Eva

23

______

The office feels like it’s holding its breath. Harper sits across from me, her hands wringing together, faint streaks of tears still marking her face. Dominic stands near the window, his back rigid, his silhouette tense against the skyline. Adrian leans against the desk, his expression unreadable, though his sharp eyes miss nothing as Harper speaks.

“It started six months ago,” Harper begins, her voice trembling. “At first, I thought it was just an innocent meeting. Conrad said he wanted to discuss some ideas for streamlining operations. Then he started talking about... me.”

Dominic doesn’t turn. His voice is low, but it cuts through the air like a blade. “Be specific. What exactly did he know?”

Harper flinches but forces herself to meet my gaze instead of his. “Everything. My bad investments, the loans I defaulted on, the financial mess I was in before I got this job. He knew it all—and he used it.”

I lean forward, keeping my voice steady, though the weight of her words churns unease in my chest. “What did he want, Harper? How did he use it?”

Her gaze drops to her lap, and she exhales shakily. “It was subtle at first. He asked for access to old files he claimed were irrelevant. I thought it wouldn’t matter. Then he started asking for more. Encrypted emails would come with detailed instructions: delete this, move that. I didn’t realize how deep it went until it was too late.”

“And when you did realize,” Dominic interjects, his tone icy, “you didn’t come to me.”

Harper’s face crumples, tears welling in her eyes. “I didn’t know how. He said if I told anyone, he’d destroy me—my career, my family, everything.”

“Destroy you how?” Dominic presses, his jaw visibly tight.

“He threatened to leak my financial history to the press and the board,” she whispers. “He said no one would trust me if they knew how reckless I’d been.”

The weight of her confession settles over us. I glance at Dominic, his posture a storm of tension, his hands clenched into fists. His anger is palpable—not just at Harper but at the betrayal itself.

“He wasn’t just using me,” Harper adds, her voice barely above a whisper. “He mentioned others—people in accounting and IT. He said they were helping him too.”

Adrian straightens, his expression hardening. “If Conrad’s infiltrated IT, he could have access to the entire network. That’s how he’s been covering his tracks.”

Dominic mutters a curse under his breath. “This isn’t just sabotage. It’s a full-scale assault on everything I’ve built.”

“Not everything,” I say firmly, meeting his gaze. “We’re still here. We can fight back.”

His eyes flick to mine, softening briefly before he turns back to the window. “We’ll see.”

As Adrian escorts Harper out to take her formal statement, the tension in the room doesn’t ease. Dominic remains at the window, staring at the city below. His broad shoulders seem weighed down by the betrayal Harper laid bare.

“You’re angry,” I say softly, stepping closer.

He doesn’t turn. “Of course I’m angry. My company is under attack, and the people I trusted are the ones holding the knife.”

I hesitate, choosing my words carefully. “Harper was scared, Dominic. Conrad preyed on her vulnerability. That’s what he does.”

“She still betrayed me,” he snaps, his voice cold. “Fear doesn’t justify betrayal.”

“She came clean,” I counter, holding his gaze when he finally turns. “She could’ve stayed quiet, but she didn’t. That counts for something.”

His blue eyes darken, anger flickering like a storm. “Does it? Because all I see is another person who let me down.”

“Not everyone lets you down,” I say, stepping closer. “Adrian hasn’t. I haven’t.”

His expression shifts, a glimmer of vulnerability breaking through before the walls return. “Every time I let someone in, I give them a weapon to use against me. Harper, Conrad... they’ve proven that time and again.”

I reach for his arm, my voice gentle but firm. “Isolation might feel safe, but it’s not strength. You can’t do this alone, Dominic. You don’t have to.”

For a long moment, he studies me, his shoulders slowly relaxing. “You’re stubborn.”

“And you’re impossible,” I reply, a faint smile softening my tone.

He huffs a quiet laugh, though it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Maybe that’s why we work.”

Adrian returns, his laptop in hand. The tension in the room sharpens again. “We’ve traced Conrad’s recent communications,” he announces, setting the laptop on the table. “They’re being routed through a secure server near your private estate.”

Dominic’s brows knit together. “My estate?”

Adrian nods. “It’s remote enough to keep him off the radar but close enough to maintain access to the city. We believe it’s one of his primary bases of operation.”

Dominic straightens, his focus narrowing. “How secure is it?”

“There are multiple access points,” Adrian replies. “He’s likely got hired security, but it’s nothing we can’t handle.”

I step forward, my voice steady. “Then we move now. If we wait, he’ll disappear again.”

Dominic turns to me, his jaw tightening. “It’s too dangerous.”

“I’m not staying behind,” I say firmly. “Not when we’re this close.”

