Chapter 55
The room dimmed and the video screen sprang to life. It was controlled offsite by Ash. She and Ash had coordinated this move.
The time stamp was current and showed a plane landing. The video zoomed in, revealing closeups of the Solveig Consortium headquarters in the background.
On the other side of the table, the Solveigs gasped.
The plane door opened and two Tremaine Security personnel stepped out. They were joined by a third man. He looked worse for wear—his hair was disheveled and his face looked haggard. His hands were clasped in front of him, a jacket draped over them.
Beneath the jacket, his hands were shackled together. Portia, Dizzie, and Taryn had agreed that they couldn’t take any chances. Phillip Tremaine was a slippery bastard.
One of the guards pulled out a phone. Seconds later, her phone rang.
She answered, then put it on speaker. “This is Portia Tremaine.”
“Ms. Tremaine? This is Landry. We’ve just landed at the airport with Mr. Tremaine, but there’s no one here to meet us.”
“I’m working on the transfer as we speak. I’m putting you on hold.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She pressed the mute button, restricting the conversation to those in the room. “Would you please send someone to pick him up?”
Both Solveigs stared wide-eyed at Portia and Dizzie. Finally, Mr. Solveig picked up his phone. He spoke quickly and angrily in Swedish to whomever answered.
Portia caught the word Tremaine , but that was all she could understand. “Translation, now.” She wasn’t going to let a little thing like a language barrier tank this agreement. Her gaze caught Aleks’s across the room.
Aleks circled the table to stand behind Portia and Dizzie. “He’s demanding that a car with a security team get to the tarmac now. He wants them to prove that it really is Tremaine on the plane.” His fingers brushed her shoulder and she shivered.
“How does he plan to prove it?” she asked.
“Fingerprints, I think. I expect they won’t try DNA until he’s back at headquarters.”
“They have his DNA?”
She felt Aleks’s gaze on her neck.
“Right. Stupid question. He’s their mortal enemy.”
“Exactly.”
Mr. Solveig rattled off more instructions in Swedish. Aleks continued to translate them until the phone call ended.
Then he discreetly stepped back to where he’d been standing.
They continued to watch the screen in silence until a sleek black vehicle raced over the tarmac.
Portia unmuted the line. “Landry, you’re about to have company.”
“I see them, ma’am. Any instructions?” His voice was calm.
“Turn the prisoner over to them. They may demand proof of identity. Please allow them to confirm that it’s my father if they wish. Non-invasive means only.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Then please have them sign for delivery.” Why yes, she had prepared for this.
Across the table, one of the Solveigs let out a croak.
She ignored them.
There was a pause on the end of the line, then Landry turned away like he was seeking privacy.
“Are you sure about this, ma’am?” he asked quietly.
“Sure about what, Landry?”
He searched for words. “He’s your father, ma’am. He used to run the company.”
Aw, how sweet. She fought to keep a smile out of her voice. “Thank you for your concern. Unfortunately, when he ran the corporation, he made some choices that he needs to answer for now.”
There was a long deep pause. “Yes, ma’am. I understand.”
This time it was Landry who muted the line. Time crawled as the Solveig security team approached the plane and placed her father’s hand on a scanner.
Another phone rang. Mr. Solveig answered.
“ID confirmed,” Aleks translated.
The security guy who held the scanner nodded, then hung up. He grabbed Phillip Tremaine by the elbow and led him off the stairs.
Her father turned toward the camera and glared.
She waited for remorse to hit. It did, but just a twinge. Were the Solveigs right? Was she a horrible daughter?
Dizzie squeezed her hand.
No. She wasn’t. Her father had made his choices and now he needed to pay for them.
“It’s done, ma’am.” Landry’s voice came through the speaker again.
“Thank you, Landry. Get some food and some rest. You and your team can return on the plane when you’re ready.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The audio clicked off followed by the video.
She picked up her phone. “Satisfied?”
The Solveigs glared at her, but nodded.
“Good. We’ll get the paperwork drawn up.”
Mrs. Solveig sniffed. “Send it to the hotel. We’ll sign it and leave it there for you.”
“Actually, my team is drafting it while we speak. There’s one more item while we wait.”
“I can’t see what is possibly left,” Mrs. Solveig huffed.
“Oh, you’ll see.”
The video screen sprang to life again and a chart appeared. There were a number of dates along the bottom, stretching back almost two decades.
“What’s this?” Mrs. Solveig asked.
“I’m so glad you asked.” Portia’s tone was pure Ice Queen. What she was about to show them had pissed her off and she wasn’t above letting the Solveigs know.
“What you see on the screen are the dates of attempted hacks of the Tremaine Corporation by the Solveig Consortium. The green ones indicate hacks we know your company made and the blue are ones we’re sure of, but don’t have proof.”
“What does the red mean?” Mr. Solveig asked.
In the sea of green and blue dots, there were only a few red ones. Fewer than ten.
“The red dots indicate corporate espionage by your company.”
They both opened their mouths to speak. To protest? Portia really didn’t care.
