CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT – CORPORATE DAMAGE

Miguel's expression softened slightly as he met her gaze. "We only confirmed it last night. The investigation team found encrypted communications on Alex's work laptop. Once we broke the encryption..." He trailed off, letting the implication hang in the air. The head of the investigation team, a stern-faced woman named Sandra, stepped forward. "Ms. Zaslav, I want to make it clear that you've been cleared of any involvement in the leak. Your brother acted alone." Karina barely registered the words, her focus still on Alex. "Why, Alex? How could you do this to the company? To Miguel? To me?" Alex finally looked up, his eyes brimming with unshed tears. "I'm so sorry, Karina. I never meant to hurt you. It's just... TechRival offered me a partnership. A chance to build something of my own, away from Miguel's shadow. I thought I could help them without really hurting anyone. But then they wanted more and more information, and before I knew it..." "Before you knew it, you were committing