His gaze bores into mine, frustration and something deeper flickering in his eyes. Finally, he turns to Adrian. “Prepare the team. We move in an hour.”

The SUV hums along the dark road, its interior tense with the silence of unspoken fears. Adrian reviews maps of the estate in the passenger seat, his face illuminated by the glow of his tablet. Beside me, Dominic is a wall of quiet intensity, his fingers tapping rhythmically against his knee.

“Do you think he’s there?” I ask, breaking the silence.

“He’s there,” Dominic replies, his tone hard. “He’s too arrogant to run yet.”

When we arrive, Adrian’s team is already in place, their vehicles concealed among the trees. A man in tactical gear approaches, his voice low. “Perimeter secure. Conrad’s inside with five others.”

Dominic nods. “We go in quiet. No mistakes.”

The estate is dark, its windows glowing faintly. Inside, the air feels heavy, charged with the inevitability of the coming confrontation. Conrad stands in the main room, his back to us, speaking to his men. When Dominic steps forward, his voice cuts through the room like a whip.

“End of the line, Conrad.”

Conrad freezes, then turns slowly. A sneer spreads across his face as his gaze locks onto Dominic. “Dominic Kane. You’re more predictable than I thought.”

“It’s over,” Dominic says coldly. “We’ve traced everything back to you—the sabotage, the blackmail. You’re finished.”

Conrad laughs, hollow and mocking. “You think this ends with me? You have no idea how deep this goes.”

“Then tell me,” Dominic challenges, his tone razor-sharp.

Conrad’s gaze flicks to me, his smile sharpening. “Ask . She’s closer to the truth than she realizes.”

Before I can process his words, the sound of shattering glass fills the room, and chaos erupts. Gunfire cracks through the air, sending adrenaline coursing through my veins.

I duck behind a heavy desk, Dominic pulling me down just before a bullet splinters the wood where I’d been standing. “Stay down!” he barks, his voice sharp and commanding.

Through the chaos, Conrad’s voice rises above the din. “This is just the beginning, Kane! You can’t stop what’s coming!”

Dominic’s movements are swift and precise, but Conrad retreats through the chaos, disappearing into the shadows.

As the dust settles, one of Adrian’s team approaches Dominic with a tablet. “We found this,” he says. “Encrypted files tied to Reyes’s network.”

Dominic’s eyes narrow as he scans the screen. “We’re not done,” he mutters, his voice deadly calm.

And as I catch my breath, Conrad’s words echo in my mind: “You’re closer to the truth than you realize.”

What truth? And why does it feel like everything I know is about to unravel?

The room is suffocating in the aftermath. Smoke lingers in the air, curling around the wreckage like a ghost. Dominic moves like a shadow himself, barking orders to Adrian’s team, his tone clipped and decisive. I press my back against the desk, my pulse still racing, the remnants of adrenaline coursing through me.

“Secure the perimeter,” Dominic commands, his voice cutting through the chaos. “I don’t care if you have to search every inch of the estate. Conrad doesn’t leave this property.”

Adrian nods sharply, signaling his team to spread out. The sound of heavy boots on hardwood echoes as they disappear into the corridors. Dominic finally turns to me, his intense blue gaze locking on mine. “Are you hurt?”

I shake my head, finding my voice despite the lingering haze in my lungs. “I’m fine. Just shaken.”

“Good.” His jaw tightens, and he glances toward the shattered window where Conrad made his escape. “He planned this. Every last detail. And we’re playing catch-up.”

I push myself to my feet, brushing glass shards off my jacket. “We’re not done yet. He left something behind—information, a clue, anything. If we dig deep enough, we’ll find it.”

Dominic gives me a hard look, his expression torn between admiration and frustration. “You should sit this one out, . It’s not safe.”

I step closer, my voice firm. “It hasn’t been safe since the day Reyes targeted me. I’m not sitting anything out.”

Before Dominic can argue, Adrian reappears, holding a small, battered laptop. “This was hidden in the study,” he announces, handing it over to Dominic. “Password-protected and encrypted, but it’s connected to the estate’s network. If Conrad was running his operation here, this might hold the key.”

Dominic stares at the device, his expression unreadable. “Get it to the tech team. Have them crack it open.”

“Already on it,” Adrian replies, disappearing again with the laptop.

Once the estate is secure, Dominic leads me outside. The cool night air hits my skin like a balm, soothing the raw edges of my nerves. The SUVs are parked in a tight formation near the tree line, their headlights slicing through the darkness. I lean against one of them, my breath fogging in the cold.