“Yes, yes. That’s an accepted way of doing business. Unless you get caught.” She smirked at them. “Surprise. I caught you.”
“You’re bluffing.”
“Really? You look at that chart and the first thing that comes to mind is that I’m bluffing?” She laughed. “I’m impressed that you think I’m so diabolical.” She leaned forward. “Except here’s the thing. I have proof.”
Gasps from around the room.
She felt Aleks’s gaze on her, but she didn’t look at him. Couldn’t look at him. Not yet.
“We dug into your system and uncovered some very interesting information.”
“Everyone does it,” Mrs. Solveig trilled. “And look at those dates. There hasn’t been a successful attempt in more than ten years.”
“You’re right,” Portia said. “No attempts in more than ten years. What happened ten years ago?” She tapped her finger on her lip. “Oh, that’s right. You experimented on your own soldiers.”
“Portia, what does this mean?” Aleks’s question. He was the only one who she would answer.
“I’m getting there, I promise,” she said gently. She hated to hurt him, but she had to make everyone in this room understand the lengths she would go to, to protect what was hers. And that included protecting Aleks.
“Ten years ago, your company hacked into the Tremaine Corporation. And, surprisingly, made it past all the security and into the gooey center. The perfect opportunity for a little light corporate espionage, right? Your team started pulling files randomly.”
Nobody said a word.
“When you reviewed the files, you found the specs for a super-soldier brain implant.” She wished she was holding Aleks’s hand for this next part. “Except you didn’t get the whole file. So, your R&D team experimented. And who did they experiment on? Your own soldiers.”
Dead silence met her announcement. Aleks’s brain had to be whirling at what this revelation meant. His own people had experimented on him without his permission. She’d seen the paperwork that he and the other recruits had signed. There was nothing that indicated that they’d been told the technology was experimental.
After far too long, Mrs. Solveig said, “No one will care.”
“I care!” Aleks’s hands were balled into fists and his jaw was clenched. He vibrated with anger. “You’re a monster!”
“You didn’t help him out of the goodness of your heart, did you?” Portia was twisting the knife, but when this was finished, she’d only be begging forgiveness from Aleks.
Aleks’s helpless gaze flickered in her direction. His brow creased and she worried that one of his headaches was coming on.
“We gave him a job,” Mrs. Solveig hissed.
“All while keeping the truth from him.” Portia’s temper was climbing.
“You can pretend to be lily white, but the Tremaine Corporation doesn’t have the cleanest rep in the world.”
“No, we don’t,” Portia admitted. “I’m going to change that. You’ve already seen proof of the lengths that I’ll go to.”
Neither of the Solveigs spoke for several minutes. She hoped they were sufficiently cowed.
“What do you want?” Mrs. Solveig asked finally. “How much to keep this quiet?”
Portia laughed harshly. “I’ve already exposed you to the only person I care about.” She lifted her gaze to Aleks.
He nodded and her heart felt lighter. Whatever they faced going forward, they would face it together.
Mrs. Solveig stood abruptly. “Send the papers to the hotel. We’ll sign them there. Aleks, make the arrangements.” She led the procession of Solveig Consortium personnel out of the room until only Aleks remained.
“We’ll wait for you outside,” Dizzie whispered.
Portia nodded, but she only had eyes for Aleks. She rose from her chair as he approached. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I found out right before the meeting. I wish you didn’t have to learn about it like that.”
“It’s true, then?” The grief in his eyes broke her heart.
“It is.” She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight.
His arms came around her and he buried his face in her hair.
They stood that way in silence for several long minutes. When Aleks started to untangle, she resisted. “Where are you going?”
“I have to make arrangements for their return.”
Portia’s jaw dropped and she stepped back. “After all that, you’re going back with them?” She couldn’t keep the horror out of her voice.
His hand cupped her cheek. “I told you that I had to see this through. I meant it.”
“But... but they lied to you.”
His gaze was solemn. “I know. And I need some space to deal with that too.”
That sounded ominous. “What does that mean?”
“Portia, it’s okay. I promise. We’re okay. It just means that I need to finish this assignment and pack up my belongings.”
“To move here?” She hated how needy she sounded.
“If you’ll have me.”
“Yes, definitely.”
“Good.” He kissed her gently, then stepped back. “I love you.”
Portia’s heart clenched, those three little words sealing the crack that had been in her heart for too long. “I love you too.” She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him with everything she had in her.
“I’ll be back, I promise,” Aleks said when they finally separated.
“You better,” she said. Her eyes welled with tears as she watched him walk out of the room, taking her heart with him.
She didn’t know how long she stood there staring at the graph before Dizzie came to get her. “You okay?”
“Yes. No. Maybe?” Portia exhaled. “Today’s been a lot.”
“No kidding. Why don’t you come back to our place? That way you won’t have to be alone.”
Portia started to protest. So many excuses lingered right on the tip of her tongue. She didn’t want to intrude. There was so much to do. But really, she didn’t want to be alone. “Thank you.” She let Dizzie guide her out of the conference room.