"All I need is the prototype breakdown. Just enough to give her competitors a head start. Nothing too obvious. You'll be careful, of course."
Susan didn't take the envelope.
So Darla sighed… not irritated, but almost bored.
"Let me tell you a little secret." She set down her tea with a soft clink. "Jean thinks she's free. That she's finally built a life without the Adams name." Her gaze sharpened. "But people like her don't get happy endings. Not while I'm alive."
The girl looked down at her lap. "If I do this… she'll be ruined."
Darla lifted one elegant brow. "And your career? It'll go exactly where I decide it should."
A beat of silence.
Then the envelope was taken.
Darla smiled.
Victory was best served with lemon and silence.
___________________________
Later that night…
The office floor was dark, bathed in blue security lights that cast long shadows across the marble.
