Selena's POV
The office walls felt colder than usual and the echo of laughter from a distance did nothing to soften the sting in Selena's chest. She had replayed that moment all morning, the sharp tone in Alicia's voice, the way her stepsister had dared to talk back in front of everyone. The humiliation had burned like acid under her skin.
She had always been the one who spoke first, who set the tone, who commanded attention. But this time, Alicia had taken it from her. And worse, Liam Knight had seen it happen.
Selena walked through the executive corridor, her heels steady, her expression smooth. Every click against the floor was a controlled act, a sound of power she refused to lose. When she reached the break room, a few colleagues were already there. They turned toward her with eager smiles.
"Miss Hart," one of them said, "you were amazing in the last meeting. Mr. Knight actually paused to hear your ideas. I swear he looked impressed."
Selena smiled faintly, knowing exactly how to feed the room. "He did, didn't he? I think he's beginning to notice how much potential I bring to this company."
They nodded eagerly, drinking every word. Power was a drug, and she knew how to make them crave it.
"Although," she added lightly, letting her tone drop just enough to sound like gossip, "it is a little strange, isn't it? How some people in this company get ahead without qualifications."
They exchanged glances. "You mean Alicia Blake?" one whispered.
Selena smiled with feigned reluctance. "Oh, I didn't say any names. But I heard she was… close to Mr. Knight. Too close. You can imagine what people say when a CEO gives special attention to one of his assistants."
Laughter rippled quietly. The seed was planted.
Selena leaned against the counter, stirring her coffee with slow precision. "I suppose I shouldn't judge. Some women have to use what they have. Others, like me, prefer to earn what we deserve."
The room filled with murmurs of agreement. She smiled sweetly, hiding her satisfaction. Her plan was already taking shape.
Alicia might have embarrassed her once, but humiliation had never stopped her before. It only made her smarter.
By the time Selena returned to her desk, a subtle thrill had replaced her anger. The whispers would spread faster than smoke. By the end of the day, Alicia's name would be a rumor, her reputation a question mark.
And when Liam Knight began to hear those whispers, she would be there to offer him calm, reason, and the charm of a woman who understood power better than most.
Still, something about Liam unsettled her. He was unreadable, precise, and too observant. The way he had looked at her in the meeting room had not been admiration. It had been scrutiny.
That thought made her uneasy.
But she brushed it off quickly. Men like Liam were always predictable in the end. They wanted control, praise, and the illusion of respect. She knew how to give them that, then take what she wanted.
Selena smiled faintly to herself. "Careful, Alicia," she murmured under her breath. "You started this. Now let's see if you can handle the fire."
******
Liam's POV
The blinds in his office were half drawn, cutting the sunlight into sharp lines across the floor. Liam sat behind his desk, fingers tapping soundlessly against the armrest of his chair, his gaze locked on the folder that had just been delivered.
The report from his investigator.
He opened it slowly, every page revealing another layer of deceit.
Selena Hart, previously Selena Blake. Born in Manhattan, twenty. Moved twice in the last three years. Fired from her last company for internal sabotage. Previous employer cited "psychological manipulation and toxic workplace behavior."
Liam's eyes narrowed. He kept reading.
Two legal warnings for harassment, both dropped. One for an altercation with a client's wife. Another for blackmail.
He turned to the next page.
Her mother — Sherrly Hart, a mistress, cheater and home wrecker, she has destroyed so many married men's home. She was once married to Lawrence Hart, a gambler, drunkard and a theif, who went to rob and was killed while fleeing the scene, Sherrly was pregnant with Selena, when she met Mr. Blake, she seduced him and they started dating, after few months she told him, she is pregnant. When she gave birth to Selena, she change her last name to Blake. A messy divorce. Allegations of inheritance fraud. Assets frozen for months.
Liam's jaw tightened. "So that's the root."
He read the next line.
Selena Blake changed her name to Hart two years ago to distance herself from family scandals. Rumored to have been involved in a failed attempt to claim shares from Blake's estate after the patriarch's death.
Liam sat back, his mind already weaving through the implications. So this wasn't just rivalry. It was history, poisoned, festering and brought into his company under disguise.
A slow, dangerous calm settled over him. He had allowed a viper to slither through his doors.
He reached for his phone and called his head of security. "I want an effective monitoring on Selena Hart, the new staff. I want surveillance on her. Every meeting, every conversation. If she breathes wrong, I want to know."
"Yes, sir," the voice replied.
