Adrian Cole had faced countless board meetings, media storms, and business betrayals in his life,
but none had ever shaken him the way a single piece of paper did.
He sat alone in his office long after everyone else had gone home. The city lights stretched endlessly through the glass walls, casting a cold blue reflection across his face. The forged memo lay in front of him, creased where Elena's fingers had gripped it.
He couldn't stop replaying her words.
"Whoever forged that wanted us to destroy each other."
It sounded insane, but the more he looked at the document, the more sense it made.
He had never signed that memo. He would've remembered. He always remembered.
And yet, for years, he'd believed she betrayed him.
He closed his eyes, guilt weighing like lead in his chest. He'd let her take the fall. He'd let her name be dragged through the mud while he turned his back, too angry, too proud to question it.
Now she was back; different, guarded, beautiful in a way that felt untouchable, and he wasn't sure if he deserved the truth she was chasing.
Across the city, Elena's apartment was filled with the soft hum of her computer as she and Ryan went through old company data. Stacks of papers and notes littered the table between them.
Ryan leaned over the screen. "Look at this transactions linked to an offshore account, same time as the memo leak. The money trail leads to someone named R. Lennox Holdings."
Elena frowned. "Lennox… that's one of the board members. He was at the gala."
"The one who told you to watch who you trust?" Ryan asked.
She nodded slowly. "That's him."
Ryan clicked through the files. "It looks like someone funneled money through his shell companies to fund the project that replaced yours after the leak. He made millions when you were forced out."
"So he had motive," Elena murmured. "But he couldn't have done it alone. He didn't have access to the internal documents."
Ryan's brow furrowed. "Then who gave it to him?"
Elena leaned back, rubbing her temples. "Someone close enough to both of us to know exactly where to strike."
The answer hovered in the silence between them, unspoken but clear.
Maya.
Ryan sighed. "You think she's capable of something that cruel?"
Elena gave a small, bitter laugh. "Maya's capable of anything if it means getting what she wants."
The next morning, Adrian sat in his car outside Elena's apartment building. He wasn't even sure why he was there. Maybe part of him hoped to see her, maybe he wanted to apologize. But when she stepped out, dressed sharply for work, he found himself unable to move or speak.
She didn't see him. She walked past, focused, her phone pressed to her ear.
Her voice carried faintly through the window:
"Yes, Ryan. Lunch works. And no, I'm not backing down now."
Adrian's grip tightened on the steering wheel.
Ryan. The journalist. The one who'd been hovering around her lately.
For reasons he didn't want to name, a knot of jealousy twisted in his chest.
He started the car and pulled into traffic, heading to the office. But as he drove, one thought gnawed at him:
If Elena was right, if the memo was forged, then someone inside his own company had been playing them both.
And he was going to find out who.
By noon, the office was alive with the usual chaos; phones ringing, heels clicking, the low buzz of conversation. Adrian moved through it all like a man with a purpose.
He called in his assistant. "Sophie, I need access to all archived communications from five years ago. Emails, memos, private correspondence. Everything related to the Brooks proposal."
Sophie blinked. "Sir, that's a restricted archive. I'd need board clearance."
"Then get it," he said, his tone sharp enough to cut glass. "And don't tell anyone else what you're doing."
When she nodded and hurried out, he leaned back, staring out the window.
Five years ago, he'd been blind with ambition. The company had been expanding internationally, the pressure had been relentless. He'd trusted the wrong people, delegated to those who smiled too easily and promised too much.
He'd trusted Maya.
The memory of her face came back—the sympathetic smile she'd worn when she told him Elena had confessed to leaking the plans.
At the time, he'd believed her without hesitation.
Now that memory burned.
Meanwhile, Elena and Ryan sat across from each other at a small restaurant near the river. She'd barely touched her food.
Ryan noticed. "You're thinking about Lennox."
"I'm thinking about how all of this connects," she said softly. "Lennox, Maya, the forged memo; it's too clean, too convenient."
Ryan studied her. "You really believe Maya had a hand in this?"
Elena nodded. "She knew everything about me—my passwords, my project files. We were best friends. I told her everything." Her voice wavered slightly, then steadied. "That's how she got close enough to ruin me."
Ryan reached across the table, covering her hand with his. "Then we'll make sure she never does again."
The warmth of his touch startled her. For a moment, she forgot to breathe. His eyes were gentle but certain, the kind that didn't ask for trust—they earned it.
Elena pulled her hand back gently. "Careful, Ryan. You're starting to sound like my partner in crime."
He smiled. "Maybe I am."
Later that evening, Maya stood in her office, staring at her phone.
A message flashed on the screen.
Unknown Number: "She's getting close. Do something."
Her pulse quickened. She typed back quickly.
Maya: "I have it under control."
Unknown Number: "You said that before."
Maya's fingers trembled slightly. She deleted the chat and locked her phone, forcing her expression back into its usual calm before anyone could walk in.
She turned toward the window. Across the city, the Cole Industries building gleamed against the night sky; a reminder of everything she'd fought for.
"Elena," she whispered, her voice low and venomous. "You should've stayed gone."
That same night, Adrian received a secured folder from Sophie. Inside were dozens of old emails and internal memos. He began scrolling through them one by one until one particular message stopped him cold.
It was from Maya Johnson to R. Lennox Holdings.
Subject line: Project Silence.
Timestamp: Three days before the leak.
He opened it, heart pounding.
"The files will be sent tomorrow. Make sure the payment is processed through the agreed channel. Cole will never know."
The attachment?
Blueprints of Elena's design.
Adrian's hands shook as he read the message again. His chest felt tight.
He'd believed Maya when she said Elena had betrayed him. He'd ended things with the woman he loved because of this lie.
And Maya;
Maya had been the one behind it all.
Far across town, Elena sat alone at her desk, staring at her notebook.
Step 5: Find out who really wanted me gone.
She added one more line beneath it, her pen steady, her heart pounding.
Step 6: Confront Maya.