His eyes darted to the doors, then to the windows, as if looking for a way to rewrite the moment.

“Is this a joke, Monica?” Derek asked, his voice shaking with a mixture of anger and fear.

“I don’t joke about our future, Derek,” I said, setting my fork down with a quiet clink.

I reached across the table and tapped the corner of the yellow envelope.

“You’ve always said that transparency is the key to a successful partnership,” I reminded him.

He stared at my finger, then up at my face, realizing for the first time that he had no leverage left.

Richard sat back in his chair, his expression hardening as he looked at his business partner.

“Derek,” Richard said, his voice dropping all pretense of social warmth. “What is in that envelope?”

“Nothing,” Derek hissed, his face flushing a deep, angry red. “It’s a mistake.”

“Then open it and prove it,” I said.

Derek’s hand hovered over the heavy paper, his fingers twitching against the seal.

He looked at Eleanor, then at Richard, realizing that refusing to open it would be just as damaging as showing them the contents.