Elise Harper stood in the glass-walled conference room of the redevelopment authority's headquarters on Wednesday morning, her arms crossed tightly over her chest as she stared out at the rain-soaked New Haven skyline. The steady patter against the windows was a dull roar, a fitting underscore to the chaos that had erupted since the plagiarism leak hit the press the previous afternoon. The victory of Monday's pitch—Claire Nguyen's approval, the board's greenlight for the full proposal—had been swallowed by a scandal that now threatened to unravel everything she'd fought for. The article's vague accusations, pairing her hybrid design with an obscure five-year-old proposal, had ignited a firestorm of public doubt, and the backlash was hitting harder than she'd expected. Today's meeting with Claire was a crucible, and Elise was braced for battle, her resolve sharpened by the email, audio clip, and meeting logs that painted Julian Voss as the architect of her past ruin.
The room buzzed with nervous energy as the joint team filtered in—Pinnacle Designs and Voss & Associates staff taking seats around the long table, their faces a mix of exhaustion and unease. Tara sat to Elise's left, her dark curls pulled back in a tight bun, her expression grim as she flipped through a tablet loaded with PR drafts. Mia lingered near the back, her freckled face pale and her stack of files clutched like a lifeline, her eyes darting between Elise and the door. Julian entered last, his navy suit slightly rumpled, his gray eyes shadowed with fatigue as he claimed a seat across from Elise. He met her gaze briefly, a flicker of their tense exchange from her loft last night passing between them—his insistence on a plan, her refusal to trust—but neither spoke. The air was thick with unspoken accusations, a fragile truce stretched to its breaking point.
Claire strode in at ten sharp, her sharp suit a stark contrast to the disarray around her, the slim folder from yesterday replaced by a thicker stack of papers. She didn't sit, just stood at the head of the table, her piercing eyes sweeping the room before landing on Elise and Julian. "You've seen the headlines," she said, her voice cold and cutting. "Plagiarism claims—thin as they are—have the board spooked, investors rattled, and the public baying for blood. I don't care who started this; I care how we stop it. Talk."
Elise straightened, her voice steady despite the storm inside her. "It's a hit job," she said, sliding a printout of the article across the table. "The parallels they're claiming—tiered structures, elevated paths—are generic at best. Any architect worth their salt could debunk this in ten minutes. Someone's stirring the pot, and it's not about the design—it's about us."
Claire's eyes narrowed as she skimmed the printout, then flicked to Julian. "Your take?"
Julian leaned forward, his tone measured but edged with frustration. "Elise is right—it's flimsy. That old proposal's a stretch; it's not even close to what we've built. But perception's the problem. The timing—right after our pitch—screams sabotage. We need to trace the source, counter it fast, or the board pulls the plug."
Claire nodded, a curt gesture, and set the article aside. "PR's drafting a rebuttal—technical breakdown, timeline of our work, full transparency. It'll hit by noon. But that's defense, not offense. I want to know who's behind this, and I want them shut down. Theories?"
The room shifted, a ripple of unease spreading through the team. Tara spoke first, her voice calm but firm. "Could be a rival firm—someone who lost the shortlist, saw an opening after the pitch. They'd have motive to discredit us, access to old proposals."
"Possible," Claire said, her gaze shifting to Elise. "You've been vocal, Harper—any enemies from your side?"
Elise's jaw tightened, her mind flashing to the confrontation with Julian, the evidence she'd thrown at him. "Plenty," she said, her tone clipped. "But this feels tied to the past—my past, his past." She nodded toward Julian, her eyes locking on his. "That tech deal three years ago—I've got proof Voss & Associates moved first, undercut me. Someone from that mess could be hitting back now."
Julian's expression hardened, his hands curling into fists on the table. "You're still on that?" he said, his voice low and sharp. "I told you—I didn't know you were in it 'til it was done. If this is fallout from then, it's not on me—it's on them."
"Convenient," Elise shot back, her voice rising. "You moved uninvited—email, audio, logs don't lie. Someone's pissed enough to drag us both down, and your hands aren't clean."
