CHAPTER 7: CAUGHT IN THE ACT

*CAMILLE POV*

“Are you nuts, if he catches you trying to steal from him, that will be the end for you."

Mia had been pacing round the room for an hour now, talking non-stop like an over-stressed mom.

"He won't just kick you out of his company, he'll put you in a federal prison, as in an orange jumpsuit, with no freedom and WiFi.”

"Relax Mia! No one is catching me." I kept struggling with my hair in front of the mirror, trying to force it into a tight bun.

“You’ve never listened to anything I say,” she groaned and dropped onto the couch. “I don't know what you're thinking now, but this is the craziest of craziest ideas you have ever had."

“Not to say Damian supported it either.”

I turned around and looked at her, “Silvan is in Zurich, and he won't be coming back till Friday, so this is my only chance, if I don't do this now I might never get another one."

“You don't get it, do you?” She raised her voice. "I'm not against you doing this, but It's too early, you just resumed this week, this week Camille! And you're already trying to steal from him."

"It's not stealing, I just want the evidence to clear my father's name.”

She stared at me, concern on her face. "Camille he's dead, and I know how you feel, but–"

“No you don't!" The word came out louder than I meant. “You really don't get it, and I'm not forcing you to, maybe you'd have understood better if you grew up with yours.”

The moment the words left my mouth, I instantly regretted it.

"Mia… I'm sorry. That was–"

She froze a bit, staring at me with a hurtful look. “It's fine, I get it," she nodded with a bitter smile. "Go ahead, do what you want.”

"Mia! Mia, wait–”

But she ignored me, walking out and slamming the door behind her.

My goodness! What have I done? I actually didn't mean to say that.

**********

After the argument with Mia, although I was feeling bad I still left, I kept replaying the look on her face. I had hurt her for no reason. Mia was the only person who had stayed with me through everything, and I threw her dead parents in her face like that. Stupid. So stupid.

But the guilt didn’t stop me. If anything, it made me more determined to ruin that bastard.

By the time I reached, it was almost eight. I was inside the company. And it was raining heavily with thunderstorms. I was soaked and shivering. It wasn't actually raining when I left home, but surprisingly on the way it started pouring down. Seems even nature was against me.

The lobby was nearly empty. Just a few night cleaners and the security guards.

I took the private elevator which was strictly reserved for Silvan, and I have never seen any employee use it.

When the doors opened, I stepped out fast, my wet shoes making a squeaking sound on the marble floor. I was halfway down the long hallway when a voice stopped me.

“Miss Martin?"

I froze mid step and nearly fell over. My heart was beating very fast, I turned around and a night guard was standing there pointing a torch light at me.

"It's really you.”

"Yeah it is.” I replied, pressing my lips tightly and thinking of a lie to come up with.

“Working late?” he asked.

"Yes,” I said, faking a smile. "Mr. Alder asked me to organize some physical files for his meetings tomorrow.”

He looked at me, doubt on his face “Pretty late for that.”

"I know. I wasn’t exactly happy about it either. But it’s Mr. Alder. I’m sure you know how he is.” I faked a smile, and started strutting off. “I’ll drop these and leave."

I showed him a file, the one I had arranged because of situations like this.

“You’re sure you don't need help?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

I heard the elevator doors close behind him a few seconds later. My shoulders dropped. That had been too close.

I reached Silvan's office. The glass doors were closed but not locked. Of course they weren’t. He was out of the country. Who would be stupid enough to walk in?

Me, apparently.

I slipped off my wet flats and held them in one hand so I wouldn’t leave footprints across his perfect floor. Then stepped inside and shut the door quietly.

The room was cold, and the smell of the air conditioner mixed with the musky scent of Silvan filled the office making my skin tingle.

I turned on my phone's flashlights, moving to the bookshelves, running my fingers along the spines, checking for any loose books or hidden compartments like in the movies. But nothing.

“Where the hell do you keep important things?” I muttered under my breath.

Damian had been so sure it was here.

His office was dark. The city glow from the floor-to-ceiling windows made everything look a bit scary.

I pulled out my phone from my tight jeans pocket and typed: you said it was here.

I didn't get a response from Damien. That made me feel mad. Maybe Mia was right. This was a bad idea.

What if the vault key wasn’t even here, or he kept it somewhere else entirely.

I was about to give up when I noticed a thin line in the wall paneling near the bookshelf, so I pressed it.

A small hidden compartment slid open. Inside was a black metal box with a fingerprint scanner on top. I knew it must be that of Silvan, but I tried mine anyway, it showed red and made a beeping sound, declining my fingerprint. All this risk for something I couldn’t even open. I closed the panel carefully, wiped the surface with my sleeve just in case, and turned around.

My eyes landed on his desktop and a great idea popped in my head. If the vault key wasn't here, I could just d******d all the files on his computer. I rushed around his desk, took out the flash drive from my pocket, aligning it to the port.

“Come on... come on…” I whispered under my breath.

Click.

The small light on the drive blinked blue. The monitor on the desk flickered to life, surprisingly without asking for passwords, and displayed a rapid wall of documents and files, I started the d******d. 10%... 25%... 40%...

“What are you doing?”

The voice came from right behind the bookshelf. I froze, my heart hammering in my chest. For a second, I literally forgot how to breathe.

Th…that voice, I know that voice very well. I slowly turned around and stumbled backwards.

Silvan stood in the open doorway that had been hidden behind the shelves. He was wearing a dark robe, his hair damp, like he had just gotten out of the shower. His eyes were focused on me.

“Mr Alder!" I managed to say, my voice barely audible. I shifted my body to cover the glowing blue light of the flash drive behind me."I– I thought– you're supposed to be in Zurich.”

He walked towards me, stopping three inches. “Answer me,” he said, giving me a suspicious look. “What are you doing in my office this late on a Thursday night?”

“I was– leaving some reports on your desk for Friday morning,” I lied, my mind racing at a terrifying speed. “I knocked over a cable so I was fixing it.”

He moved so fast I didn't even have time to flinch. He reached behind my waist, his broad hand brushing against my side as his long fingers unclipped the blue flash drive from the back of his computer.

He held the tiny black drive between his thumb and index finger, bringing it up into the dim light. “What is this?”

“It's... it's just my personal storage drive.”

His expression turned into anger, he tossed the drive casually onto the desk behind him, grabbed my wrist, and yanked me forward. pinning me against the window, holding my two hands above my head with one of his hands.

At six-foot-three inches, his sheer size was terrifying, blocking my field of vision. His damp hair dripping cool droplets onto my forehead as he leaned in closer. I could see the rapid rise and fall of his chest through his open robe. And his scent was everywhere.

“You're a terrible liar, Camille."

My heart was beating so fast, I was sure he could feel it. “I'm not lying Sir."

He leaned in closer, the droplets of water from his hair dropping down my face.

"The more you lie, the more curious I get and you're not leaving my office till you give me an answer.”