Morning came quietly, but the world outside felt heavier. My dreams had been a blur of static screens and Ethan's unreadable face. I woke with the taste of adrenaline still lingering in my mouth.
The message from last night kept replaying in my mind. "Stop digging." Whoever sent it knew exactly what I was doing—and they wanted me afraid. But fear wasn't a language I spoke anymore.
I reached for my laptop before even making coffee. The file I had hidden was still there, encrypted and untouched. I added another layer of protection before leaving for work, then locked the drive in my drawer.
The office looked the same, but people's eyes lingered longer today. Whispers followed me when I walked past. Someone had started rumors—probably Claire. That was fine. Let them think whatever they wanted. Distraction was a weapon, too.
"Morning," Rina said softly as I passed her desk. "You okay?"
"Just tired," I lied.
She smiled sympathetically. "You're always tired lately. Try sleeping instead of saving the world."
"If only it were that simple," I muttered, forcing a small laugh.
When I sat down, Adrian appeared almost immediately. "Selina, can I see you for a minute?"
In his office, Ethan was already there, leaning casually against the window. My pulse quickened, but I hid it well.
Adrian gestured for me to sit. "There's been a system breach," he said. "Minor, but unusual. We're checking access logs. Some files from our internal audits were viewed outside of protocol."
I kept my expression neutral. "Do we know by whom?"
"That's what we're trying to find out," Ethan said, his eyes steady on me. "Any ideas?"
I met his gaze without blinking. "If I had any, I'd have told you already."
Something flickered in his expression—approval, maybe. "Good. Stay sharp."
Adrian nodded. "You can go, Selina. I'll update you if we learn anything."
As I left the room, I felt Ethan's eyes follow me. It wasn't suspicion anymore—it was something closer to curiosity.
By noon, the tension had spread through the entire floor. Everyone was double-checking passwords, whispering theories. Claire looked pale, which meant the breach had shaken her, too.
At lunch, I stepped outside to clear my head. The air smelled like rain, heavy and clean. Rina joined me with two coffees. "So what's going on? Everyone's panicking."
"Security glitch, maybe," I said.
"Glitch?" She snorted. "You don't sound convinced."
I smiled faintly. "Let's just say I've learned not to believe in coincidences."
We walked silently for a few moments before Rina asked, "Do you ever think you're getting too deep into this place? Like… the lines between what's real and what's just numbers are starting to blur?"
Her words hit closer than she knew. "Every day," I admitted softly.
When I returned to my desk, I noticed something odd—my screen had been unlocked. I always set a timer. My hands froze. Then I saw the file I'd hidden wasn't open, but the folder had been moved.
Someone had been there.
I scanned the office. Claire was on a call, pretending to laugh at something. But it was too convenient. Too calm.
That night, after everyone left, I stayed back, pretending to finish reports. When the lights dimmed to half-brightness, I began tracking user activity through the admin logs. I wasn't supposed to have access, but rules stopped applying the moment someone tried to threaten me.
The logs confirmed my suspicion—Claire's account had been used to enter restricted data zones again. But this time, the access was routed through a masked IP. Whoever was controlling her knew what they were doing.
At that moment, the office door clicked open. Ethan stepped in quietly, his tie loosened, sleeves rolled up.
"You're still here," he said.
"So are you."
He smiled faintly. "I could say the same thing."
For a moment, the silence between us was almost comfortable. Then he noticed the monitor behind me. "You're digging again."
"Trying to protect myself," I said.
He walked closer, stopping beside my desk. "You know what happens to people who go too deep?"
"I'm not most people."
His eyes searched mine for a long second. "No, you're not."
The way he said it made my chest tighten unexpectedly. I looked away, pretending to close the files.
"You think Claire's involved," he said quietly.
"I think she's being used," I corrected. "There's someone else—someone above all this."
"Like who?"
"Mason Trent," I said, watching for a reaction.
His jaw tensed. Just for a heartbeat—but I saw it.
"So you've been looking at the same things I have," he said finally.
That startled me. "You knew?"
"I've been investigating for months," he admitted. "But I didn't expect someone else to find the cracks. You just… slipped right in."
I stared at him. "Then why test me? Why the coded messages, the cryptic warnings?"
"To see what you'd do," he said simply. "Most people would panic. You didn't. You played along."
"That's manipulative."
"That's survival."
He leaned against my desk, lowering his voice. "We can't talk here. There's surveillance everywhere. Meet me tomorrow at the old coffee house on 6th. Noon."
Before I could respond, he was already heading toward the door.
"Ethan," I said, and he stopped. "If this is some kind of setup—"
"It's not," he said without turning. "But if you come tomorrow, be ready to choose which side you're really on."
The door closed behind him, leaving me staring at the reflection of the monitor light on the dark glass wall.
I sat there long after he left, fingers motionless on the keyboard. My heart was racing—not from fear, but from the realization that I was standing at the edge of something much bigger than both of us.
The next morning, I packed the encrypted drive in my bag and dressed simply, blending in with the crowd as I walked toward the café. Every step felt like crossing a line that could never be uncrossed.
Inside, the smell of roasted beans filled the air. Ethan was already there, sitting by the window. He looked different out of the office—less sharp, more human.
He didn't smile when he saw me. "You came."
"Curiosity kills faster when you ignore it," I said, taking a seat across from him.
He slid a folded envelope across the table. "Inside that is what you're really dealing with. Read it later, not here."
"What's in it?"
"The truth," he said quietly. "And it doesn't come cheap."
I looked at him, then at the envelope, and for the first time since this began, I realized I wasn't just investigating corruption. I was part of a hidden war inside my own company.
And I had just chosen a side.