Escape from Mr. Whitman (Emma and Theodore) novel Chapter 127

Jared shot up from his chair, seething with anger as he jabbed a finger at Emma. “You stole surveillance footage from the company? Or worse, you installed hidden cameras here without authorization? That’s illegal!”

Emma just smiled, unruffled. “First of all, the footage I reviewed didn’t breach any company interests or leak confidential information. If you really think I broke the law, you’re welcome to sue me. Second, my so–called surveillance actually protected the company. As a shareholder, I was nearly burned alive in the conference room–my life was threatened, and company property was severely damaged. Under those

circumstances, I think it’s entirely reasonable to increase coverage in the company’s blind spots. I doubt our CEO, Mr. Whitman, would object to that. Would you, Mr. Whitman?”

She turned to Theodore, though her mind still echoed with fragments of

their earlier conversation.

“So you think I saved you five years ago just to trick you into marrying me?”

“Yes.”

That single, cold word-“Yes“-hit her like a stone, the ache in her chest still radiating, refusing to fade.

Pressing a hand to her chest, she forced the pain down and managed another smile. “Or is there something you’re hiding, Mr. Whitman? Something you’re desperate to cover up?”

She was, after all, a shareholder too.

When they married, Theodore had given her ten percent of the company’s shares. Yet she’d never truly been involved in its operations.

Not for lack of willingness–she’d always wanted to. But this company, built by Theodore, Jared, and their friends, had always felt like it was surrounded by invisible walls she could never break through.

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Theodore’s cheek still bore the imprint of her hand–the marks of her fingernails vivid against his striking features.

Was he hurting too? His eyes were rimmed red; was it pain?

But what exactly did it hurt him to lose? That she’d exposed his carefully guarded secrets?

Emma let out a small, ironic laugh. “Cat got your tongue, Mr. Whitman? Or are you struggling to decide which is the bigger offense: me installing extra cameras, or the recordings of the executive board colluding, fabricating witnesses, committing arson and murder, and finding a scapegoat to take the fall?”

“You’re despicable!” Jared had dropped the pretense of legality—he knew all too well which was the greater crime. Now he turned his rage on Theodore. “Theo! Look at her! Look what you married! All these years–you’ve been feeding a wolf! A modern–day Aesop’s Farmer and the Snake, that’s what you are!”

Farmer and the Snake…

Emma sneered. She wondered how Jared even dared to utter that

comparison.

Who was the farmer here? And who was the snake?

Hanley, more composed than Jared, pointed at Emma. “Those surveillance videos were recorded under questionable circumstances. They’d never hold up in court.”

Emma laughed outright. “And you call yourself a shareholder and a VP? No wonder the company’s been circling the drain–it’s because of useless dead weight like you!”

Hanley’s composure cracked. “Who the hell do you think you’re talking

to?”

“I’m talking to you! Who else?” Emma shot back, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “You seriously think your contributions are worth bragging about? Do you believe the company owes its current status to you? Ask

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yourself honestly–what have you actually done? Theodore should count himself lucky to know you. If it weren’t for you two, he’d be running one of the top firms in the country by now! But thanks to your utter incompetence, you’ve dragged him down every step of the way!”

Jared and Hanley were livid, their faces twisted with fury.

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