The morning air had been light between them. That sunrise, the quiet intimacy, the way she leaned into him without resistance — it lingered like warmth on his skin. For once, their walk into the building felt… easy.
She was beside him, her lips threatening to curve every time he glanced her way. He didn't even try to hide his smirk. If anyone saw them right now, they'd think they were two people without a single care. For a moment, he almost believed it.
Until they stepped into the executive wing.
Xander noticed it first — the silence, sharp and unnatural. Then the glances. They weren't subtle. They weren't even trying to be. Every pair of eyes locked on Erin. Not him. Her.
Erin noticed too. Her posture stiffened beside him, but she didn't slow down. She didn't ask why. She just kept walking, matching his pace perfectly, chin high. Of course she did. That was Erin.
They were almost at his office when a sharp voice rang out.
"You bitch."
Before he could process it, Lilianne emerged from the hallway like she had been waiting, her heels loud against the polished floor. Her hand swung before anyone could stop her. The sound of the slap echoed like a gunshot in the corridor.
Xander moved instantly, catching Erin as she stumbled a step back from the impact. His voice was a low snarl. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
But Lilianne didn't flinch. She turned to him, face twisted with fury. "Don't defend her. Not this time."
Erin hadn't spoken. She just stood there, head turned slightly from the slap, her hand slowly rising to her cheek.
Lilianne held up a flash drive, fingers trembling with barely-contained rage. "She leaked the proposal. Everything. To Arcadia Tech. They're launching it today. Our work — all of it — gone."
Xander blinked. "What?"
"She broke into the system and stole it from Cassian's office. I have the security footage. She was the only one who accessed it the night the files were transferred."
He didn't believe it. Not immediately. But something inside him twisted. The night the system was accessed… that had been the same night Erin left late with the excuse of going for a walk. He knew it was a lie but he thought maybe she was going to the bar or something. Especially since their first encounter was at one. He remembered seeing the driver after a few minutes coming into the house heading to the staff's quarters. He was without the car and Erin wasn't with him. And after Erin came back, she had looked—what? Uneasy. Distant. Had that been guilt?
"Play it," he said.
Lilianne didn't hesitate. She pulled up the footage on her tablet and held it out to him. Xander watched the grainy video. Erin, entering Cassian's office. Looking around suspiciously. And then fleeing right before the janitor entered.
Erin's eyes widened when she saw it. "That's—"
Lilianne cut in. "That's you. In the office. Alone. The night the confidential project was moved there. That's all the proof I need."
Cole stepped forward now. "The rival company is using our exact interface, Xander. It's not just a guess."
"And she was the only one who had access that night," Cassian added, his voice unreadable.
Xander looked at Erin. Really looked.
She wasn't crying. She hadn't begged. Her expression was a storm — disbelief, anger, confusion. And… something else. Hurt.
"Say something," he said quietly.
Erin finally spoke, voice low but steady. "You're wrong. I wasn't the only one with access. The janitor entered too. What was she doing there at that time of night? Why are you so sure I am the one? The footage does show me entering and leaving the office. But it doesn't show what I was doing in there."
Lilianne scoffed. "You think anyone will believe that?"
Erin turned to Xander now, fully facing him, ignoring the rest. "You hate deceit and eliminate anyone who try to use it against you. If I did do this, I'd be a living dead. So by now I would've fled. Not standing by your side counting my last days on earth. You can read lies from a glance. So look at me, Xander. Do I look like I'm lying?"
He did. And the worst part was — no. She didn't. But his mind was already spiraling. The footage. The timing. The phone call he had overheard between her and someone named Talia — about releasing something soon. He had brushed it off. Now he wasn't sure.
"I want to believe you," he said. "But this—this is a mess."
"I didn't do this," she snapped. "I would never—"
"Then prove it," Lilianne cut in again. "Because the company's bleeding and the press is already circling."
Erin turned to her. "You're awfully quick to throw accusations."
"Don't play the victim," Lilianne hissed. "You've been playing innocent since the day you walked in. If I had to summarise this dilemma with two words, I'd say, good riddance."
"Enough," Xander said sharply. He looked at Erin again. "If you didn't do it, prove it. Find the one who did. Fix this. Because right now… the evidence is against you."
"And if I can't?" Erin's voice was steady, but there was a tremor just beneath.
"Then you're fired," Lilianne said immediately.
Xander didn't say anything for a long moment. Then: "If you can't prove your innocence, I won't protect you… I can't protect you. But if you can… if someone else did this—then I'll make sure every single one of them pays for what they tried to do to you."
His voice was final. Erin nodded, her jaw clenched.
"And if I fix it?" she asked.
Xander's eyes met hers. "Then I'll owe you more than an apology."
She stared at him another second longer before turning on her heel and walking away — toward her office, shoulders stiff, eyes forward.
And for the first time since she'd entered his life, Xander didn't know what side of the line she stood on.
He just knew he still wanted to believe her.
Even if everything else told him not to.