Chapter 9

The meeting room was as cold as the tension that hung in the air. Drew stood at the head of the table, his arms folded, his jaw tight. His usual commanding presence felt heavier today, and his silence was deafening.

I could feel the unease radiating from everyone in the room. Papers shuffled, chairs creaked, but no one dared speak. Drew’s sharp gaze swept across the table, his presence demanding attention.

A wave of unease rippled through the team. Papers shuffled, chairs creaked, but no one dared to say anything. I froze in my seat, my pulse quickening. The air felt thick, suffocating.

“What do you mean compromised?” someone asked, their voice hesitant.

Drew’s sharp gaze swept across the table. “Leaked,” he said bluntly. “Information about our launch strategy was leaked.”

Murmurs broke out instantly. Some people exchanged glances, while others leaned forward, whispering among themselves.

“We don’t know the extent of the leak yet,” Drew continued, his tone even but cold, “but we’re fortunate that my contacts flagged it before anything went public.”

My chest tightened. The weight of his words pressed down on me like a vice.

Drew’s assistant stepped forward, a stack of documents in hand. “These were pulled from the intercepted communications,” she announced, her tone clipped as she began distributing the papers.

When the sheet landed in front of me, my heart dropped.

Emails. My name. Sent to an external party.

It felt like the ground had shifted beneath me. The room started spinning.

“This can’t be real,” I murmured under my breath, my voice barely audible.

Drew’s voice cut through the noise again. “The emails detail sensitive aspects of the launch plan, information only accessible to this team.”

Around me, heads turned, voices grew louder, and questions flew across the table.

“How do we know this isn’t an external hack?” someone asked, his skepticism laced with fear.

“Every precaution was taken,” Drew replied. “We have reason to believe this wasn’t an external hack.”

I could feel the scrutiny intensifying as another team member pointed to the documents. “According to these documents the emails are sent by Lila,” she said flatly.

And just like that, all eyes turned to me.

My breath caught in my throat. For a moment, I couldn’t move. The weight of their suspicion pressed down on me, heavy and suffocating.

“This is absurd,” I said, forcing myself to speak. My voice trembled, but I pushed through. “I didn’t send these emails. Someone’s clearly trying to set me up.”

A man at the far end of the table snorted. “That sounds convenient.”

My cheeks burned, and I gripped the edge of the table, fighting to keep my composure.

“I wouldn’t do this,” I said firmly, trying to meet the eyes of my accusers. “You all know me. I’ve worked hard on this project. Why would I jeopardize it?”

But the skepticism lingered. Whispers spread across the room like wildfire.

Drew had been silent for a while now, his gaze fixed on the papers in front of him. I braced myself, expecting him to stay quiet or, worse, side with them. After all, why would he defend me?

But then, he spoke.

“This doesn’t add up” Drew said firmly, his voice cutting through the chaos.

The room fell silent.

“Lila has no reason to compromise this project,” he continued, his tone steady but sharp. “If anything, she’s been one of its strongest advocates.”

I blinked, stunned. Was I hearing him correctly?

“But the emails…” someone started.

“The emails are circumstantial at best,” Drew interrupted, his tone icy. “If you want to accuse someone, you’d better bring me concrete proof. Speculation and finger-pointing won’t get us anywhere.”

His words hung in the air, and for a moment, no one dared to speak.

“She’s the only one whose name appears on the documents,” another voice said cautiously.

“And until we authenticate the emails,” Drew snapped, “we won’t be making baseless accusations. Am I clear?”

The room fell into an uneasy silence.

“Until we have definitive evidence,” Drew announced, his voice final, “this matter is closed. Now get back to work. I’ll be conducting the investigation myself.”

The tension was palpable as chairs scraped against the floor and people began filing out. I stayed seated, still reeling from what had just happened.

Drew had defended me. Drew.

“Lila,” his voice called softly, pulling me from my thoughts.

I looked up, meeting his gaze. His expression was unreadable, but there was something in his eyes something almost protective.

“Thank you,” I said quietly, my voice barely above a whisper.

He nodded, his jaw still tight. “This isn’t over,” he said. “We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

I hesitated, searching for words, but none came. Instead, I gave him a small nod and quickly left the room.

Drew’s POV

The moment I defended her, I knew I was making a mistake. But I couldn’t stop myself.

As the accusations started flying, something in me snapped.

Lila didn’t deserve this.

I watched as the team left the room, the tension following them like a shadow. Lila was the last to leave, her shoulders stiff, her steps hurried. I could tell she was shaken, and it gnawed at me in a way I couldn’t explain.

Why had I defended her? Why had I gone against my own instincts to stay neutral?

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. This wasn’t part of the plan.

Lila’s POV

By the time I got back to my desk, my hands were still trembling. I couldn’t focus on my work, not with everything that had just happened.

Drew’s words echoed in my mind. He had defended me. Why? It didn’t make sense.

But the reality was clear, someone wanted me out of the picture, and they were willing to sabotage the project to do it.

As I stared at my computer screen, the weight of the situation settled heavily on my shoulders.

This wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.