removed?”
I frowned, tapping my pen against my desk. A medical emergency? It was likely another manipulation tactic, but a tiny sliver of curiosity got the better of me. “Send her into the small conference room on the second floor. Do not let her near the executive suite. I’ll be down in five minutes. Keep a guard stationed outside the door.”
When I walked into the sterile, windowless conference room, Brianna was pacing like a trapped animal. She looked terrible—pale, exhausted, wearing baggy sweatpants that were completely out of character for her usually manicured appearance.
When she saw me, she stopped and burst into tears. “You have to help me,” she choked out, dropping into a chair and burying her face in her hands.
“I told you, Brianna, we have nothing left to say to each other,” I said, standing near the door, arms crossed.
She looked up, her eyes red and swollen. “I’m pregnant.”
The words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. For a fraction of a second, the room spun. My husband. My sister. A child. It was the ultimate, grotesque culmination of their betrayal. I felt a surge of nausea, a sudden urge to scream, but I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek until I tasted copper. I would not let her see me bleed.
“Congratulations,” I said, my voice completely devoid of emotion. “I suggest you apply for Medicaid. You’re going to need it.”
“Don't you understand?!” she screamed, slamming her hands on the table. “Logan is in jail! His accounts are frozen! I have no money! The landlord is evicting me on Friday! I am carrying your niece or nephew!”
“You are carrying the product of an affair with a married man,” I corrected her coldly. “Do not try to weaponize biology against me. You made this bed, Brianna.”
She began to sob hysterically, hyperventilating. “He abandoned me! When the money ran out, he told me to get an abortion and disappeared! He said I was a liability! He never loved me! He only used me because I gave him access to the vendor accounts! You have to help me, please! Give me a settlement. Just a little bit of the company money so I can get an apartment! I’ll disappear, I swear!”
I stared at her, watching the pathetic, broken shell of the woman who had smirked at me in a parking garage just weeks ago. She was begging for the very money she had stolen.
“Logan didn't abandon you, Brianna. He got caught,” I said slowly, letting every word sink into her skull. “And you didn't come to me because you feel remorse. You came to me because you backed a losing horse, and now you want a bailout. The answer is no.”
“I’ll go to the press!” she threatened, her desperation making her erratic. “I’ll tell them you left your pregnant sister homeless on the street! It will ruin your reputation!”
I laughed, a harsh, humorless sound that echoed off the walls. “Go ahead. Tell them. Tell them you slept with your sister’s husband, helped him steal four hundred thousand dollars, and are now trying to extort the company. See how the public reacts to that narrative. See how many event planning agencies want to hire a convicted fraudster.”
She stared at me, her mouth opening and closing, realizing she had absolutely no leverage.
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“Here is what is going to happen, Brianna,” I said, leaning over the table. “On Thursday, you are going to sit in a deposition chair, and you are going to testify exactly how Logan masterminded the embezzlement. You are going to hand over every email, every text, and every bank statement proving his guilt. If you cooperate fully, I will ask the district attorney to offer you a plea deal for probation instead of prison time. But you will never see a single dime of my money. If you refuse, I will personally ensure you give birth in a state penitentiary.”
I turned and walked out of the room, leaving her sobbing in the cold, artificial light. The knife had been twisted, and the alliance between the traitors was officially shattered.
