EPISODE 8: THE RECKONING ## CHAPTER 1: THE INVESTIGATION James had assembled a team. Three private investigators, two forensic accountants, and a cybersecurity firm that usually worked for governments. All focused on one question: who leaked the contract details to the press? "The source had access to files that existed only on my personal server," James explained to Elena over breakfast. "Three people have that access: me, Katherine, and my head of IT security." "You trust Katherine." "Completely. Which leaves Marcus Chen—no relation to the architecture firm—who's worked for me for five years without a single incident." "So someone else got access." "That's what we need to find out." James's jaw tightened. "Someone infiltrated my systems. Someone wanted to destroy us." Elena thought about the list of people who might want that. It wasn't short. Victoria Reed, obviously—but she'd been under investigation since the revelation about Emma, and her movements were monitored. Richard Morrison—their partnership had soured, but corporate sabotage seemed beneath him. The competitors David Chen had mentioned—possible, but they'd want financial secrets, not personal ones. "What about my ex?" she asked quietly. "David was already investigating you. He had the motivation." "My people are looking into him too." James reached across the table, taking her hand. "We'll find whoever did this. And when we do, they'll regret...