Chapter 8
Mara tried to reach for the folder.
Ethan moved one step to the side, blocking her without touching her.
Her eyes flashed.
“Ethan, sit down before you hurt yourself.”
The concern arrived too late to be believable.
Victor tightened his grip on the unsigned documents.
“We should all calm down.”
Ethan almost laughed.
That was what people said when their own words had turned against them.
Calm down.
Move on.
Don’t overreact.
Don’t make this bigger.
But the room was already bigger than the three of them.
The recording was active.
The confession was preserved.
Victor’s sentence about Vale Robotics belonged to someone besides Victor now.
Mara’s whisper about Ethan being useless could not be unspoken.
Ethan lifted his wrist slightly.
The smartwatch reflected the warm clinical light.
Mara saw it again.
“Turn that off.”
“No.”
“You recorded us?”
“You talked.”
Victor’s jaw clenched.
“That is illegal.”
Ethan tilted his head.
“In a private hospital room where you attempted to coerce my signature while discussing my company transfer?”
Victor said nothing.
Mara looked at him sharply.
She had expected Victor to handle legal language.
His silence frightened her.
Ethan looked between them.
For the first time, they were no longer partners in control.
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They were two people calculating who would blame whom first.
Read the full story 👉 The recording did not need to be played in full; its existence was enough to split Mara and Victor’s confidence.
