Chapter 6
IT confirmed it by morning.
Daniel had accessed my work email from my home laptop two nights before the meeting.
He had downloaded client documents.
Sent the withdrawal email.
Then deleted it from my sent folder.
He had also forwarded internal pricing strategy to his personal account.
That last part changed everything.
Company legal became involved.
So did outside counsel.
So did the police, eventually.
Denise called me into a secure video meeting.
I expected disappointment.
Instead, the first person on screen was Alicia Grant, our outside attorney.
“Emily, we need your statement.”
I gave it.
Calmly at first.
Then not calmly.
When I described Daniel throwing the proposal onto the restaurant floor, my voice cracked.
Alicia waited.
No one rushed me.
When I finished, she said, “This is workplace interference, unauthorized system access, possible identity fraud, theft of confidential business materials, and coercive control affecting your employment.”
Coercive control.
The phrase felt too formal for how ugly it felt.
But it fit.
May you like
Daniel had not only been jealous.
He had been managing the size of my life.
