The air in the study still held the tension of Elise Monroe’s visit. Lena stood at the window, arms folded, eyes focused on the path the reporter had taken as she exited the estate. The flash drive she left behind sat untouched on the table.
Carson moved toward it slowly, like it was a detonator. He picked it up, weighed it in his hand.
“She’s either brave, reckless, or both,” he said quietly.
Lena turned to him. “Or smart enough to know what this means—for all of us.”
They inserted the drive into Carson’s encrypted laptop. Dozens of documents loaded: emails, scanned contracts, transcribed calls, and a series of folders labeled Project Eden, Asset Proxy, and one simply named Inheritance.
“What the hell is this?” Carson muttered.
Lena leaned in. “Open ‘Inheritance.’”
Inside were legal drafts, reassignments of board shares, and false letters of recommendation—allegedly from Carson’s late father, praising Vanessa’s ‘executive acumen.’ The digital signatures had been forged.
And at the bo
