Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

ELLIS POV

The heavy mahogany door clicked shut loudly in the quiet penthouse. I stood by the big window, looking out at the London city lights. My reflection looked back at me, pale in the glass.I could still feel Alex's hand on my cheek. It was a touch that had felt safe for a moment despite it all.

I took a shaky breath and pulled my robe tighter. I wanted to be angry. But deep down, underneath the fury, was a raw ache that felt like grief. I had let him in, shared my bed and my thoughts.

I didn't want this silence. I wanted the noise, the fight, the anger, something real I could actually hold onto. Instead, all I had was the fading warmth on the sheets and a heavy knot of doubt twisting in my stomach.

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By 8:00 AM, I was in the back of my car, typing on my tablet. Shaking off last night's vulnerability to become CEO Ellis Valmont was a familiar routine. I adjusted my cufflinks, a gift from Theo, and walked into the building.

The Velles Building lobby always made people feel welcome, and I usually drew strength from that.

"Good morning, Mr. Velles," the receptionist, Leah, greeted

"Morning, Leah. Is the design department ready?"

"They're already in the meeting room, sir. Mr. Theo said you are to join them right away."

"Thanks." I nodded and went into the elevator.

When I entered my top floor office, Theo was at the filing cabinet. He jumped when the door clicked shut.

"Ellis! You're early... I was just organizing the quarterly projections for the new collection," he said, turning around.

"The merger files are in the digital vault, Theo. Why are you wasting your time looking at printed copies? Don't you ever get tired?" I asked, dropping my briefcase on the table.

Theo adjusted his tie. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead despite the freezing AC."I thought you would want them printed for the meeting."

"Don't stress over it," I said, forcing a smile.

As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, the smile dropped from my face. Theo was completely oblivious to the storm brewing over me, but I didn't have the luxury of ignorance.

I pulled out my burner phone and scrolled to a name I had not called in years, Dal. He was an old university friend who now worked in a cybersecurity organization.

The phone rang twice before a rough, masculine voice answered. "Ellis, I thought you were too successful to remember me."

"Dal, I need your help. Someone has been sending me some unpleasant messages and I need the location tracked."

"Is this about your friend? The one all over the tabloids?" he scoffed.

I closed my eyes, rubbing at an impending headache."Just find out who it is for me."

"Got it. Give me a few minutes," he replied.

I spent the next three hours in meetings, feeling like a ghost in my own life. I watched Theo out of the corner of my eye as he kept fumbling with his tablet and avoiding my gaze.

What's with him this morning?I rolled my eyes at him

Every time my phone buzzed, my heart jumped. Part of me kept hoping to see an apology message from Alex while the other part was terrified that our Project had fallen out.

By noon, the tension was almost crushing me. I locked myself in my office, claiming I needed to prepare for the afternoon press conference. I opened my junk folder. There was an email with a blank subject line. I clicked the link, and a blank page filled my screen with rows of green code loading.

"Here's the catch, Ellis. The login address is encrypted similarly to... Alex Hawthorne's."

The name hit me like a punch to the stomach. Hot tears burned behind my eyes in anger. I wanted to smash something. I wanted to call him and scream until my voice gave out.

But then Dal's text kept coming."Wait I'm looking at the backend data. The files weren't actually downloaded, Ellis. They were encrypted."

"By Who?" I typed back, my hands shaking.

"Not by the guy who broke in though. The files were already encrypted two hours before the login. But the files he took are just empty shells, and the hacker is using your assistant's ID to hide their tracks."

I stared blankly at the words, 'Your assistant's ID.'

Someone had used Theo's credentials to get in, but not Theo himself. Someone close enough to have his login details was using his identity without him knowing.

A sharp, icy chill started at the base of my neck and rushed down my spine, leaving goosebumps on my arms despite my heavy wool suit. Whoever it was knew the system well enough to move around undetected, which meant whoever was behind this had to be someone close.

I stared at the screen, my mind racing. If Alex hadn't stolen the files, then why was he trying to access the system in the middle of the night? Or was this a game so deep even Dal couldn't see through it?

I leaned back in my chair, staring at the screen until the words blurred together. My chest felt tight. If Alex wasn't the one who stole the files, then what had he been doing in my system? Every answer I found only led to another question.

I didn't know what hurt more,that I still wanted to believe him, or that I no longer knew if I should. Somewhere between last night and this moment, I'd lost the certainty that I knew the man I'd let into my bed... and perhaps into my heart.

The first mistake was trusting Alex Hawthorne. The second was believing the truth would hurt less than the lie.

I sat alone in my office as the sun dipped below the London skyline. Several interviews and meetings had come and gone. I had smiled for the cameras, answered questions, and said all the right things.

Now it was just me, the glow of my screen, and the weight of everything I couldn't say out loud.My phone vibrated on the desk, the screen lighting up with a name I never wanted to see. I stared at it and let it ring, only picking it up on the third ring.

"Ellis." Her voice was loud and cold. Exactly as I remembered.

"Mother," I replied.

"I assume you're still coming."It wasn't even a question.

"Yes," I replied.

"Good..." A pause followed. "And Ellis, do try to look very much presentable. The Hawthornes will be there."

The line went dead.

I pulled the phone away from my ear slowly. The Hawthornes were Alex's family. They were coming to my mother's gala. I set the phone face down on the desk and stared at the wall.

My mother's world was colliding with Alex's, smashing into everything I desperately wanted to keep separate.

Saturday was going to be a disaster. I already had that feeling. Whatever Alex Hawthorne was to me, right now I couldn't tell where his guilt ended and mine began.Until I knew the truth, I couldn't trust anyone.

Not even him.