Chapter 7 - When Everything Falls ApartBy eight in the morning, Cain Technologies was in crisis.
By eight fifteen, three financial news outlets were reporting that Mercury Systems had “serious concerns” about undisclosed liabilities discovered during acquisition negotiations.
By eight thirty, Cain Technologies stock had dropped nine percent.
By nine, Dominic had stopped making jokes.
Liv had never seen that before.
Not truly.
He joked when nervous.
He flirted when cornered.
He used humor like armor.
But as he stood inside the executive conference room surrounded by lawyers, accountants, and board representatives, there was nothing playful left in him.
“Who had access?” he asked.
Marcus Hale sat across the table.
The CFO appeared calm.
Too calm, Liv thought.
“Twenty-seven people,” Marcus replied. “Possibly more if documents were forwarded outside the secure system.”
“They weren’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Because IT logs external transfers.”
Marcus shrugged.
“Then perhaps someone photographed them.”
Liv watched him carefully.
Dominic did too.
Richard Cain arrived ten minutes later.
His entrance altered the atmosphere immediately.
He had Dominic’s height and almost none of his warmth.
Silver hair.
Perfect suit.
Cold eyes.
He looked at Liv once.
Then ignored her.
Dominic did not.
“Liv stays.”
Richard had not asked her to leave.
That made the statement more pointed.
“I didn’t say otherwise,” Richard replied.
“You were thinking it loudly.”
Liv almost smiled.
Wrong time.
Marcus placed several pages on the table.
“The leak includes internal projections showing Mercury’s enterprise unit underperforming by fourteen percent.”
Dominic looked at him.
“Those projections were preliminary.”
“The market won’t care.”
“Our legal team will.”
“The legal team cannot stop shareholders from reacting.”
Richard spoke.
“The acquisition should be terminated.”
Too fast.
Liv looked at him.
Dominic leaned back.
“You decided that quickly.”
“I decided it three months ago.”
“Because you opposed the deal from the beginning.”
“Because it’s overpriced.”
“It gives us infrastructure we cannot build internally for five years.”
“At a premium we’ll regret.”
Dominic’s tone sharpened.
“This isn’t about your opinion of the deal anymore.”
“No,” Richard replied. “It’s about whether the board still trusts you to execute it.”
There it was.
Liv felt the room tighten.
Dominic’s face became unreadable.
Marcus looked down.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Liv opened her laptop.
“Do we know exactly when the files were accessed?”
Marcus glanced at her.
“This is an executive discussion.”
Dominic’s head turned slowly.
Liv did not need to speak.
The temperature in the room seemed to change.
Marcus corrected himself.
“I mean, IT is still reviewing logs.”
Liv smiled sweetly.
“I’m sure.”
Richard watched the exchange.
“Dominic, control your staff.”
Dominic’s voice was almost pleasant.
“Careful.”
Richard stared.
Dominic continued.
“You can criticize me. You can criticize the deal. You do not speak about Liv as if she’s a problem I’m failing to manage.”
“This is precisely why your relationship creates risk.”
Liv closed her laptop.
“Actually, I think we have a larger risk.”
Everyone looked at her.
She stood.
The room was filled with men who collectively controlled billions of dollars.
Three days ago, that might have intimidated her.
Today she was too angry.
“The leaked documents aren’t random.”
Marcus frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Liv walked toward the screen.
“Page twelve.”
One of the analysts projected the leaked file.
“These numbers are from the February model.”
“Yes,” Marcus said.
“No.”
She pointed.
“The February model was revised on March second because Mercury changed customer-retention assumptions.”
Dominic’s expression sharpened.
“You’re right.”
Liv continued.
“The leaked file contains February revenue projections but March operating-cost assumptions.”
Silence.
Marcus looked at the screen.
“That’s impossible.”
“Exactly.”
Dominic stood.
Liv looked at him.
“Someone built this document.”
Richard frowned.
“For what purpose?”
“To make the acquisition look worse than it is,” Liv said. “This isn’t a leak. It’s fabrication.”
Dominic turned toward Marcus.
“Who has access to both model versions?”
Marcus answered too quickly.
“Anyone in finance.”
Liv looked at him.
“No.”
Marcus’s eyes shifted toward her.
“The February model was archived after March second. Standard access permissions were removed.”
One of the finance analysts nodded slowly.
“She’s correct.”
Marcus’s jaw tightened.
Dominic’s voice became dangerously calm.
“Who retained access?”
The analyst checked his computer.
“CFO office. CEO office. Acquisition legal counsel.”
Richard spoke.
“And Liv?”
“No,” the analyst replied. “Her access was to final board packets only.”
Marcus leaned back.
“So there are still several possibilities.”
“Yes,” Liv said. “Including you.”
The room went silent.
Marcus smiled.
“That’s quite an accusation.”
“It’s an observation.”
“From the CEO’s girlfriend.”
There it was.
The weapon everyone had feared.
Liv felt the impact.
Dominic stepped forward.
She stopped him with one look.
No.
She needed to handle this.
“Yes,” Liv said. “I’m dating Dominic.”
Marcus’s smile widened slightly.
“And that fact has absolutely nothing to do with document metadata.”
His expression changed.
Liv continued.
“Every internal financial template embeds creator data.”
The analyst looked surprised.
Marcus did not.
That was enough.
Dominic saw it too.
“Pull the metadata,” he said.
Marcus stood.
