Chapter 260

Chapter 260

Katniss's stomach dropped, but her face betrayed nothing.

She pushed open the conference room door. Both sides of the long table were already full.

Leon sat to the left of the head, a stack of documents spread before him. When Katniss entered, he gave her a nod, wearing that same unchanging gentle smile.

Cedric sat at the head. Impeccably suited. Expression unreadable.

But the instant his gaze met Katniss's, it darkened—just slightly. Something heavy behind his eyes.

Katniss took her seat and scanned the room.

"Since everyone's here, let's begin."

Leon cleared his throat, speaking first.

"I've called this emergency session because there's a matter I believe everyone at this table needs to be aware of."

He paused, his gaze settling meaningfully on Katniss.

"Yesterday afternoon, I received an anonymous tip."

He pulled several pages from his folder and held them up for all to see.

"The allegation concerns our own Ms. Katniss Astor—suspected of leaking confidential company information to a competitor."

The words landed like a stone. A murmur rippled through the room.

Katniss sat perfectly still. Her expression remained calm. Her heartbeat did not.

Leon passed the pages to the head of legal beside him. "Read it for everyone."

The legal director took the papers, cleared his throat, and began reading aloud.

When he finished, the murmuring grew louder.

"That's impossible."

The marketing director spoke first.

"Ms. Astor has been with this company for years. Never a single issue. There has to be a misunderstanding."

"Whether there's a misunderstanding—well, that's what an investigation is for."

Leon spoke unhurriedly, adding a sigh for effect. "I didn't want to believe it either. After all, Katniss is a senior executive and Cedric's wife. How could she possibly do something like this?"

"But these email screenshots are extremely convincing. The sender address is Katniss's company email. The IP traces back to our internal network. I felt this needed to be addressed openly."

Every pair of eyes in the room turned to Katniss.

She met them steadily. "Mr. Peterson, may I see the screenshots?"

Leon gestured an invitation. The legal director handed the pages over.

Katniss took them and studied them carefully.

The email formatting, the font, the signature block—even the company domain suffix was identical.

If she didn't know with absolute certainty that she'd never sent this email, she might have believed it herself.

She set the pages down and looked up, her voice even. "I never sent this email."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"At the timestamp on this email, I was in a meeting. There are sign-in records and security camera footage to prove it."

Katniss's voice was measured and unhurried.

She paused, then looked directly at Leon.

"If I were actually leaking information, I wouldn't be stupid enough to use my own company email with the recipient's name spelled out in full. That's an amateur mistake no one with half a brain would make."

The room went quiet for several seconds.

Leon smiled and gave a small clap.

"Excellent analysis. Very logical. Exactly what I'd expect from Ms. Astor."

His tone pivoted.

"However, Katniss—you say you didn't send this email. Then how did it end up on the company server?"

"IT has already verified that the sending IP belongs to your office computer."

"Then check the security cameras."

Katniss didn't hesitate.

"See if anyone used my computer between two and four that afternoon."

"We've already reviewed the footage."

Leon spoke leisurely. "During that window, you were indeed away from your office. But there's no record of anyone else accessing your computer."

Something tightened in Katniss's chest.

She understood now.

This was a carefully constructed trap. Whoever did this hadn't just forged the email—they'd erased every trace that might point to the real sender.

Her eyes moved instinctively to Cedric.

He sat at the head of the table, lips pressed into a thin line, his gaze locked on those raised hands with an intensity that looked like barely contained fury.

His mouth opened—he was about to speak—but Leon cut in first.

"Cedric, you're the chairman. What's your take on this?"

All eyes shifted to Cedric.

He was silent for a few seconds. Then, slowly: "Insufficient evidence."

"Insufficient evidence?"

Leon repeated it, a subtle note of amusement in his voice.

"Email screenshots, IP records, a forensic report—all of it laid out right here—and you still think the evidence is insufficient?"

"I said, insufficient evidence."

Cedric's voice went cold.

"All of these can be fabricated. They prove nothing conclusively. Without a complete chain of evidence, no one should be jumping to conclusions."

"Cedric makes a fair point."

Another board member nodded. "This kind of matter does require caution."

Leon considered for a moment, then sighed.

"Very well. If Cedric says so, we certainly don't want to wrongly accuse anyone. However—"

His tone turned grave. "This involves core company secrets. We can't simply let it go."

"I propose we temporarily suspend all of Katniss's duties. In the meantime, we form a special investigation committee to conduct a thorough review."

"If she's cleared, her position will be fully restored and I'll publicly apologize. If there is a problem, we handle it according to the law."

Every word was reasonable. Airtight.

The other directors exchanged glances and began nodding in agreement.

"Let's vote."

Leon raised his hand.

"All in favor of suspending Katniss's duties, raise your hand."

One by one, five of the seven directors raised their hands.

Cedric did not.

Katniss sat in her chair, watching those arms rise, and felt a wave of absurdity wash over her.

She'd worked at the York Group for years. Shouldered the company through its worst crises. Created one breakthrough after another.

And all it took was a few forged pages to unravel everything.

She looked at Cedric.

He sat at the head of the table, lips compressed into a hard line, his gaze boring into those raised hands as if fighting to contain something violent beneath the surface.

After a few seconds, Katniss stood. Her voice was calm.

"I accept the board's decision. Until the investigation concludes, I'll cooperate fully."

She turned and walked out of the conference room.

The moment the door closed behind her, she heard the buzz of voices erupt inside. She didn't look back.