All Chapters of MY EX WANTS ME BACK: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

124 Chapters

LEGACIE'S

Diane's pov"Our families?"The words left my mouth before I could stop them.Mr. Holloway smiled gently."Not by blood."He pulled a chair closer to Zephyr's bed before sitting down."But by something just as important.""Character."The room fell quiet.Zephyr leaned back comfortably against his pillows.It was obvious he'd heard this story before.Maybe pieces of it.Maybe all of it.His father folded his hands together."My father wasn't a wealthy man.""He was an ambitious one."I listened carefully."He met Thomas Morgan when they were twenty-four.""They had nothing.""No investors.""No wealthy relatives.""No safety net.""They had one dream.""To build something that would outlive them."His smile became nostalgic."They argued almost every day."I couldn't help smiling."About what?"William chuckled."Everything.""The company name.""The logo.""Which clients to take.""Even where to buy lunch."Zephyr laughed."Sounds familiar."His father pointed at him."Exactly.""You

FORGIVENESS ISN'T FORGETTING

Zephyr's pov"My parents almost divorced."The words lingered between us.Diane looked at me as though she wasn't sure she'd heard me correctly."What?"A small smile tugged at the corner of my lips."I know.""They don't exactly seem like the type."She shook her head slowly."I can't imagine it.""Neither could I."I adjusted the blanket over my legs before looking out the hospital window."It happened when I was twelve."The memory came back with surprising clarity.Not because I wanted it to.Because it never really left.I used to think my parents had the perfect marriage.Dad would leave for work every morning before sunrise.Mum would kiss him goodbye at the front door.Every evening, she'd be waiting when he came home.They laughed.They teased each other.They danced in the kitchen when they thought no one was looking.At least...That's how I remembered it.Then Holloway Industries started growing.Dad became busier.His meetings became longer.Business trips became more fre

SHOWING UP

Diane's povThe list stayed open on my phone long after I got home.I must have read those four points a hundred times before I finally placed my phone on the nightstand.For once...I wasn't looking for answers.I already had one.The difficult part would be living it.The next morning started earlier than usual.I arrived at the office before eight.The building was unusually quiet.The receptionist looked up from her desk and smiled."You're here early.""I couldn't sleep."She nodded knowingly."Coffee?"I smiled."Please."By the time I reached my office, a steaming mug was waiting on my desk.I took one sip before opening my laptop.Emails.Meeting requests.Budget revisions.For the first time in weeks...Work felt like work again.Not an escape.Not a punishment.Just work.A knock interrupted my thoughts."Come in."Sarah stepped inside, balancing two folders against her hip."I knew I'd find you here.""You know me too well.""I'd be worried if you weren't buried in spreadsh

THE LEAK

Diane's pov Something was wrong.I knew it the moment I stepped out of the elevator.The executive floor was never this quiet.No one stood around chatting with coffee cups.No laughter echoed through the hallway.Everyone walked with purpose.Heads down.Expressions tense.I glanced at my watch.7:46 a.m.I'd arrived early.Yet almost everyone was already here.Sarah hurried toward me, clutching a tablet against her chest."You got Richard's email?"I nodded."What happened?"She shook her head."No one knows.""Or if they do, they're not talking."Behind us, Zoey stepped out of another elevator.She looked between us."I've never seen this many executives arrive before eight."Neither had I.A strange feeling settled in my stomach.By exactly eight o'clock, every seat in the boardroom was occupied.Department heads.Senior managers.Legal advisors.IT security.Even people I rarely saw outside quarterly reviews.Richard Lawson entered without his usual greeting.He placed a thick f

UNDER SUSPICION

Diane's povI couldn't breathe.My employee ID remained on the screen.User ID: Diane MatthewsAccess Granted – 2:17 A.M.It didn't matter that I knew I hadn't been anywhere near the office.The system said otherwise.And systems didn't have feelings.They only had records."There has to be a mistake."My voice sounded distant.Almost as though someone else had spoken.Abe didn't answer immediately.He continued studying the access log, his brows knitted together."No."He finally said."I don't think it's a mistake."I stared at him."What?""I think someone wanted us to find this."Before I could ask what he meant, the conference room door opened.The two IT analysts returned carrying coffee.One look at our faces and their smiles disappeared."What happened?"Abe stood."We found another access log."He turned the monitor toward them."It shows Diane's credentials accessing the confidential files at 2:17 this morning."The younger analyst nearly dropped his coffee."What?"He hurri

