LOGINATHENA POVChloe didn't hesitate. She grabbed the silver tablet right off the desk, her manicured nails tapping sharply against the glass casing. Her eyes scanned the screen, tracking the flashing green confirmation log that showed the broadcast was active."You think a temporary block is going to save you, Athena?" Chloe asked, her voice dropping the polite facade entirely. She looked up, her gaze cutting through me like ice. "My development team is already sitting in the server room downstairs. The moment this broadcast registers on our network, they override your local encryption. You just saved us the trouble of digging through Lucien’s mainframe."She didn't wait for a response. She turned around, waving her hand toward the three compliance officers waiting at the door. "Secure the local terminal. Ensure no secondary data packets leave this office. I want the extraction line kept completely clean."One of the men stepped forward, a heavy leather briefcase in his hand. He didn't l
ATHENA POVChloe’s voice through the thick wood was way too calm. It was the same smooth, polished tone she used during her press conferences, completely stripped of any emotion. Hearing it now, right after surviving a simulated car crash and finding out her name was on the liquidation files of my father’s company, made my skin crawl.I looked at the mahogany door, then down at my hands. They were still damp from the rain outside, my fingers hovering over the glass screen of my tablet. Everything in my head was screaming at me to run, but there was nowhere to go. Fifty floors up, amber emergency lights pulsing against the walls, and the daughter of the man who ruined my family was standing right outside.Marcus was practically hyperventilating next to the bookshelf. He had his back pressed against the wood, his eyes wide as he stared at the door handle. He looked like a kid waiting to get caught."Lucien," Chloe called out again, followed by the faint click of her heels shifting on t
ATHENA POVThe heavy mahogany handle rattled a second time, a sharp, violent metallic snap that echoed like a gunshot in the quiet office.My body went completely rigid in the executive chair. My fingers stayed hovered over the tablet screen, frozen above the data lines pointing directly to Arthur Vance’s terminal. I looked up at Lucien.He didn't make a sound. His eyes narrowed, turning into cold, dark slits as his gaze locked onto the moving handle. With a fluid, silent efficiency, he reached into his jacket and pulled out the matte-black firearm. He didn't raise it yet. He kept it flush against his thigh, his large frame stepping smoothly between the desk and the door, completely shielding me from the line of fire.Silence descended on the room again, thick and heavy.Then, a frantic voice bled through the thick wood of the door. "Lucien! Open the door! It’s me."Marcus.I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding, my shoulders dropping slightly. But the tension in the room
ATHENA POVThe rain didn't stop, but I barely felt the cold water soaking through my clothes. My eyes were fixed on the map coordinates on Lucien’s screen. The red pulsing dot sat squarely over the glass silhouette of Laurent Holdings Headquarters—the exact building where I had spent the last three days mapping out my revenge."Your board," I said, my voice cutting through the steady patter of the rain. "You told me you didn't have any leaks, Lucien."Lucien didn't answer immediately. He tucked the phone back into his coat pocket and turned back toward the dead SUV. His movements were calculated, completely devoid of the hesitation that was currently twisting my stomach into knots. He looked at his driver, who was standing by the damaged front fender, checking the scrape along the concrete barrier."Thomas," Lucien called out, his voice sharp and authoritative. "Leave the vehicle. Call the secondary team to tow it directly to the private warehouse. No police reports, no insurance logs
ATHENA POVThe engine screamed. The sudden, violent jerk of the SUV threw me forward, the seatbelt cutting hard into my shoulder. I slammed back against the leather as the vehicle accelerated on its own, the digital dashboard flashing a single, terrifying message: System Override Initiated."The steering is dead!" the driver shouted, his arms straining against the wheel. It wouldn't budge. It was locked completely rigid, forcing the heavy SUV straight toward the concrete barrier of the river bridge. "The brakes aren't responding!"Panic flared in my chest, hot and sharp, but my brain instantly kicked into developer mode. This wasn't a mechanical failure. It was a remote exploit through the vehicle's smart-grid firmware. Chloe. She wasn't just wiping servers; she was clearing the board.Beside me, Lucien didn't panic. His face was a mask of cold, concentrated fury. With one fluid motion, he reached across the console, his large hand gripping my wrist."Athena, the tablet," he said, his
LUCIEN POV Marcus’s name blinked against the black plastic of the console. The green answer icon pulsed, illuminating the interior of the moving vehicle with a rhythmic, sickly glow. Beside me, Athena’s eyes stayed fixed on the screen. She didn't say a word, but her fingers dug into the leather of her seat, her knuckles turning a bloodless white. I didn't like the fear in her eyes, but underneath it, there was a stubborn resilience that kept her from breaking. She was holding on. I reached down and swiped the screen, switching the call to the vehicle’s integrated Bluetooth system. The audio didn't start with Marcus’s voice. It started with the sound of a heavy, ragged breath, followed by a sharp, metallic rattle—like a set of keys hitting a hard surface. "Lucien," Marcus choked out. He sounded completely unhinged, the thin veneer of his high-society confidence entirely stripped away. "Tell me you haven't processed the paperwork. Tell me you still have the forensic drive in your p
ATHENA POVThe glowing red text on the screen didn’t just threaten Lucien; it threatened everything I had just discovered. Turn her over. My fingers hovered over the keyboard, frozen as the live video feed showed the two men entering the private elevator bay downstairs. They had a physical keycard.
LUCIEN POVThe glass of whiskey on my desk was untouched. I stood by the floor-to-ceiling window of my bedroom, watching the city traffic crawl fifty floors below. In the adjacent wing of the penthouse, the faint, rhythmic clicking of a mechanical keyboard echoed through the vents.Athena was still
ATHENA POV"Arthur Vance," Lucien repeated, his voice dangerously low. He didn't move away from the elevator doors. His gaze stayed fixed on me, sharp and calculating. "Where did you get that name, Athena?"My fingers remained curled into fists at my sides. The silence in the penthouse was thick, b
ATHENA POVThe investigator’s words hung in the air, vibrating through the small speaker of my phone. It belongs to Lucien Laurent.My thumb froze over the screen. I ended the call without saying another word, the sudden silence inside the moving car becoming infinitely louder than the static of th







