Trapped within the game

By the time Alina stepped back into the mansion, the tears had dried, but something sharper had taken their place.

Focus.

Naomi was close behind, quiet but alert. She knew this side of Alina too-the strategist, the storm that didn't need thunder to destroy everything in its path.

"Pull the internal logs," Alina said, heading straight for her private study. "Surveillance access. Emails. Anything in or out of the house or company servers in the last 48 hours."

Naomi nodded and peeled off without needing further instruction.

Alina sat at her desk, her fingers gliding across the touchscreen built into the table's surface. She pulled up a report Naomi had left open-one she hadn't looked at yet. Her thumb hovered over the highlighted section.

Subject: Preliminary Audit – Private Investments – Gregory Vale

She clicked.

And there it was.

A hidden fund transfer-disguised under a shell company tied to one of her subsidiaries. Transferred less than a week ago. The recipient? A media outlet known for digging up reputations and burying them in scandal.

Gregory had used her own company's money to leak Jesse's past.

A direct attack. One that could legally tie her to the slander if she didn't find it first.

Her jaw clenched. "He's not just trying to ruin my name," she said out loud. "He's trying to get me disqualified as CEO."

The clause in her father's will echoed in her mind: 'Should Alina's leadership be compromised by legal scandal or public scandal of significant weight, the board has the right to reassign authority within the family.'

She stood quickly just as Naomi reappeared.

"I found something else," Naomi said, eyes sharp. "Gregory's been in contact with an old associate of your father's-a man who helped draft the original terms of the will."

Alina's heart dropped. "He's trying to change the rules of the game."

"No," Naomi said quietly. "He's trying to prove you never followed them to begin with."

Alina paced the study, mind racing. "If he can show that the marriage is fake... if he can prove Jesse and I were a sham-"

"-then you lose the company," Naomi finished.

Alina turned to the window, fists clenched.

She'd built this empire with her own brilliance, her own sweat. And now a man who'd never earned a single dollar without backroom favors was trying to steal it with shadows and lies.

But what cut deeper than all of that?

The one person who might've helped her fight it... she'd just pushed away.

****

Alina paced the length of her study, her mind an endless loop of what-ifs and could-bes. The walls of her carefully constructed empire were crumbling before her eyes, and despite all the cold, calculated strategies she could devise, there was one glaring issue she couldn't ignore.

Jesse.

The marriage, their bond-whatever it had become-was more complicated than she'd been willing to admit. He was a part of the game now, an unwilling pawn. But the truth was, she'd pushed him away when she should have leaned in. Now, she had to decide whether it was too late to ask for his help, or if they could somehow work together to stop Gregory's machinations.

The decision came in the form of her own hesitation. She knew it was time to act. And as much as she despised it, she couldn't face this war alone anymore.

Alina dialed the number, feeling her stomach twist as the phone rang.

"Alina?" Jesse's voice came through the line, steady and calm, but with an edge that had been missing before.

Her throat tightened, but she steadied herself. "Jesse... I need to talk."

There was a pause, a brief breath, and then Jesse responded. "I figured. Where do we meet?"

"Your place," Alina said. "I'll be there in thirty."

---

When Alina arrived at Jesse's apartment, she barely recognized the place. The walls, once filled with warmth and a collection of memories, now seemed sterile. The windows were shut tight, the air a little too still. He must have been keeping to himself.

Jesse greeted her at the door, his expression unreadable. He didn't offer to let her in right away-just stood there, arms crossed, waiting for her to speak first.

Alina stepped inside without waiting for an invitation, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor as she made her way to the center of the room.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, her gaze fixed on a distant corner of the room. "I should've never shut you out. I... was wrong."

Jesse's eyes flickered with something-resentment, hurt, maybe even relief. He took a step forward, his voice cool. "You've been wrong a lot lately, Alina. And it's not just me you've been pushing away."

"I know," she whispered. "I'm not proud of it."

He took a deep breath, his jaw tightening. "So, why now? Why come to me?"

Alina turned, meeting his gaze. "Because I need you. You're the only one who understands what I'm fighting for. You're the only one who can help me stop this."

Jesse studied her, the weight of his silence heavy in the air. Finally, he spoke, his voice quieter. "You've been doing everything on your own. Why change that now?"

"Because Gregory is playing a game," she said, her voice growing sharper, "and I don't know the rules. But I need to. If he gets away with this-if he proves the marriage was fake, if he ties me to his little scandal-I lose everything. The company. My father's legacy. You."

She paused, swallowing hard. "I can't do this alone, Jesse. I won't."

For the first time since they'd met, Jesse didn't flinch at her words. Instead, he nodded, slow and deliberate. "Alright. But you need to understand something, Alina. This doesn't fix everything. You can't just come in here like you're calling the shots again. We're in this together-whether you like it or not."

Alina's chest tightened. "I don't expect things to be the same as before."

"Good," he said, his voice softening slightly. "Then let's figure this out. Together."

And just like that, a fragile bridge began to rebuild between them-one that had once felt unbreakable, now tempered with reality and necessity.

Alina stepped closer, her voice low. "We'll need to go after Gregory's people. Find the loopholes. And we need leverage-something to force his hand."

Jesse nodded. "I know where to start. I've been keeping an eye on some of his associates. They're careless."

She raised an eyebrow. "You've been spying on them?"

Jesse's lips twitched into a wry smile. "Call it... preparation. You don't get to where I am without knowing how to read people."

Alina smiled back, though it felt different than before. Less about romance, more about survival. "Then let's get started."