SHADOWS IN THE SYSTEM

Diane's pov My mouth suddenly felt dry.Zephyr waited patiently.He didn't rush me.Didn't pressure me.He simply watched as I tried to piece together a memory I hadn't thought about in months."There was someone..."I whispered again."I remember leaving my office.""It was late.""We were preparing for the client presentation."He nodded."Go on.""I got a call from Legal.""They needed me downstairs.""I left my laptop unlocked because I thought I'd only be gone for a minute."The memory became clearer."When I came back...""...someone was sitting at my desk.""Who?"I closed my eyes."It was Nathan."Zephyr frowned."Nathan?""Our IT support engineer.""He said he'd been asked to update the presentation software because it kept crashing.""And you believed him?""I didn't have a reason not to."I let out a shaky breath."He even apologized for touching my laptop."The more I thought about it...The less it made sense."I never questioned it."Zephyr leaned back."Did anyone actu

THE FOOTAGE

Diane's pov The walk to the IT Security office felt longer than it actually was. Neither Abe nor I spoke. The silence wasn't awkward. It was heavy. Every step echoed through the hallway, reminding me that in a few moments, I might finally know whether my career was about to be saved... Or destroyed. When we entered the security room, Richard Lawson was already there. Beside him stood Olivia Chen, the Head of Information Security. She motioned toward the large monitor mounted on the wall. "We managed to recover part of the deleted surveillance footage." "Part?" Abe asked. Olivia nodded. "Someone attempted to erase it." My stomach dropped. "But we recovered enough to see what happened." Richard folded his arms. "Let's begin." Olivia pressed play. The footage showed the executive hallway. A timestamp appeared in the corner. 2:08 A.M. The corridor was empty. Seconds passed. Nothing happened. Then... A figure appeared. Dressed in a dark hoodie. A baseball cap pu

SOMEONE IS WATCHING

Diane's povThe drive back to the office felt different.Neither Abe nor I turned on the radio.Neither of us tried to fill the silence.My mind kept replaying one sentence.Someone returned the access card.Not yesterday.Not last week.Today.Which meant whoever had framed me had been close enough to hear about the investigation...Or close enough to predict exactly what we were looking for.Neither possibility made me feel any better.The moment we stepped back onto the executive floor, Richard was waiting outside the conference room."Come in."His voice was calm.Too calm.That usually meant he was furious.The door closed behind us.Only four people were inside.Richard.Olivia.Abe.Me.Richard rested both hands on the table."I've made a decision."Nobody spoke."Until this investigation is over...""...only the four of us will know every detail."I frowned."What about the rest of IT?""They'll only receive information on a need-to-know basis."Olivia nodded."The fewer peopl

THE WATCHER

Diane's povI couldn't take my eyes off the photographs.Every page felt like an invasion.One picture showed me leaving the grocery store three weeks ago.Another captured Sarah and I laughing outside the office after work.There was even one of Zoey walking toward her apartment building with headphones on, completely unaware someone had been watching her.Whoever had taken these wasn't interested in just me.They'd been watching all of us.Richard slowly closed the folder."No one speaks about this outside this group."His voice was calm, but I could hear the anger beneath it."Not your teams.""Not HR.""Not even your families."Olivia looked uneasy."If whoever is doing this realizes we found these photographs...""...they'll change their methods."Richard nodded."Exactly."He looked at each of us in turn."From this moment forward, this investigation is classified."Abe frowned."What about Security?""They'll know only what they absolutely need to know."Richard tucked the fold

WATCH CLOSER

Diane's pov Nobody moved. The conference room had fallen into a silence so complete that I could hear the faint hum of the projector. On Olivia's laptop screen sat a single attachment. WATCH_CLOSER.mp4 No sender. No recipient. No subject line. Just the file. Richard was the first to speak. "Disconnect it." Olivia looked up. "What?" "The network." "If this is malware, I'm not risking our systems." She nodded immediately. Within seconds, she'd unplugged the ethernet cable and disabled the Wi-Fi. She looked around the room. "As safe as we're going to get." Richard folded his arms. "Play it." Olivia clicked the file. The screen went black. Five seconds. Ten. Fifteen. I was beginning to wonder if the file was corrupted. Then... The image appeared. --- Security footage. Our lobby. The timestamp showed six weeks earlier. Employees walked through the revolving doors as they always did. Nothing unusual. The footage changed. Another camera. Richard arriving

1 2 3 4 5 6

...

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP