She’d learned to wield it.
August interrupted sharply.
“Then explain.”
Sloane gulped.
“The records weren’t falsified.”
Margaret remained quiet.
Sloane hurried on.
“They were temporarily moved back into review because Elena’s projects were creating budget exposure.”
“By whose authority?” I asked.
“Executive oversight.”
“Whose?”
She turned toward Camden.
He met her eyes.
Something between them broke then.
Not affection.
Camden confused secrecy with closeness.
Trust was what ended.
Sloane whispered, “Camden’s.”
He jumped up, sending his chair against the wall.
“I never authorized you to alter records.”
“You told me to fix the Elena problem.”
A chill swept through me.
Camden glanced at me.
“Sloane.”
“You said she was becoming a liability.”
“I did not tell you to falsify approvals.”
“You said you needed documented cause before the succession vote.”
There it was again.
Not some intricate plot.
Something more disturbing.
Something painfully commonplace.
Camden wanted my removal.
