Chapter 3

I answered the video call.

The screen lit up, showing five people in the overseas headquarters conference room.

The woman leading the meeting called my name in Calthamish, "Ms. Reed, thanks for joining us on time. We need to confirm one thing. Did you independently complete the core model for the Valdoria Initiative that was first submitted?"

Before I could answer, another call kept popping up.

It was Edward.

He called three times.

I muted the call. "Yes, I did. I have backups of the original files, revision records, and client interview notes."

The woman nodded. "Please arrive in Valdoria within twenty-four hours for the review defense.

"Headquarters has reserved a flight for you, but we need your confirmation. Will you bypass your current project team and participate directly?"

I stared at the confirm button on the screen.

Before I could tap it, Linda called again.

I didn't pick up.

She sent a voice message instead. "Charlotte, retract all your replies to headquarters emails right now. Mr. Grant is already on the plane. Going over your manager's head is a big no-no."

The woman at headquarters glanced at the materials her assistant handed over. "Ms. Reed, it seems you're facing internal resistance."

I said, "I can handle it."

Only after I spoke did I realize my voice was steady.

It wasn't that I wasn't scared. I'd been scared for so long that there was nothing left to shake.

I hit confirm.

Before the video ended, the woman said, "Please keep your original boarding pass and rebooking records. They'll be part of the review materials."

I looked down at the boarding pass in my hand.

The corners were soft from how tightly I'd been gripping it.

It turned out that a piece of paper left behind could become evidence.

*****

At nine that night, Edward landed.

He called almost immediately. "Charlotte, why did you answer the headquarters video call?"

I'd checked into the airport hotel, and the front desk handed me my room key. "Because the recipient was me."

He was trying to keep his cool. "Do you realize this makes the client think we're fighting internally?"

"Leaving the original proposer stranded at the airport is your idea of unity?" I asked.

He went quiet for a moment, then said, "That was a last-minute arrangement."

I swiped open the door and pushed my suitcase inside. "Edward, a last-minute arrangement doesn't happen to rebook my ticket, take my laptop, and swap out my name."

His voice went icy. "Who told you about changing the name?"

Before the door closed, I saw someone standing at the end of the hallway.

It was Jamie. He was clutching my laptop bag, his face very pale.

I said into the phone, "Take a guess."

Edward's breathing got heavier. "Charlotte, hand the laptop over to the project team. What you're doing is already hurting the company."

Jamie came over, shoved the laptop bag into my hands, barely whispering, "Charlotte, I didn't delete anything. Mr. Grant told me to take the laptop to the venue, but I doubled back to give it to you."

The other end of the phone went dead silent.

I knew Edward heard it.

The next second, he said, "Jamie, don't bother coming to work tomorrow."

Jamie's eyes went red instantly.

I gripped the laptop bag tightly. "He'll be here tomorrow."

Edward snorted. "You're protecting him?"

I looked at Jamie's work badge, clenched in his fist. "Yes."

Saying it out loud made me feel a bit lighter.

But Edward snorted, like I'd cracked a joke. "Charlotte, you haven't renewed your own contract. What do you have to protect anyone with?"

He wasn't wrong.

Renewal was next month.

Twenty-four years left on the mortgage.

My mom's medical report was still under the coffee table, waiting for a follow-up.

These were the chains they used to keep me in line.

Jamie whispered, "Charlotte, forget it. I don't want to drag you down."

I suddenly remembered the year I first joined the company.

Edward took my proposal from someone else and said, "She's with me. If anything goes wrong, I'll handle it."

Back then, he stood in front of the conference table like a door.

Eventually, that door opened.

I found that outside, Sophie was waiting.

On the phone, Sophie's voice came through. "Edward, don't be so hard on Charlotte. It's all my fault. Should I let her take the lead at tomorrow's launch?"

Edward's tone softened immediately. "It's not your fault. Memorize the script tonight and present as usual tomorrow."

Sophie whispered, "But there's so much about the proposal I still don't get."

"Just stick to the script if you don't get it," Edward replied.

I let out a small laugh.

Edward caught that. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," I said.

I opened my laptop and typed in my password.

The folder I worked on for three months was still sitting on my desktop. But now, at the very top, there was a new shared folder.

The name read. [Final Version, Lead: Sophie Quinn.]

When I clicked in, the cover slide of the presentation now showed her name.

My notes weren't completely erased.

There was still a tiny note in the bottom right corner of the second slide.

It read: [Charlotte, 3:42 AM: Redo the gross margin.]

I turned the screen toward Jamie.

He gritted his teeth. "Damn, how can they get away with this?"

Edward said over the phone, "Charlotte, don't make a big deal out of this. Even if you are absent from the launch tomorrow, no one back home will know. When you get back, I'll send an internal email thanking you for your support."

An internal email? Thanking me for my support?

I stared at that note from 3:42 AM. "Edward, seven years of my life, and all I get is a thank-you email?"

There was a pause on the other end.

He spoke more quietly. "Don't bring our personal matters into work."

I shot back, "You're the one who started mixing them."

Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside the door.

A hotel staff member rolled in a food cart and handed me a paper bag. "Ms. Reed, Mr. Grant ordered dinner for you."

Inside the bag were some warm soup and stomach medicine.

Jamie glanced at it and whispered, "Mr. Grant actually..."

I set the paper bag down on the hallway carpet and didn't bring it inside.

On the other end, Edward seemed to catch what the staff said.

His tone softened. "Eat something. Don't take it out on your body. Tomorrow morning, I'll have the driver pick you up, and we'll sit down to talk."

I asked, "Is Sophie coming too?"

He didn't answer.

That told me everything.

I closed the door and plugged in my laptop.

In the email from headquarters, my new flight was already booked.

It was a direct flight to Valdoria, leaving at 1 AM.

As I was printing my boarding pass, the hotel doorbell rang.

Someone slipped a note under the door.

The handwriting was unmistakably Sophie's. [Charlotte, tomorrow's stage means everything to me. Please don't ruin this for me.]