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The recorder on Maya's desk had been running for three minutes before Elise finally spoke.
"You want me to go undercover. Inside Mercer Industries."
Her editor didn't blink. Maya Chen had the kind of stillness that made junior reporters nervous. Elise had known her for six years and was still not immune.
"I want you to get us the story of the decade," Maya said. "The undercover part is just how we get there."
Elise leaned back in her chair, arms crossed. Outside the glass walls of Maya's office, the *Chronicle* newsroom hummed with its usual controlled chaos. Nobody looked up. Nobody cared that her entire career was being reshaped in this moment.
"Lucas Mercer." She said the name like she was testing its weight. "You're talking about *Lucas Mercer.*"
"Three shell companies. Two offshore accounts. One very suspicious trail of dead auditors." Maya slid a manila folder across the desk. "And not a single journalist who's gotten close enough to confirm any of it."
Elise opened the folder. The first page was a photo — Lucas Mercer leaving a black car, jaw set, eyes forward. Even in a still image he looked like a man who had never been told no.
*Handsome,* she thought against her will. *Dangerously so.*
She flipped the page.
"His personal assistant resigned last week," Maya continued. "No notice. No statement. She won't return calls." She paused. "The position is still open."
Elise looked up. "You already submitted my application, didn't you."
Maya's silence was its own answer.
"Maya—"
"You have an interview tomorrow. 9 AM." She folded her hands. "Elise. This is the kind of story that changes careers. The kind that *matters.*"
Elise stared at the photo again. Lucas Mercer stared back — cold, unreachable, untouchable.
*Not for long,* she thought.
She closed the folder.
"I'll need a cover identity. Airtight." She stood, tucking the folder under her arm. "And a better coffee machine. If I'm going to work for a criminal, I at least want decent espresso."
Maya almost smiled. "That's my girl."
Elise walked out without looking back.
She had a CEO to destroy.
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