“You shouldn’t have been in there,” Dominic says, his voice breaking the silence. He stands a few feet away, his broad frame silhouetted against the glow of the headlights.

I meet his gaze, refusing to back down. “And you shouldn’t have gone in alone. But here we are.”

He exhales sharply, running a hand through his hair. “You don’t get it, . This isn’t just about Conrad or Reyes. It’s about you. They’ve made you a target because of me.”

“That’s exactly why I’m not backing down,” I counter, stepping closer. “If I let them scare me into hiding, they win. And I refuse to let that happen.”

For a moment, we’re locked in a silent standoff. His eyes burn with frustration, but beneath it, I catch a flicker of something else—fear. It’s fleeting, but it’s there, and it softens the hard edges of his expression.

“You’re reckless,” he mutters, almost to himself.

“And you’re overprotective,” I shoot back, though my tone is gentler now. “We make quite a pair.”

He huffs a humorless laugh, shaking his head. “You drive me insane, you know that?”

“Good,” I say with a small smile. “Keeps you on your toes.”

Adrian returns an hour later, his expression grim but determined. “We’ve cracked part of the encryption,” he announces, holding out his tablet. “The laptop contains financial transactions linked to Reyes’s offshore accounts. But there’s something else—emails.”

Dominic takes the tablet, his eyes scanning the screen. I move to his side, reading over his shoulder. The emails are brief but incriminating, each one a thread connecting Conrad to Reyes. One subject line catches my eye: “Phase Two.”

“What’s Phase Two?” I ask, my stomach twisting.

Adrian taps the screen, opening the email. It’s short, just a single sentence: “Ensure the Kane merger collapses by any means necessary.”

Dominic’s grip tightens on the tablet. “They’re not just after me—they’re targeting the entire company.”

“Conrad’s been funneling funds to disrupt your operations,” Adrian explains. “And Reyes is coordinating the attack from the shadows. This isn’t just sabotage—it’s a dismantling.”

My chest tightens as I glance at Dominic. His expression is stone-cold, his jaw clenched. “We have to go public,” I say quietly. “Expose what they’re doing. If we control the narrative, they lose their leverage.”

Dominic’s eyes flick to mine, conflicted. “Going public risks everything. If the board loses confidence in me, it’s over.”

“And if we do nothing, they’ll destroy you anyway,” I argue. “You’ve built this company on transparency and integrity. Use that to your advantage.”

His silence is heavy, but I can see the gears turning in his mind. Finally, he nods, though his expression remains grim. “Adrian, prepare a statement. We’re going public.”

The next morning dawns cold and gray, the kind of weather that seems to sap the energy from the world. Kane Enterprises’ boardroom is a hive of activity, reporters bustling in with cameras and microphones as Adrian’s team sets up the live feed.

Dominic stands near the window, adjusting his tie. He looks every bit the powerful CEO—calm, composed, untouchable. But I see the tension in his shoulders, the way his fingers linger on the knot of his tie a beat too long.

“You’re ready for this,” I say, stepping beside him.

He glances at me, his blue eyes searching mine. “You’re too good at this motivational stuff.”

“It’s a gift,” I reply lightly. “Now go out there and remind them why they trusted you in the first place.”

His lips twitch in the faintest hint of a smile before he turns toward the podium. The room quiets as he steps up, the weight of his presence commanding attention. Cameras flash, and the hum of murmured conversations fades to silence.

Dominic takes a breath, his voice steady as he begins. “Good morning. I’ve called this press conference to address the challenges Kane Enterprises has faced in recent weeks. Transparency has always been at the core of this company, and today, I intend to honor that value.”

He outlines the sabotage, the betrayal from within, and the calculated attacks orchestrated by external forces. He doesn’t sugarcoat the severity of the situation, but he also doesn’t falter. His words are measured, precise, and unwavering.

When he finishes, the room erupts in questions. Dominic answers each one with the same poise, his confidence unshaken. By the time the conference ends, the air feels lighter, the storm clouds beginning to part.

As the reporters pack up and the room clears, Adrian approaches with a grim expression. “We’ve intercepted another message,” he says, handing Dominic his phone.

Dominic reads it, his face hardening. He hands the phone to me, and my stomach drops as I read the words: “You think you’re safe because the world is watching. But shadows move where the light can’t reach.”

Dominic’s jaw tightens. “They’re escalating.”

I glance at him, my pulse racing. “What do we do now?”

His gaze meets mine, steel and determination in his eyes. “We stay ahead of them. They want a war? We’ll give them one.”

But even as his resolve solidifies, the weight of the message lingers. Reyes and Conrad are still out there, and they’re not done yet. And deep down, I can’t shake the feeling that this battle is about to get even more personal.