Liam hung up and leaned back again, staring through the blinds.
He thought of Alicia, her quiet strength, her trembling voice that morning, her fear of her sister. It wasn't paranoia. It was memory. She had lived through it.
Now Selena was bringing that poison into his world.
He picked up his pen and began writing a note across the top of the report:
"Phase One — Observation. Phase Two — Containment. Phase Three — Exposure."
When he finished, he set it aside and stood, walking to the window.
The skyline stretched before him, endless and bright. Yet beneath all that beauty, there was always darkness. People forgot that the higher you climbed, the colder the air became.
He whispered to himself, "Let her play. When she falls, she'll never recover."
A knock came at the door.
"Come in," he said.
Ms. Delacroix entered, holding a clipboard. Her gaze was cautious. "Sir, I came to discuss the quarterly merger reports, but…" She hesitated. "I thought you should know, there's been a lot of talk around the office. About Miss Blake and Miss Hart."
Liam turned to face her slowly. "Talk?"
"Yes. Nothing concrete, but people are whispering. Something about favoritism. Some say Miss Blake was… involved with you."
His expression remained calm, unreadable. "And you?"
Delacroix stiffened. "I don't entertain gossip, sir. But I thought it best you were aware."
"Thank you, Ms. Delacroix. Continue your work as usual. And make sure every department understands, anyone caught spreading rumors will be dismissed."
"Yes, Mr. Knight."
When she left, he closed the blinds entirely, letting the office sink into darkness.
So Selena had already started her attack. Subtle. Psychological. Clever.
He could almost admire her for it. Almost.
But admiration was not forgiveness.
He returned to his desk and opened a private message thread with his investigator again.
Liam: Dig deeper into her recent contacts. Find out if anyone is backing her financially. If she's working for someone else, I want to know.
Investigator: Understood. She made a large deposit last week from an offshore account. Still tracing the origin.
Liam's fingers stilled. "Offshore account?" he murmured. "So it's bigger than I thought."
His mind began turning through possibilities. There was only one reason someone like Selena would have that kind of funding. Someone wanted her inside KnightCorp.
His voice dropped into a low whisper, cold and certain. "This isn't about revenge. It's about leverage."
And that meant danger for him, for Alicia and for everything he had built.
*******
Selena's POV
By evening, the whispers had spread like wildfire. Everywhere she went, heads turned, smiles hid behind polite curiosity. She caught the faint looks that followed Alicia too, the soft pity, the sharp judgment.
Perfect.
Selena sat at her desk, pretending to review documents while she watched through the glass partition. Alicia looked exhausted, head bent over her keyboard. A part of Selena almost pitied her. Almost.
She took a sip of her coffee, her lips curving. "Now you know what it feels like," she whispered.
But her satisfaction didn't last long.
Her email pinged. A message from an unknown sender.
Stop playing games, Selena. He knows.
Her pulse spiked. She glanced around, making sure no one saw the flicker of panic in her eyes. Then she deleted the message instantly.
He knows.
Who? Liam? Or the person funding her?
For a brief second, she felt the same cold fear she used to feel when her mother whispered about the Blakes, when debts piled and reputations cracked. She had clawed her way back from that shame. She couldn't lose again.
She composed herself quickly, reapplying her lipstick with calm precision. "No," she murmured, "I'm not done yet."
The lights in the office began to dim as evening approached. Across the hall, through Liam's glass door, she caught sight of him standing by the window tall, dark and perfectly still. Watching the city.
Selena smiled softly, tilting her head as if admiring a prize she had not yet won. "You'll notice me again," she whispered. "And when you do, it'll be too late."
**********
Liam's POV
Later that night, Liam sat in his car, the city lights bleeding through the windshield as his driver navigated through the rain. His phone buzzed again, a new update from the investigator.
Investigator: The offshore account is linked to a shell company based in Zurich. Registered under the name A.H. Holdings. The initials match a known business rival.
Liam's grip tightened on the phone. "A.H." He knew that name. A long-standing enemy. A man who had tried once before to buy into KnightCorp through blackmail.
And now he had sent Selena Hart as a pawn.
The realization was ice in his veins.
He turned his gaze toward the city skyline. Somewhere in that building, Alicia was still working late, unaware of the game unfolding around her.
Liam spoke quietly to himself, a vow forming beneath his breath. "They think they can touch her. They think they can use my company. They have no idea what line they've crossed."
His reflection stared back at him in the window, a man both savior and destroyer.
The game had changed.
And this time, he would not play fair.