“Because they’ve all been there,” Alicia replied. “They know exactly what we’re up against.”
A soft chime from her computer interrupted them. A new email had arrived.
Sender unknown, subject line blank.
Alicia’s finger hovered over the mouse, remembering Janet’s security warnings from that morning.
“Should we call the tech team?” Sasha asked, concerned.
“No,” Alicia said after a moment. “This came through our new secure server.”
“Someone worked hard to get this message through.”
She opened the email.
The message was brief.
“What they did to you was wrong. I have proof they’re working with regulators to shut you down.”
“Meeting tomorrow night. Location to follow. Come alone.”
Sasha read over her shoulder, frowning.
“It could be a trap.”
“Or it could be exactly what we need,” Alicia replied. “Someone on the inside who’s finally had enough.”
The city lights twinkled beyond her windows as Alicia considered her next move. The round table had given her powerful allies and a clear strategy.
Now, fate seemed to be offering something more. Concrete evidence of corruption.
She forwarded the email to Janet’s team for analysis, then turned to Sasha.
“Have security do a complete sweep of my schedule tomorrow. If this meeting happens, we need to be ready.”
Morning sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Alicia’s office as she reviewed security reports with Janet, her head of cybersecurity. The threats against Rhodes Aviation had escalated overnight, with more attempts to breach their systems.
“They’re getting desperate,” Janet said, pointing to a spike in activity on her tablet. “But our new protocols are holding.”
A knock at the door interrupted them. Sasha entered with Marcus Davidson’s head of security, who carried a small package.
“This just arrived by special courier,” Sasha explained. “Marcus’s team intercepted and scanned it. It’s clean.”
The package contained only a USB drive and a handwritten note.
“Recorded at Elite Jets’ private club last week. They never thought anyone was listening.”
Alicia gestured to Janet, who plugged the drive into a secure, isolated laptop. The first file was an audio recording, slightly muffled, but clear enough to hear familiar voices.
Philip Lancaster’s smug tone filled the room.
“The regulators are all lined up. One phone call and they’ll freeze every asset Rhodes has.”
“Already taken care of,” Daniel Roark replied, his words slightly slurred. “Paid enough to make sure they find irregularities in her books.”
“She’ll be too busy defending herself to cause any more trouble.”
Philip laughed.
“Should have seen her face when we showed her that old plane. Like we’d ever let someone like her into our world.”
“Teach her to know her place,” Daniel added. “Nobody walks away from us.”