Agent Reyes placed a document on the table.
“We have several.”
While the investigators read Vittorio his rights, Evan reached beneath the table and pulled out his phone.
His thumb moved rapidly across the screen.
Avery saw it.
“He’s deleting something.”
An officer took the phone, but Evan laughed nervously.
“Too late.”
Avery turned to the laptop.
A deletion request had struck the company server.
Then a green notice appeared.
REQUEST CAPTURED.
ARCHIVE PRESERVED.
She had designed the system to quarantine destructive commands and record their origin before they executed.
“No,” she said.
“It isn’t too late.”
She opened the captured request.
It contained a list of accounts, transfer schedules, and encrypted instructions directing Evan to destroy the Stanford evidence after Monday’s takeover vote.
The authorization token was registered to Vittorio’s private office.
Agent Reyes read the screen and nodded to her colleague.
Vittorio finally looked uncertain.
The officers escorted him from the conference room without spectacle.
No shouting.
No dramatic struggle.
Just the quiet closing of handcuffs beneath the cuffs of an expensive suit.
Evan followed minutes later after agreeing to cooperate.
The board meeting began at 12:07 a.m.
Avery sat at the head of the conference table with Elena beside her.
Dante remained near the door until Avery asked him to present the loan-transfer documents.
The directors voted unanimously to remove Evan, reject the fraudulent takeover, acknowledge the independent trust, and authorize full cooperation with investigators.
At 1:16 a.m., Avery retained control of her company.
At 1:17, she walked outside and cried for the first time that night.
Sophie found her beside the darkened infinity pool.
“You saved your company,” Sophie said.
“At your wedding.”
“Technically, the ceremony happened before the arrests.
That means the marriage is still the main event.”
Avery laughed through her tears.
Sophie wrapped her arms around her.
“Also, for the record, I’m not angry about the secret kiss.
I’m angry that the photographer used my good side and your terrified one.”
“There was a photographer?”
“A catering supervisor working for Evan.
Security found the camera.”
Marcus joined them and told Sophie that the guests were still waiting.
The band had resumed playing, the cake had not melted, and the ocean terrace remained bright with candles.
Sophie looked toward Dante, who stood alone beneath the orchids.
“What happens with him?” she asked.
“I don’t know.”
Avery crossed the terrace.
Dante watched her approach but did not move closer.
“The board approved the trust,” she said.
“Good.”
“Your uncle was right about one thing.
You tried to control the situation.”
