It’s almost elegant, if you ignore the rot.
You lean forward.
“So you want me to become the villain so the board can buy low and rebuild without me,” you say calmly.
Daniel’s smile tightens. “You always were smart,” he says.
Then he adds, softer, “Don’t do this the hard way.”
You let a silence hang, and in that silence Daniel reveals his real face.
He says, “There’s footage of you ‘approving’ the numbers.”
He says, “There are witnesses who will swear you told them to bury the audit.”
He says, “If you fight, you’ll lose everything anyway.”
And then you say the sentence that changes the room.
“I already have the footage of you handing Miranda the deepfake file,” you reply.
Daniel’s eyes flicker, just once, just enough.
You watch his throat move as he swallows.
At that moment, the federal agent steps forward and flashes a badge.
Daniel freezes like his bones turned to ice.
Marisol stands too, voice sharp as a gavel. “Daniel Roe,” she says, “you are done negotiating with ghosts.”
