A cold dread settled in Caden's gut, tighter than any knot he'd ever faced in a boardroom. The file names on the USB drive screamed 'confidential.' His eyes scanned the illicit data, his jaw clenching. Every instinct told him this was wrong. Elara wouldn't do this. Could she? "No! Caden, I swear to God, I have never seen that before!" Elara’s voice cracked, her hands flying to her mouth. Her face had gone chalk-white, eyes wide with a terror that looked utterly genuine. He watched her, truly watched her. Her breath hitched. A single tear traced a path down her cheek, leaving a faint sheen on her skin. She wasn't acting. This wasn't the calculated move of a corporate spy. "This was planted," he stated, the words flat, heavy. His gaze sharpened, moving from the screen to the briefcase, then back to the device. "It's too perfect. Too convenient." Remembering the hurried, almost frantic way Arthur Vance had insisted on helping Elara organize her files earlier, a flicker of suspicion ignited. Vance had been overly solicitous, too eager to assist with the packing. "Arthur," Elara whispered, as if reading his thoughts. "He was so insistent on helping me pack. He even joked about how messy my briefcase was, offering to ‘tidy’ it for me." Her voice trembled. The pieces clicked into place with an unnerving precision. Arthur Vance. The man who had been subtly undermining Caden for months. The executive who always seemed to be privy to confidential information just a little too soon. "He knew we were close," Caden growled, the realization a bitter taste in his mouth. "He panicked. This is a desperate move to frame you, to buy himself more time." Elara nodded, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, but a spark of resolve now burned within them. "What do we do? We can't let him get away with it."

Chapter 35: A Calculated Gambit