“This is ridiculous.”
“Sit down.”
Dominic’s voice cut through the room.
Marcus stared at him.
Dominic repeated, quieter.
“Sit down.”
Marcus remained standing.
Security entered twenty seconds later.
The metadata did not identify Marcus.
It identified his executive analyst, Peter Rowe.
But Peter had been on medical leave for eleven days.
His credentials had been used remotely.
Someone had logged into the finance server through his account at 12:42 the previous night.
From inside the building.
Security footage showed Marcus entering the executive floor at 12:31.
He claimed he had forgotten a folder.
No footage showed him carrying anything out.
Dominic suspended him pending investigation.
Marcus left without protest.
That frightened Liv more than anger would have.
When the room finally emptied, Richard remained.
“So.”
Dominic stared at him.
“So?”
“You were right.”
“I’m framing that sentence.”
Richard ignored the joke.
“I knew Marcus had concerns.”
Liv looked at him.
“That’s what you meant on the phone.”
Richard’s expression tightened.
“He approached me two weeks ago.”
Dominic went still.
“And you didn’t tell me.”
“He said the acquisition models were manipulated.”
“By whom?”
“You.”
The word landed heavily.
Dominic laughed once.
“You believed him?”
“I investigated.”
“Behind my back.”
“Yes.”
“Did you give him anything?”
Richard hesitated.
Dominic’s expression changed.
Liv felt dread.
“What did you give him?”
“A board-access report.”
Dominic stared.
“You gave my CFO confidential governance information while he was building a case against me?”
“I did not know that.”
“You were trying to weaken me.”
“I was trying to protect my investment.”
“Same thing.”
Richard’s face hardened.
“This is business.”
“No,” Dominic said. “This is what you always do. You call control responsibility and betrayal strategy.”
Richard’s expression flashed with anger.
“You’re being emotional.”
“Yes.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“For once, I am.”
Liv had never heard him sound like that.
“You spent my entire life teaching me emotion was weakness,” Dominic continued. “You taught me marriage was performance. Loyalty was temporary. Trust was leverage.”
Richard looked at Liv.
“This is her influence.”
Dominic laughed.
“No. This is me finally realizing I don’t want to become you.”
The words struck harder than shouting.
Richard’s face went pale beneath the controlled expression.
Liv wanted to leave.
This was family.
Private.
But Dominic reached backward without looking.
His hand found hers.
Stay.
So she stayed.
Richard looked at their joined hands.
Then at his son.
“You think she changes everything?”
“No.”
Dominic’s voice softened.
“She makes me want to.”
Richard said nothing.
Then he left.
The door closed.
Dominic remained motionless.
Liv squeezed his hand.
“You okay?”
“No.”
“Good.”
He looked at her.
“That’s my thing.”
“You stole it first.”
A weak smile appeared.
Then disappeared.
“The deal may be dead.”
“Maybe.”
“The stock is falling.”
“Yes.”
“My CFO probably committed corporate sabotage.”
“Allegedly.”
“My father helped him.”
“Accidentally.”
Dominic looked exhausted.
“And somehow the thing bothering me most is that Marcus called you my girlfriend like it invalidated everything you said.”
Liv’s chest tightened.
“People will.”
“I hate it.”
“So do I.”
He turned toward her.
“What if this ruins your career here?”
The question surprised her.
“Dominic.”
“What if every success becomes attached to me now?”
“Then I build a record they can’t ignore.”
“What if that’s not enough?”
Liv thought about it.
“Then I leave.”
His face changed.
“Not you.”
“You asked.”
“I meant leave the position.”
“So did I.”
He looked almost wounded.
Liv softened.
“I won’t stay somewhere that refuses to see me because of who I love.”
His eyes searched hers.
“But I’m not leaving you.”
The relief on his face was immediate.
Almost embarrassing.
Liv smiled.
“You really do have abandonment issues.”
“Severe.”
“Therapy.”
“I’ll consider it.”
“Not optional.”
“Fine.”
Her phone rang.
Margaret.
Liv answered.
“Hi.”
Margaret did not bother with greetings.
“We have another problem.”
Liv closed her eyes.
“Of course we do.”
“A reporter contacted communications.”
Dominic moved closer.
“What about?”
Margaret continued.
“They have photos.”
Liv’s stomach dropped.
“What photos?”
“You and Dominic leaving the office together Monday night. You entering his building last night.”
Dominic cursed.
Margaret continued.
“They’re preparing a story suggesting the Mercury deal was compromised because Dominic was distracted by an inappropriate workplace relationship.”
Liv’s fingers went cold.
Dominic took the phone.
“Who gave them the photos?”
“We don’t know.”
“When does it publish?”
“Possibly within the hour.”
Dominic looked at Liv.
The crisis had changed.
This was no longer only business.
They were the story now.
Margaret’s voice softened.
“Liv, I need you to understand something.”
“What?”
“Once this publishes, people are going to dig through your entire career.”
Liv looked at Dominic.
For the first time since their relationship began, fear outweighed excitement.
Not because she doubted him.
Because the world had finally noticed them.
And the world was about to decide what their story meant before they had even learned how to live it themselves.
The article published at 11:06.
The headline read:
May you like
CAIN CEO’S SECRET OFFICE ROMANCE RAISES QUESTIONS AMID $700M DEAL COLLAPSE.
By noon, Liv’s name was trending.
Related Stories
