By noon, Emilia Stone's name was trending for all the wrong reasons.
Headlines rotated on every major financial network, casting shadows over a career built on poise and precision. Emilia Stone Accused of Internal Cover-Up. Leaked Designs Expose Billion-Dollar Blunder. Every word felt like a dagger, and she could practically feel the wolves circling.
She hadn't had more than a few minutes alone since returning from Sebastian's apartment. Her assistant, Ava, was glued to her side, whispering updates and ushering her from one meeting to the next like Emilia might unravel without her.
"I need to breathe," Emilia snapped quietly, shrugging off the tailored coat that suddenly felt too tight. "Get me everything we have on Clara's recent communications—calls, emails, swipe-ins, all of it. And I want a private briefing with the internal security team within the hour."
Ava nodded and disappeared.
Emilia stood in her office, hands pressed flat against her glass desk, staring down at the mountain of paperwork, press clippings, and breach reports. The numbers weren't what shook her.
It was the silence.
Clara's silence.
Clara Hastings had been her second-in-command for five years. Loyal. Efficient. Trusted. And now—vanished.
She played the long game, Emilia thought. Right under my nose.
---
The internal investigation report came just after lunch. Emilia sat down to read it alone, her office locked.
Clara's access card had been used at 2:13 AM three nights ago—long after working hours—to enter the restricted design lab. Video surveillance showed her alone, head down, hood up. A flash drive. A transfer. And then... nothing. She hadn't come in since. Her work phone was off. Personal one, disconnected.
Emilia leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.
She didn't just leak something. She timed this.
The most promising prototype in development—an AI-integrated luxury smartwatch—had been compromised. A version of it appeared in a competitor's teaser campaign that morning, with branding suspiciously similar to theirs.
If clients lost faith, investors would follow.
And if the board lost faith... they'd start to circle for her seat.
A soft knock at the door pulled her from the spiral.
"Come in," she said.
It was Dominic Kerr—senior board member. Old money. Older morals. He stepped in like he owned the room.
"Emilia," he said smoothly, "a few of us are meeting privately this evening. Some are concerned about the optics. I thought it best to tell you personally."
She arched a brow. "A coup?"
He smiled thinly. "A conversation."
"I'm not stepping down."
"No one's asking you to. Yet."
She stood. "Good. Because the last thing this company needs right now is another headline."
His gaze flickered, just slightly. "That's up to you, isn't it?"
She waited until he was gone before she let her expression fall.
This wasn't just about Clara. Someone higher up had helped her. Someone on the inside wanted Emilia out.
---
Later that night, after the building emptied and the city pulsed with nightlife, Emilia remained at her desk. Tired. Silent. Determined.
She opened her personal phone, the one she'd ignored all day.
Still one message from Sebastian.
Still no reply.
She considered typing something—just a word, maybe two.
Instead, she closed her phone and stared at her reflection in the black screen.
Her jaw was set. Her eyes tired, but burning.
They wanted to break her?
They'd have to try harder.