CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FIFTEEN - The Dangerous Edge of Desire

The strain began to show. Mara's days became a blur of clandestine meetings, coded communications, and sleepless nights poring over reports and data logs. She found herself second-guessing every interaction, wondering who she could truly trust. Meanwhile, the internal strife at The Keppler Heritage continued to simmer. Although Mara had made progress in rebuilding trust among much of the staff, there remained a core group loyal to Clarissa who viewed Mara's leadership with skepticism. Rumors of the leak investigation began to circulate, fueling paranoia and division within the company. Unbeknownst to Mara, her suspicions about Clarissa were correct. While Clarissa hadn't been directly responsible for the initial leak, she had indeed been working closely with Vincent, feeding him information and helping to orchestrate the campaign against The Keppler Heritage. Vincent, for his part, was proving to be a master manipulator. He had carefully cultivated his relationship with Clarissa, pl