Chapter 23- Confronting The Ghost

The next day crawled by like molasses. Samantha acted as if nothing had happened, smiling and humming while she sabotaged me behind the scenes. HR hadn’t yet responded to the complaint, but I knew they would soon. I could feel the eyes on me. It was suffocating. Each corner I turned, I caught glances being exchanged. Whispers stopped when I passed. Paranoia curled around my spine like smoke.

At 1:30 p.m., I was already at Café Gridlock, seated near the back, hidden behind a large indoor plant. I scanned every man who walked in, every glance making my heartbeat spike. I couldn’t sit still. My fingers kept tapping the chipped ceramic coffee cup. Every tick of the wall clock sounded like a bomb.

At 1:40 p.m., Kevin walked in.

He looked the same—a bit older maybe, thinner, and wearing glasses now. He spotted me and approached slowly, cautiously, like someone walking into enemy territory. His hand trembled slightly as he lifted the chair and sat across from me.

“Lily,” he greeted me.

“Hi, Kevin. Thank you for agreeing to meet.”

He nodded, adjusting his glasses. “You said it was important.”

I didn’t waste time. “Three months ago, I was working on the VisionTech integration project. My project got destroyed. I found an email you sent from your Sunflower account. It mentioned deleting project files and filing a complaint in my name.”

Kevin’s face went blank. Then he sighed. “I knew this would come back.”

“So it was true?” I asked. “You were part of it?”

“Yes,” he said, no excuses. “I changed your files. And I filed the complaint. But… I didn’t know it was your project until after.”

I narrowed my eyes. “That’s not good enough.”

Kevin raised a hand. “I swear, Lily. I was told it was a terminated branch module. I got an official-looking memo through our internal portal. When I tried to verify it, Natasha called me personally.”

“Natasha,” I repeated.

He nodded slowly. “She said the project was unauthorized, that someone was leaking internal assets. She told me to act quickly. And... I did. I didn’t ask more. I needed the job.”

“She manipulated you.”

“She owns people, Lily,” he said with visible regret. “When I found out it was your project, it was too late. And then you got fired. I was scared. I wanted to say something, but she threatened to drag me down with her.”

“Do you have proof?” I asked, every part of me trembling.

Kevin nodded and pulled out his phone. He showed me screenshots—emails, transcripts, voice notes of Natasha giving veiled threats.

“This is all I could gather. It’s risky keeping this stuff, but... I couldn’t live with myself otherwise.”

I stared at the screen, my blood boiling. “You need to bring this to HR.”

He shook his head. “They won’t listen to me. She’s tight with the Board. But you? Maybe if you corner her, and William...”

I looked away. William. The man I had blamed all this time.

Kevin cleared his throat. “Actually, I heard from someone in security. William knew Natasha was pulling something. That’s why you were dismissed quietly. He didn’t want your name dragged.”

My heart dropped.

So... all this time, William hadn’t been the villain?

“Then why bring me back just to make me his secretary?” I whispered.

Kevin tilted his head. “Maybe he wants you to see the truth for yourself.”

I stood, eyes on fire. “Thanks, Kevin. Really.”

He nodded. “I’m sorry, Lily.”

Back at the office, I was boiling. I couldn’t sit. I couldn’t lie down. I paced my room like a tiger in a cage. My laptop screen blinked with reminders and appointments, but I couldn’t focus.

William had been quiet for days. Distant. Cold. Mysterious as ever.

As if you were ever loyal—my mind had whispered that in the elevator. But maybe I had been wrong. Maybe I had left without asking questions. Maybe my pain had clouded the truth.

Samantha passed by my desk again, fake-coughing as she bumped a stack of files to the floor. “Oops,” she smirked.

I bent to pick them up, ignoring her. Every action of hers was screaming one thing: she wanted me gone.

Later, a random colleague informed me, "Ma’am, Sir has asked you to prepare his meeting notes for tomorrow’s board review."

I grabbed the laptop. It was time to prove I wasn’t weak.

But more than that, it was time to prove the truth.

Samantha wasn’t done. By evening, she had manipulated the lunch vendor again, rerouted mail orders to wrong departments, and even managed to create a ‘lost file’ situation that delayed William’s personal briefing folder. When the office administrator came yelling, it was me who was questioned.

“I’m so sorry,” Samantha said, her eyes wide with fake innocence. “I thought Lily handled that. I told her the changes!”

“You liar,” I hissed once the administrator left.

She leaned closer. “You’re going to break, Lily. You don’t belong here. And soon, William will see it too.”

“Or maybe he already sees what you are,” I shot back, and stormed toward the file room.

I stayed late, rechecking every folder she touched. And I backed up everything.

I wasn’t going to let her win.

That night, back at my house, I lay awake in bed, laptop open beside me. I had gone through Kevin’s files five more times. And I had compiled them into a folder: Natasha Sabotage - Proof.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps near my house. And somebody knocked the door.

I closed the laptop quickly.

I thought it was my neighbour—but no, it was William. He paused at my door.

“You’re awake,” he said.

“Barely,” I muttered.

He didn’t enter, just stood by the doorway. “You’re doing better.”

I didn’t know how to respond. But before I could say anything, he said, “I hope you’re ready for the company event next week. Big eyes will be watching.”

“I’m not afraid of eyes,” I said softly. “I just want the truth.”

His jaw clenched slightly. Then he nodded and disappeared.

I was still not understanding that this man came to my house just to say this? I closed the door, sat in the couch. But, I stared at the closed door.

William had secrets. But so did I now.

And in this game of power and deception, I was finally learning to play.