Chapter 3: The Fallout Begins

The guy finished buttoning his shirt, looked at me, and said, “Listen, I get it, man. Name your price. I’ll pay you to just let this go. Don’t make trouble.”

I stared, not believing what I was hearing. “You want to buy my silence?”

He shrugged. “Not buying silence, just making sure we keep this quiet.”

My girlfriend pulled up by the office building. There, in a ‘Reserved for Executives’ spot, sat a gleaming Porsche. His, obviously. She shot me a look. “Don’t even think about revenge. He’s a vice president from headquarters. You can’t touch someone with that kind of pull.”

Her words barely registered. I wasn’t scared of some corporate suit, but I remembered the coworkers who’d watched the livestream—maybe even higher-ups from both branches. With so many people watching, it’d only be a matter of time before his wife found out. Hell, she was probably watching right now.

Sure enough, his phone started buzzing. He glanced down—the caller ID read ‘Wife.’ His face went white. He hit decline, firing off a quick text: “Busy, call you later.” No sooner had he pocketed his phone than it buzzed again—this time, ‘Chairman.’ He hesitated, thumb hovering over the screen.

My girlfriend nudged him. “It’s the chairman. You should answer—could be important.”

He shot me a death glare, jaw clenched. “No way. Not right now. I don’t know what he might say.” He declined again, sending the same ‘Busy, call you later’ text.

No doubt, both his wife and the chairman had seen the stream. He powered his phone off, muttering, “I’ll call them later, say my phone died or something.”

My girlfriend nodded. “Smart. Good excuse.”

I just shook my head, a bitter laugh bubbling up despite myself. He really shouldn’t have turned off his phone. If he hadn’t, maybe things would still… But the sirens outside got louder, and the next knock on the window wasn’t friendly.