I barely slept. My mind kept replaying every word from Mara's visit, every look she gave me. Even the silence between us had felt like a test. By the time the sun rose, I'd convinced myself of one thing—Mara was far more dangerous than I had first thought.
I reached the office earlier than usual. The corridors were empty, the lights still flickering on as the building woke up. I liked arriving before everyone else; it gave me time to prepare, to breathe, to wear my mask before the world could demand anything from me.
I made coffee, opened my laptop, and began scanning through the network logs. Everything looked normal on the surface. Too normal. It meant Mara had already cleaned up her tracks from the previous night's intrusion. She was meticulous.
By the time the others arrived, I had already run two background checks and flagged her device ID in the system—not to track her, but to know when she tracked me.
"Morning," Adrian's voice came from behind me. I turned, forcing a smile. He looked different today. The usual calm authority was still there, but there was also something else. Concern.
"Morning, sir," I replied, pretending to focus on my reports.
He hesitated, then leaned against the edge of my desk. "You've been quiet lately. Everything alright?"
I blinked, caught off guard. He had never asked me something personal before. "Just a lot on my plate," I said lightly. "Trying to stay ahead of the deadlines."
He nodded, but his gaze lingered on me. "You've been doing more than staying ahead. You're… different lately."
I held my breath for half a second. Different how? Did he mean the confidence, the late hours, or something else?
Before I could answer, the elevator chimed. Mara stepped out, phone in hand, her expression perfectly composed. Her eyes flickered toward us briefly before she walked straight to her desk. Adrian noticed the tension in my shoulders and gave me a small, knowing look.
"Don't let her get to you," he said quietly before walking away.
The morning dragged on. I tried to focus, but Mara's presence was magnetic and unsettling. She moved through the office like she owned it, charming some, intimidating others. Everyone noticed her, which was exactly what she wanted.
Claire slipped by my desk during lunch. "She's been asking questions about you," she whispered. "Little things. When you come in, when you leave, what projects you're handling."
"I expected that," I murmured. "She's building a profile. Let her. The more she thinks she knows, the easier it'll be to control what she finds."
Still, I could feel the unease growing inside me. No matter how skilled I was, this was a real threat—one mistake and she could trace everything.
By evening, the tension snapped. Adrian called a meeting in the main boardroom. Everyone was present—managers, department heads, assistants. Even Mara.
The air was heavy when Adrian began speaking. "We've discovered data irregularities involving Helix and internal transactions," he said, his tone steady but sharp. "Someone has been using unauthorized access channels."
A ripple of murmurs passed through the room. Mara stood near the screen, a presentation queued up. Her eyes were fixed on me, calm but cold.
She clicked a button, and the projector lit up. "After cross-referencing the access points, we've narrowed the activity to three users," she announced. "Two have been cleared. The third is under investigation."
I already knew what name would appear next.
My heart raced as the screen blinked—and displayed Ethan's credentials.
The room went silent.
Adrian's brow furrowed. "Ethan?"
Mara nodded, her tone firm. "All signs point to him. I found traces of his login credentials linked to Helix transfers. His workstation shows repeated midnight activity."
Ethan looked shocked. "That's impossible. I didn't access anything. I left my workstation—"
"That's the problem," Mara interrupted smoothly. "You left it logged in."
The tension was electric. I could feel Ethan's confusion, the disbelief in the air. I wanted to speak, to tell the truth, but I couldn't. Not yet. It wasn't the right time.
Adrian's voice broke the silence. "We'll suspend Ethan until this is resolved. Mara, handle the investigation. Selina, assist her."
My stomach dropped. "Assist her?"
"Yes," he said firmly. "I trust you to keep this objective."
Mara smiled faintly. "Of course. I'll make sure she stays involved."
The meeting ended abruptly, leaving a thick cloud of tension behind. Ethan's expression as he left the room lingered in my mind. He didn't deserve this, but he also couldn't know the truth.
That night, I returned home exhausted but wired. The glow of my monitors felt like the only familiar comfort left. I logged in, tracing the false trail I had planted earlier. The data pointed exactly where I wanted it to—toward Ethan's credentials.
It had worked. Too well.
Rina's message popped up. You sure this is the right move? He might get caught in the crossfire.
I typed back quickly. He'll be fine. This buys us time.
She hesitated before replying. Mara's watching you closer now. Be careful.
I stared at the screen for a long moment. Careful. That word had lost its meaning for me. Everything now was a gamble, every move a calculated risk.
I leaned back, closing my eyes for a moment. The faces of everyone in the office flickered through my mind—Adrian's calm observation, Mara's predatory smile, Claire's quiet fear, Ethan's betrayed confusion. Every one of them was a piece on the board.
And I was the only one who knew how the game was really played.
The city lights outside flickered as I worked through the night, cleaning logs, setting traps, building walls that no one could breach. I wasn't just defending myself anymore. I was shaping the battlefield.
By the time dawn painted the sky, exhaustion tugged at my eyes, but I didn't stop. Because I knew tomorrow would be worse.
Mara would dig deeper.
Adrian would question more.
And Ethan… might start to suspect me.
But that was fine. Suspicion meant movement, and movement meant opportunities.
I turned off the monitors and let the silence settle. The game had changed again.
And this time, I intended to win it completely.