The room erupted, voices overlapping as the team fractured. A Pinnacle junior architect—Mia's friend Nate—stood, his face flushed. "If Voss screwed us back then, he's screwing us now! I'm not tanking my career for this!" Across the table, one of Julian's staff—a wiry designer named Lila—snapped back, "Oh, please—Harper's the one stirring up old grudges! She's the liability here!"
"Enough!" Claire's voice cracked like thunder, silencing the chaos. She slammed her folder on the table, her eyes blazing. "You're a team—act like it. This isn't about your damn history; it's about the project. Pinnacle's accusing Voss, Voss is accusing Harper—meanwhile, we're bleeding credibility. Pick a side later—right now, find me the leak."
Elise bit back a retort, her chest heaving as she sank into her seat. Julian stayed silent, his jaw tight, his gaze fixed on the table. The team settled, a tense hush falling over the room, but the fracture was palpable—Pinnacle staff clustering toward Elise, Voss's crew gravitating to Julian, Mia caught in the middle with her files, her eyes wide with uncertainty.
Claire took a breath, her tone leveling. "Here's the plan. PR counters today—technical proof, public statement. You two—" she pointed at Elise and Julian "—dig into your pasts, cross-check contacts from that tech deal, rival firms, anyone with a grudge. Engineers, refine the numbers—make the full proposal airtight. We've got three weeks; I'm not losing this to rumors. Move."
The meeting broke, the team dispersing into strained silence, but Elise lingered, her eyes on Mia as the junior architect slipped toward her. "Anything?" she whispered, her voice low.
Mia swallowed, handing over a slim folder. "Checked the backups—found a name from the mogul's team, Daniel Reese, project lead back then. He's with a rival firm now—Harrington & Co.—lost the shortlist to us. Could be him."
Elise took the folder, her pulse spiking as she flipped it open—a bio, an old email signature, a link to Harrington & Co.'s failed bid. "Good," she said, her voice a hushed growl. "Keep it quiet—dig into Harrington's archives if you can. I'll handle the rest."
Mia nodded and slipped away, leaving Elise alone with her thoughts. Daniel Reese—a name from the past, a potential thread to the leak. If he'd been burned by Julian's move three years ago, or by their win now, he had motive. She'd chase it, pin it down, but Julian's presence loomed in her mind—his defense, his insistence he hadn't targeted her. She didn't buy it, not fully, but the team's split complicated everything. Pinnacle was hers, loyal to her fire, but Voss's crew backed him, and the rift was a wound bleeding into their work.
Julian approached then, his leather case in hand, stopping a few feet away. "We need to talk," he said, his voice low, strained. "Alone."
She met his gaze, her expression cold. "Here's fine," she said, crossing her arms. "Say it."
He glanced around, the room emptying, then stepped closer. "This leak's bigger than us—bigger than that tech deal. If it's Reese, or someone tied to him, they're not just after you—they're after me too. We're in the crosshairs together, Elise, whether you like it or not."
"Maybe," she said, her voice icy. "But your mess started this—I'm not letting it sink me again. I'll dig, you dig, but don't expect me to play nice."
"I'm not asking you to," he replied, his tone firming. "Just don't tank us both while you're at it. Claire's right—we're a team, fractured or not."
He walked off, leaving her standing there, the rain's rhythm a steady pulse against her racing thoughts. She watched him go, her chest tight with a mix of fury and unease. The team's turmoil was a crack she couldn't ignore—Pinnacle versus Voss, loyalty split, trust shattered. Mia's lead on Daniel Reese glowed in her mind, a thread she'd pull until it broke open the truth. The project hung by a thread, and she'd save it—alone if she had to.
Back at Pinnacle, Elise spread the folder across her desk, diving into Reese's bio with a ferocity that drowned out the day's noise. The rain thickened outside, blurring the city into a haze, but her focus was a blade—sharp, unrelenting. She'd find the leak, crush it, and if Julian's past was the root, she'd rip it out. The full proposal loomed, three weeks away, and she'd make it hers—team or no team.