Chapter 6: The Leak and the Lies

Rain fell softly against the penthouse windows, streaking the glass in silver threads. The city below shimmered through the storm, restless and alive. Ethan stood by the window, his phone pressed to his ear, voice low and controlled — too controlled.

“Yes, I said trace every transaction in the last forty-eight hours. If the leak came from the merger department, I want names before sunrise.”

He ended the call and exhaled, tension rolling off him like heat. His usually steady hands were clenched into fists.

Ava watched from across the room, the flicker of lightning catching the sharp planes of his face. For the first time since she’d met him, he looked less like a man in control and more like one standing at the edge of something he couldn’t stop.

“Bad news?” she asked softly.

He didn’t turn. “Two investors just froze their funds. If this leak isn’t contained, the entire merger could collapse.”

“And Lydia?” she asked carefully. “She was at the gala. She seemed… interested in your downfall.”

Ethan’s eyes hardened. “Lydia likes chaos. But she wouldn’t risk her own empire to destroy mine.”

“Are you sure?” Ava crossed her arms. “She looked at me like she knew something I didn’t.”

He finally turned toward her, his gaze sharp but tired. “Ava, this isn’t your fight.”

She took a step closer. “It became my fight the moment you put a ring on my finger in front of the world.”

He stared at her, jaw tightening — not in anger, but something else. Admiration, maybe. Or fear of how much he needed her voice right now.

“You’re impossible,” he muttered.

“Only when I’m right.”

For a moment, the storm outside filled the silence between them. Then Ethan sighed, rubbed a hand across the back of his neck, and said, “Fine. If you’re going to help, you need to know what you’re walking into.”

“I’m listening.”

He moved to the bar and poured himself a drink, the amber liquid catching the lightning flash. “The merger involves a tech firm in Singapore. Only five people had access to the confidential documents — me, the CFO, two senior partners… and my assistant.”

Ava’s brows rose. “The assistant you trust completely?”

He nodded grimly. “Trusted. Past tense.”

“So what do we do?”

He looked up at her. “We wait. The investigator will call soon.”

Ava walked over, placing a hand on the table beside his glass. “Ethan, you can’t keep doing this alone. You act like needing someone is a weakness, but it’s not. It’s human.”

His eyes met hers, unreadable. “Needing people gets you betrayed.”

“And pushing everyone away gets you lonely.”

The words landed between them like a spark. Ethan’s expression softened — just slightly — and something in his shoulders eased.

“You shouldn’t care this much,” he murmured.

“Too late,” she said quietly.

Lightning flashed again, casting them both in pale gold light. The air between them grew heavy, thick with unspoken things.

Then Ethan’s phone buzzed on the counter, shattering the moment. He grabbed it instantly. “Blackwood.”

A pause. His expression darkened. “Send me the file. Now.”

He ended the call, opened the message, and scanned the screen. His jaw tightened.

“It’s confirmed,” he said finally. “The leak came from inside the company.”

“Who?” Ava asked.

He looked up, eyes cold and furious. “Lucas Grant — my CFO.”

Her stomach dropped. “The man who congratulated us at the gala?”

“The same. He sold the merger specs to a competitor through an offshore account. And guess who represented that competitor?”

Ava’s heart sank. “Lydia.”

Ethan nodded, a bitter smile touching his lips. “Of course. She never misses a chance to stab twice — once in business, once in pride.”

He moved toward the window again, staring at the rain like he could see the betrayal written in it. “I gave that man ten years of trust. He’s been feeding her data for months.”

Ava hesitated, then stepped closer. Slowly, she reached for his hand. At first, he didn’t move. But when her fingers brushed his, he didn’t pull away.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

He exhaled shakily. “Don’t be. I should’ve seen it coming.”

“No,” she said gently. “You just believed the wrong people. That’s not weakness. It means you still have a heart.”

He looked at her then — really looked — and something shifted. The steel in his eyes melted into something raw, vulnerable.

“Every time I think I’ve built walls high enough,” he said quietly, “you find a way to climb over them.”

Ava’s lips parted, her pulse quickening. “Maybe that’s because you built them out of glass, Ethan.”

For a heartbeat, the world went still — only the rain, only them. Then Ethan reached up, brushing a stray curl from her face. His touch was light, reverent.

“I don’t know what this is,” he murmured, voice rough. “But it’s dangerous.”

“Then maybe danger’s the only thing we’ve ever had in common,” she whispered.

His hand lingered at her cheek, his breath mingling with hers — and for one suspended second, it felt like the whole city disappeared.

But then his phone buzzed again, the sound slicing through the tension. Ethan stepped back, the moment shattered.

He turned away, voice clipped. “I need to meet with legal.”

Ava swallowed the ache in her chest. “Of course.”

He stopped at the door, looked back once, and said quietly, “Thank you. For being here.”

When he was gone, Ava stood alone by the window, staring out at the rain. She could feel the storm brewing in the distance — not just outside, but between them.

Because now she knew the truth: the danger wasn’t only in the leak or the lies.

It was in the way her heart beat faster every time Ethan Blackwood looked at her.