His voice was low, the same tone he used when he wanted to settle a difficult board meeting.

“No,” I said.

“You are out of your depth,” he said. “This is business.”

“It’s conspiracy,” I said. “And it’s fraud.”

I looked at Clara, who was now standing up straight.

“The encrypted files on this drive contain the entire ledger of the offshore shell accounts,” I said. “The ones you used to buy up Bennett Enterprises stock before the hostile takeover announcement.”

Daniel’s jaw tightened.

A small muscle twitched near his temple.

“You don’t know what you’re looking at,” he said.

“I know enough,” I said. “I know that Arthur’s stroke happened thirty minutes after the SEC tip was filed from your IP address, Daniel.”

Clara took a step toward Daniel, her eyes darting between him and the drive in my hand.

“Daniel, get the drive,” she whispered.

“Stay back,” I said, stepping closer to the open hallway door.

The hallway was cold and smelled of old dust and wet rain.

“Let’s not make this difficult,” Daniel said, his voice dropping an octave. “You enjoy your life, Emily.”