Chapter 1

The conference room went silent for several seconds.

Tessa Ford's eyes immediately filled with tears.

"Am I putting you in a difficult position? I'm sorry. I only thought living closer to the office would make late-night revisions easier."

The product manager beside me spoke quietly.

"Maya, that apartment usually sits empty anyway."

Someone else joined in.

"It's only a few months. Tessa's still working this hard while pregnant. It hasn't been easy for her."

Victor Hale sat at the head of the table, tapping two fingers against the surface.

"Maya, we're at a critical stage of the project. Supporting one another as a team isn't a bad thing."

I looked at him.

"Victor, if an employee is being asked to provide private housing to another employee, does that need to be reported and documented with Compliance?"

He frowned.

"There's no need to make it that complicated."

"Then it's even less appropriate."

I capped my pen.

"The apartment is my private property. It isn't a project resource.

"If Tessa needs housing, the company can approve a temporary accommodation allowance through the normal process. I'll support that."

Tessa bit her lip, tears clinging to her lashes.

"But finding a place this suddenly is hard, and anything close to the office is expensive.

"Maya, after everything we've worked through together, I thought we were friends."

The atmosphere changed immediately.

I didn't take the bait.

"Friends still need boundaries."

Someone muttered under their breath.

"Cold-blooded."

"She's probably afraid Tessa will start taking credit from her."

"Pregnancy isn't a crime. Does she really need to be this defensive?"

More comments drifted through my vision.

[She's putting you on the spot in front of everyone.]

[Don't explain. The more you explain, the guiltier you'll look.]

[Adrian Cross will call you in ten minutes.]

The meeting ended.

Less than ten minutes later, my phone vibrated.

"Maya, I heard you turned Tessa down today?"

I stood in the stairwell, looking out at the gray sky.

"News travels fast."

He gave a soft laugh.

"A lot of people at our two companies went to school together. Everyone's talking about it in the group chats.

"Don't take it personally. I'm only worried people might misunderstand you."

"So?"

"She's pregnant. There's no need to burn bridges.

"It's only a place to stay. You could have her sign an agreement."

The comments floated up again, colder this time.

[Listen to how considerate he sounds.]

[He still remembers the backup access code to your apartment.]

[Last week, he sent Tessa photos of your living room.]

My fingers tightened around the phone.

"Adrian, do you know Tessa?"

There was a pause.

"I've heard the name. I don't really know her."

I smiled.

"You don't know her."

"Of course not.

"Maya, have you been working too much lately? Stop imagining the worst in people."

I ended the call.

I didn't confront him.

The comments were right.

If I blew this up now, I'd only tip them off and they'd change their plan.

I went back to my desk and messaged Leah Sutton from Legal.

"Are you free tonight? I need help preserving evidence."

Her reply came quickly.

"What happened?"

I glanced at Tessa across the office, head lowered as she wiped at her eyes.

"Someone wants to borrow my apartment.

"And take my life while they're at it."