Chapter 11 - A Late Night Meeting With Columbus Top Corporate Attorney
I froze in my chair, holding my breath as Mark’s hand jiggled the office door handle from the hallway outside. Fortunately, I had remembered to click the small privacy latch before turning on the lamp, locking him out.
"Laura? Open the door, what are you doing in my office in the middle of the night?" Mark demanded, his voice turning sharper. I quickly tapped the computer sleep mode button, plunging the desk into total darkness before slipping out the side window.
The side window led directly onto the second-floor veranda roof above the back patio. I crept silently across the slate shingles, dropping lightly onto the grass below without making a single sound. Mark continued pounding on the office door upstairs, entirely unaware that his entire digital empire was now sitting in my pocket.
I got into my SUV parked around the block, unlocked my burner phone, and dialed Julian Vance’s private mobile number. Julian was Columbus’s most formidable corporate litigator, known for destroying white-collar criminals without breaking a sweat. The phone rang twice before Julian’s gruff, sharp voice answered on the other end of the line.
"This better be good, Laura. Do you know what time it is?" Julian asked, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "It's time to file an emergency federal injunction against Crestview Developments and Apex Horizon LLC," I replied steadily.
Silence stretched across the phone line for a long, heavy second before Julian let out a low, appreciative whistle. "You got the master files? The actual server data?" Julian asked, his professional tone instantly snapping into high gear.
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"Every single file, bank statement, and offshore transfer receipt, backed up on an encrypted drive," I confirmed. "Meet me at my downtown office in forty minutes, Laura. Bring coffee and bring the drive," Julian instructed briskly.
"I'll be there," I said, hanging up the phone and shifting the SUV into drive. The night air rushed past my windows as I drove toward downtown Columbus, ready to sign Mark's corporate death warrant.
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