“It’s fraud,” I said.

“It is business,” she corrected. “And it is worth three hundred million dollars to the combined entity.”

I scraped the charcoal pencil across a scrap piece of paper, leaving a black smear.

“What is your offer?” I asked.

“Ten percent,” she said.

“Thirty million dollars.”

The number hung in the quiet of the studio.

“All you have to do is destroy the physical drive,” Clara said.

“And the backups?” I asked.

“You will hand over the encryption keys to me, and only me.”

“And Daniel?”

“Daniel will be told the files were lost during your transition,” she said.

“He won’t believe that,” I said.

“He will have no choice if the files never surface,” Clara replied.

I looked at the silver flash drive resting on my desk.

It looked small and harmless under the dim lamp.

“Why should I trust you to pay me?” I asked.

“Because I want this merger to go through more than I want to punish you,” she said.

“Daniel wants both,” I remarked.

“Exactly,” Clara said. “Which is why you need to deal with me.”