Chapter 4: The Checkmate
Panic set in on Marcus's face. "You're bluffing! You don't have proof of anything!"
"Oh, but I do," Elena replied. She snapped her fingers. The massive digital screens around the showroom, meant to display car specs, suddenly flickered.
An audio recording began to play out loud, echoing off the walls:
“I want this dealership to fail... Get me those codes, and I’ll make you the General Manager of my flagship store...”
It was Marcus’s voice. Clear as day.
Marcus spun around wildly. "Who recorded that?! Where did you get that?!"
From the back of the room, stepping into the light, was Derek. He was wearing a simple, clean suit. He pointed directly at Marcus. "I did. The moment you offered me the bribe, I went straight to Miss Vance."
Flashback to three days ago: Derek standing in Elena’s office, handing over the envelope of cash. “She punished me, yes,” Derek had told Marcus’s men earlier, “But she was right. I was a monster. I’m not going back to being that guy.” Elena had wired Derek to catch Marcus confessing to corporate espionage and grand theft.
"You little rat!" Marcus lunged at Derek, but two massive security guards intercepted him, pinning him to the floor.
"The police are already waiting outside, Marcus," Elena said, walking over and looking down at her defeated rival. "Attempted grand larceny, corporate sabotage, and bribery. Vance Global’s legal team is also filing a lawsuit that will effectively liquidate your entire company. You're finished."
The room erupted into applause. The wealthy clients, seeing Elena's sheer brilliance and ruthlessness in protecting her assets, were practically throwing their checkbooks at her. They wanted to do business with a winner.
As the police dragged a screaming, thrashing Marcus out of the dealership, Elena turned to Derek.
"You did well, Derek," she said softly.
May you like
Derek bowed his head. "I just did what was right, Miss Vance. I’ll get back to cleaning the floors now."
"No," Elena stopped him. "You passed the test. You proved that character can change."
