Accused of Treason

Kael

After the conflict in Banjo's penthouse office yesterday, his security detail had dragged me back to the estate, locking me inside my room like a criminal who had done something wrong.

BANG.

The door busted open, startling me three muscular men in black surged. Before I could even stand, two of them grabbed my arms, sweeping me off my feet, pinning my hands behind me

"Let go of me!" I shouted out, my voice dryer from hours of silence.

The guards didn't answer, they simply held me tight and holded me towards the hallway.

A moment later, Banjo stepped into the hallway, losing his buttoned shirt and sitting on the sofa. His eyes were on me completely bloodshot with hatred.

In his right hand, he held a folder and in his other hand his laptop.

"Leave us," Banjo growled, the two security guards instantly released my arms, stepping out and closing the door behind.

He stared at me for a long, agonizing minute, as if wanting to rip every single part of me into pieces.

"You deceitful, disgusting leech," Banjo snapped, as it should be I didn't flinch. I stood straight, looking him dead in the eye "I told you yesterday, Banjo. I didn't touch those servers. Tahlia and Jarrah are framing me."

Banjo let out a short, terrifying laugh, shaking his head slowly as he tossed the folder onto the sofa beside me.

"Still lying," he said, stepping closer until he was standing right over me. "Still blaming a sick girl and an old man who served my family for thirty years. Look at the papers, Merinda! Look at what you did!"

I looked down at the documents scattered on the sofa.

They weren't just server logs. Printed across the white pages were private bank wire confirmations, encrypted email chains, and digital signatures.

Recipient: Baden Lawson — Lawson Global Holdings.

Sender: Merinda Vance.

Transaction Amount: $50,000,000 USD.

"Baden Lawson," Banjo spat out, his voice shaking with a fine of anger. "My mortal enemy. The man who has spent ten years trying to ruin my family's legacy. You didn't just leak corporate files to him, Merinda. You sold him our complete internal risk assessment. You gave him the exact key he needed to execute that hostile takeover."

"I didn't send those emails, Banjo!" I shouted, my voice cracking with helpless, burning frustration. "Look at the master code! Look at the routing headers! Anyone with administrative access to the chalet's central router could have spoofed my MAC address!"

Banjo reached out, his hands grabbing my neck pulling me forward until my chest pressed against his. His face was inches from mine, his warm breath smelling of stale whiskey and cold coffee.

"I saved you," he growled into my face, his eyes burning with tears of pure rage. "When your pathetic father died leaving you in absolute ruin, I took you in! I gave you a roof! I gave you food! I gave you the Vance name so your father's creditors wouldn't throw you in a hole! And you sold my trade secrets to Baden Lawson for fifty million dollars?!"

"I don't need your fifty million dollars!" I screamed back, three years of buried dignity finally exploding from my lips as I glared into his bloodshot eyes. "I never wanted your name! I never wanted your money! I stayed in this golden cage because I had to, Banjo! You think you're a savior? You're a blind, arrogant fool who can't see that the snake in your bed isn't me it's Tahlia!"

SLAP.

The sound echoed through the room, my head snapped to the side, my cheek burning with a red hot sting. I stumbled back.

I looked at him for a fraction of a second, a flash of horrifying regret flickered across his eyes as he looked at my face, red and swollen from his strike.

Then, his jaw locked hard, his expression hardening back.

"Don't you ever speak her name again," he growled, his voice trembling. "You are guilty of corporate treason, Merinda. The Zurich Federal Police are at the front gates right now."

He turned on his heel, walking toward the door. But as his hand touched the door knob, his personal cell phone began to ring.

Banjo pulled the phone out, answering it with a harsh, irritated bark. "What is it?"

A man's voice smooth, refined, and chillingly familiar echoed clearly through the phone's speaker into the quiet room.

"Good morning, Banjo," "I just wanted to thank you for the documents. Your wife was remarkably easy to work with though I must admit, her secret partner was even better.”