Chapter 3: The Digital Ledger
Clara felt the floor shift. "I don’t understand, sir. I’ve increased sales by twelve percent this quarter. I’ve maintained the prestige—"
"You’ve maintained a culture of fear," Julian interrupted, his voice cutting through her excuses like a diamond on glass. He tapped his phone, and a holographic display projected onto the wall behind them—a series of documents, emails, and recordings.
These weren't just performance reports. They were proof of her systematic discrimination, the way she turned away customers based on appearance, and, most damningly, the embezzled funds she had been funneling into her private offshore account, disguised as 'vendor fees.'
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Clara’s face went white. She had been so busy monitoring the clothes of others that she never bothered to secure her own digital footprint. Every micro-aggression, every instance of theft, and every cruel remark she had ever made was now part of a permanent, undeniable record. The store’s hidden cameras, which she thought were for watching customers, had been watching her.
"You thought the store was a stage for your ego," Julian said, his voice cold and devastatingly final. "It’s a business, Clara. And you are a liability I can no longer afford."
