The following morning, headlines roared with the name "Emma Carter" in bold, red letters. Wall Street’s Queen of Smoke and Mirrors, read one. Emma Carter: From Boardroom to Courtroom? read another.

Emma woke to the sound of her intercom buzzing—not her alarm, not the soothing jazz she’d programmed for mornings, but a piercing, insistent shrill that screamed of urgency. Her pulse was immediate. Her body moved before her mind caught up.

“Tasha?” she answered hoarsely.

Her ...