Chapter 4

# Chapter 4: Collateral Damage

The moment I stepped into the press junket, I knew it was a trap. The hotel conference room buzzed with an energy that felt predatory rather than professional. Journalists who normally couldn't be bothered to cover corporate news were packed shoulder-to-shoulder, their expressions hungry for scandal.

"Miss Carter—or should we say Mrs. Shaw?" called out a reporter from the New York Times. "Care to comment on your alleged corporate espionage?"

Another voice cut through the chaos: "Is it true you sold Carter Dynamics' proprietary designs to Chinese manufacturers?"

My heart hammered against my ribs as…