Chapter 2

The next morning, Daniel was already at his desk when Ethan arrived. His morning Coffee in one hand, his eyes scanning the spreadsheets of his laptop. Too focused and too composed.

Ethan’s phone buzzed in his pocket as he passed. Same unknown number from last night.

“Watch him. He’s not what you think.”

He never flinched, but something about the timing made his stomach twist.

“Morning, Mr. Richard.” Daniel looked up with that calm smile. “You’re early today.”

“You’re late,” Ethan snapped, brushing past.

Daniel glanced at the clock. “It’s 6:45 a.m.”

Ethan didn’t reply. He shut the office door harder than necessary.

By mid-morning, tension snapped again.

“Reyes!” Ethan barked through the intercom.

Daniel appeared instantly, holding a file. “You called?” He asked.

“Where’s the McKenna report?”

“On your desk.”

Ethan scanned. Page after page. Everything in order. Too perfect.

“You did this overnight?”

“Yes.”

“You stayed late?”

Daniel raised a brow. “Someone has to keep the empire from crumbling.”

For the first time, Ethan almost smiled.

But then Daniel leaned forward, whispering his voice. “You should check who’s leaking your numbers.”

Ethan froze. “What did you just say?”

Daniel slid another paper forward. “Last night, I found duplicates of your files on a hidden drive. Someone’s feeding data outside.”

“How do you know that?” Ethan asked.

Daniel’s eyes held his, too direct. “Because I found them. And I deleted them.” Daniel answered.

“You touched my systems again eh?”

“You asked me to protect you, remember? Even if you didn’t say it out loud.”

For a moment, the air between them charged.

Then Ethan grabbed the phone. “Security. I want a full trace on system access—”

Daniel reached across the desk and pressed the receiver down. “Don’t bother. If you go official, the leak will know you’re onto them.”

The nerve. Ethan’s blood burned hot. “You think you can dictate how I run my company?”

“No,” Daniel said. “I think I can save it.”

At noon, Ethan attended a high-level lunch with investors. He brought Daniel along—not out of trust, but because he wanted to watch him.

The restaurant was buzzing, every table packed with power suits. The investors leaned in numbers.

“Rumors say your company’s bleeding data, Richard. Competitors are already circling.”

Ethan hated rumors. Hated weakness. But before he could reply, Daniel spoke.

“That’s a lie," Richard’s Tech runs tighter security than any firm in this city. Whoever fed you that garbage was trying to spook you.

Every head turned. Ethan’s pulse spiked. His assistant had just spoken for him—at his table.

“Who are you?” one investor asked.

Daniel didn’t blink. “The man who makes sure Richard never loses.”

The table erupted in laughter. Ethan sat back, silent and watching. Daniel had just silenced billionaires with one line.

But Ethan couldn’t ignore it. The timing. The confidence and even the unknown number.

Who the hell was this man?

That night, Ethan confronted him.

“You don’t speak for me.”

Daniel stood by the window of Ethan’s office, the city lights painting him. “I spoke for the truth. You needed it.”

“I don’t need you,” Ethan snapped.

Daniel turned. “Then why haven’t you fired me?”

Ethan froze.

“Face it,” Daniel continued. “You don’t trust anyone. But you trust me.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“Liar.”

The word sliced deeper than Ethan expected.

Before he could reply, Daniel stepped closer. “Someone inside your circle is leaking data. If you don’t let me help, you’ll lose everything. Including this company you pretend is all you have.”

Their faces were inches apart.

Ethan’s voice dropped. “And what do you get out of this?”

“Maybe I like saving sharks before they drown.”

Something inside Ethan cracked. He hated him. He wanted him. He didn’t understand him.

But before he could say anything, the office door burst open.

It was Alex, his rival from the board.

“Well, well,” Alex smirked. “I wondered why you stayed late, Richard. Now I see. You’ve been busy.”

Ethan’s chest tightened. Alex’s eyes flicked between him and Daniel, hungry for gossip.

“Careful,” Alex sneered. “Shareholders wouldn’t like to know their CEO’s assistant spends more time in his office than his wife ever did.”

Daniel’s jaw clenched. Ethan shot him a warning glance—stay silent.

But Daniel didn’t.

“Funny,” Daniel said stepping forward, “I didn’t know blackmail was part of the board’s job description.”

Alex’s smirk faltered.

This wasn’t how he wanted this confrontation. Not now. Not with Alex.

“Leave, Alex, before I remind you what happens when you overstep.”

Alex chuckled. “Enjoy your little secret, Richard. It won’t stay hidden for long.”

He left. The door slammed.

Ethan's fury boiling. “Do you realize what you’ve done?”

Daniel didn’t flinch. “I protected you.”

“No, Reyes. You just painted a target on my back—and yours.”

Daniel’s mask slipped. Fear flickered in his eyes, quick, before vanishing.

And Ethan caught it.

“You’re hiding something, Daniel."

Daniel’s silence was the only confirmation he needed.

But, Ethan didn’t sleep. The anonymous texts, Daniel’s perfect timing, Alex’s smirk—it all twisted together into one undeniable truth:

Daniel Reyes wasn’t just an assistant.

But what was he?

The next morning, Ethan opened his email.

His stomach dropped.

A single file sat in his inbox. No subject. No sender.

Inside: photographs, clear enough. Him and Daniel. Last night. Standing too close. Daniel’s hand brushing his sleeve. Ethan leaning forward.

The kind of pictures that could ruin him.

And a message attached.

“How much is your assistant worth to you, Mr. Richard?”

Ethan’s blood ran cold.

Daniel walked in just then, holding two coffees. “Long night?”

Ethan slammed the laptop shut.

“Reyes!” he called, “you have exactly one chance to tell me the truth. Who the hell are you?”