Chapter 6 - Confrontation in the Tower
That same night, at 11:00 PM, the 40th floor of Mercer Tower was silent except for the dull hum of a vacuum cleaner.
Elena was pushing her trash cart down the long hallway, her mind still overwhelmed by the events of the morning. She had tried to call the number on the silver business card a dozen times, but it went straight to an automated executive assistant line. She hadn't touched the money in the envelope; it sat tucked safely inside her coat pocket.
Suddenly, a heavy hand grabbed the handle of her cleaning cart, yanking it back with violent force.
Elena gasped, jumping back.
Standing before her was Gavin Vance—the night operations manager for the third-party janitorial contractor. He was a bloated, red-faced man in his late forties, wearing a wrinkled suit, his eyes bloodshot and smelling faintly of cheap whiskey.
"Where do you think you're going, Elena?" Gavin sneered, leaning in close.
"I'm finishing the executive suites, Mr. Gavin," Elena said quietly, stepping back to maintain her distance.
"No, you're not," Gavin chuckled darkly, pulling a heavy silver object from his pocket and slapping it onto her supply tray. It was a high-end luxury watch encrusted with diamonds. "I found this in the trash bag you pulled from Executive Office 402. You were trying to steal it, weren't you?"
Elena’s eyes widened in horror. "What?! No! I didn't touch anything on that desk! I don't even go into Office 402 until the floor supervisor unlocks it!"
"Save it," Gavin hissed, taking out his phone. "That watch belongs to one of the Senior Vice Presidents. It's worth thirty thousand dollars. Grand larceny, Elena. That's ten years in state prison. Imagine what will happen to your little girl and your baby when social services picks them up tomorrow."
Elena felt the room spin. "Please... Mr. Gavin, I swear on my children's lives, I didn't take it! Why are you doing this?!"
Gavin stepped closer, a disgusting, greedy grin spreading across his face. "I'll make it disappear. But it's going to cost you. You sign a waiver waiving your back pay for the last two months, and you hand over half your paycheck every month for the next year. Or I press the call button for security right now."
Elena fell onto her knees, tears spilling onto the pristine carpet. "Please... I have no money... my baby needs milk..."
"I don't care about your baby," Gavin spat, reaching for his radio. "Decide right now, or your life is over."
"She doesn't need to decide anything," a cold, razor-sharp voice echoed down the hallway. "But you certainly do."
May you like
Gavin froze. Elena looked up through her tears.
At the end of the long corridor, the private executive elevator opened. Stepping out into the dim light was Julian Mercer, dressed in an immaculate dark suit, flanked by two massive security guards and the Director of Human Resources.
