By the time we returned to the city, the story had already swallowed it whole.
The headlines were no longer whispers or speculative corners of gossip. They had become banners. Broadcasts. Weapons.Every taxi screen flickered with it. The news tickers ran it in a loop under every anchor’s voice, slicing across the bottom of the screen like a knife too blunt to kill cleanly. Cazien’s photo—his official corporate headshot, neatly cropped and immaculately lit—had been repurposed by the media, transformed into something colder. Something accusatory. It wasn’t a mugshot, but it might as well have been. The lighting was just better.“Anonymous Whistleblower Alleges Ethical Breach in Wolfe Industries Executive Tier”“CEO’s Leave of Absence Raises Questions About Internal Cover-Up”“Sources Point to ‘Improper Intern Involvement’ as Catalyst”That last one landed like a stone dropped through my chest. It wasn’t just professional—it was perThe Wolfe estate office was quiet, like a room holding its breath. Morning light poured through tall windows, shining on the neat courtyard below, where green grass and white marble gleamed too perfectly. Elise sat behind a shiny mahogany desk, her papers stacked in perfect rows, like a wall built to scare. I walked in without knocking, my heart steady but heavy. Her eyes flicked up, polite but sharp, like a cat watching prey. She didn’t stand.“Good morning, Mr. Wolfe,” she said, her voice calm and cool, like ice water. “Morning,” I said, my voice stiff, my suit jacket tight, like it might burst. She watched me cross the room, her gaze steady, like she was counting my steps. “You had a long night,” she said, her words smooth but empty. “Sit with me.” She pointed to a chair, her gesture cold, like an order. I sat, the chair hard under me.“I’m sorry,” I said, my voice low but firm. “I remember too much now.” She leaned back, her wrists crossed on the desk, her face shar
I stepped out of the boardroom, the heavy doors closing behind me with a soft thud, like a judge’s gavel. The hallway was too quiet, its clean glass walls and bright white lights feeling cold and empty, like they carried silent judgments. I pushed my glasses up my nose, the folder under my arm heavy with secrets, pressing against my side like a shield. Cazien stood just past the double doors, his eyes finding mine instantly, warm and steady, saying thank you without words. I nodded back, my stomach twisting, knowing this moment had changed everything.We walked down the shiny steel-and-concrete corridor, our footsteps soft, like whispers on the polished floor. He didn’t touch me, but the air between us sparked, warm and close, like I could feel his heartbeat through my skirt. “I needed you in there,” he said softly, his voice low, like a secret shared in the dark. I kept my eyes forward, my heart racing. “Thank you for coming back to life,” I said, my words quiet but heavy.
I stood outside the boardroom, my badge clipped to my blazer, its metal cold against my chest. My heart thumped hard, like a drum warning me to run. The hallway was built to scare: glass walls too shiny, lights too bright, and a thick, dark carpet that swallowed my footsteps, like it didn’t want me to hear myself leave. Mira stood beside me, her face serious, her eyes steady. She handed me a folder, its edges worn but heavy with truth. She didn’t smile or speak, just looked at me and nodded. “This is the one that counts,” she said finally, her voice low. “I know,” I said, my throat tight. “Are you sure?” she asked, her eyes searching mine. I took a deep breath, my hands shaking. “No,” I said. “But I’m here.” She paused, then whispered, “Make them feel it.” I turned, pushed the heavy door open, and stepped into the battle. Inside, twelve board members sat around a long glass table, their dark suits crisp, their eyes cold like winter. Each had a printed agenda, a c
Mira jumped to her feet, her boots thumping on the glass floor, her voice sharp like a whip. “Stop pretending,” she said, glaring at Margot. “We know Elise stole Cazien’s memory files. We know you picked the clinic doctor without saying he was family. We’re not fools.”Elise rolled her eyes, her lips curling. “Oh, please,” she said, her voice dripping with scorn. Mira turned to Margot, her face fierce. “You erased six weeks of his memories,” she said. “You gave him drugs to keep him foggy, then blamed Raina for the leak.”Margot’s eyes narrowed, cold as ice. “Do you have proof of these lies?” she asked, her voice smooth but dangerous. Declan stood, his wrinkled suit rustling, and slid a folder down the shiny table, its pages whispering. “We do,” he said. “Logs, timestamps, computer addresses. Elise used her home and office systems to sneak into the secure server with a hidden account.”Elise’s mouth opened, then snapped shut, her face pale. Margot leaned back, her eyes l
The room smelled of burnt coffee and old wires, like a machine working too hard. Screens glowed in the dark, their blue light flashing lines of code that danced like secrets. Declan Lee hunched over his desk, his tie loose, his hair messy, like he’d been chasing answers for hours. He looked wild, like a hunter following a trail.Suddenly, his eyes caught something—a strange number in the secure legal network logs. His fingers flew over the keyboard, the clicks loud and fast, as logs opened and timestamps flashed. His face tightened, his voice a whisper. “Wow…” he said, shocked.Mira slipped into the chair beside him, her trench coat rustling softly. “Declan?” she asked, her voice sharp with worry. He pointed at the screen, his finger steady. “Elise got into the secret files—Raina Cole’s memory records,” he said. Mira’s brows furrowed, like a storm cloud forming. “When?” she asked.He read the screen, his voice tight. “Saturday, 10:16 a.m.” He typed again, his hands quick
I sat in a small, dim clinic room, my heart racing with urgency, like a fire burning inside me. Papers and folders were scattered around, filled with medical notes and scratchy audio transcripts, their edges worn like old secrets. Dr. Patel, the memory doctor, flipped through his notes, his glasses glinting under the faint light. “These are Cazien’s words from his sessions,” he said, his voice calm but careful. “We didn’t pull them out—we pieced them together.”He looked up, his eyes kind but serious. “He said ‘Raina Cole’ in six out of seven memory flashes. His feelings were strong.” My chest tightened, like a rope pulling hard. “He knows you existed,” he said. I leaned forward, my voice low. “He needs more,” I said. “Give me the older scans, the unedited words, with dates and names.” He shook his head, his face heavy. “Those are locked—only legal papers can open them.” I wouldn’t give up. “I’ll get those papers,” I said, my voice firm. He looked away, his fingers tapping nervo