Part 3Secret of the Mango

Five days later, the Apex project wrap-up meeting commenced exactly as planned.

I stood at the head of the massive mahogany conference table, delivering the final financial breakdown. The executives from Apex Corporation were nodding along, looking incredibly pleased.

"Victoria, this report is absolutely stellar. The data is bulletproof, and your market analysis is sharper than anything we've seen in Q3," said Mr. Davis, the CEO of Apex.

"If this is the caliber of leadership we can expect, we are very much looking forward to the next phase of the merger."

A murmur of agreement rippled through the executives.

Everyone in the room knew about my marriage to Oliver. A few of the board members chuckled good-naturedly. "Director Oliver, your wife is an absolute powerhouse. You two are quite the corporate power couple."

Oliver was sitting directly across from me. He wore a perfectly tailored suit and a humble, affectionate smile. He didn't say a word, just raised his coffee mug to me in a silent toast.

As I stepped down from the projector, I swept my eyes across the room. There, sitting quietly in the very back row taking notes, was Molly.

I had no idea how she managed to sneak into an executive-level meeting, but she was keeping her head down.

The meeting was wrapping up. The atmosphere was light and celebratory.

My direct superior, Vice President Harrison, was just leaning into his microphone to adjourn the session.

Suddenly, Molly raised her hand.

"VP Harrison, Mr. Davis, I am so sorry to interrupt," she said. Her voice was clear, ringing with polite hesitation.

"But regarding the core pricing strategy data that Director Victoria just presented... I have a major concern."

The entire boardroom fell dead silent.

"What kind of concern?" VP Harrison asked, his brow furrowing.

Molly turned her big, Bambi eyes toward me. But this time, there was a vicious glint in them.

"Those specific data sets... I've seen them before. They look incredibly familiar."

The bottom fell out of my stomach.

"Seen them?" Mr. Davis of Apex stood up, his face hardening.

"Young lady, are you absolutely certain? That is highly classified, proprietary data shared only between our two firms. Only three people in this entire building have the security clearance to even view it."

"I am absolutely certain." Molly's voice grew stronger, carrying a note of self-righteousness. "I've definitely seen it. But it wasn't on our secure servers. I just... I can't quite remember where."

Every single pair of eyes in the room snapped toward me.

The air in the room turned to lead.

VP Harrison's face flushed an ugly shade of red. He slammed his hand on the table and glared at me, his voice vibrating with suppressed fury.

"Victoria! What the hell is the meaning of this? Explain yourself!"

Oliver slowly lowered his coffee mug. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. His eyes locked onto mine, completely devoid of emotion.

The silence was deafening. They were all waiting for the guillotine to drop on my neck.

I looked at Molly's fake, distressed face. Then I looked at Oliver's dead, shark-like eyes.

A slow, genuine smile spread across my face.

"VP Harrison, Mr. Davis," I said, my voice projecting loud and steady across the room. "Molly is actually telling the truth. It is entirely possible she has seen this data elsewhere."

Chaos erupted.

"Victoria! Are you confessing to this?! Do you have any idea the magnitude of what you've done?!"

VP Harrison was practically spitting, slamming his fist on the mahogany wood.

"This is corporate espionage! It's a federal crime!"

Mr. Davis shoved his chair back violently. "We demand a full audit immediately! Call the authorities!"

"Unbelievable!"

The waves of outrage crashed over me.

Oliver leaned back in his leather chair, his eyes dropping to the table, looking like a man tragically betrayed by his wife.

Molly quickly lowered her head, her shoulders dropping as she relaxed into her victory.

Just as the screaming reached a fever pitch, I casually raised the presentation clicker and pressed the button.

The projector screen behind me flashed. The financial graphs vanished, replaced by a brand new slide.

I let out a soft, icy laugh.

"I said it was possible Molly had seen the data. I never said I was the one who leaked it."