The drive into the city felt different from the day before, not quieter and not louder, just heavier with the kind of awareness that didn't need to be spoken to exist. Selena sat beside Sebastian with her hand resting in his, watching the city move past while feeling the shift before they even arrived, the attention already building somewhere ahead of them.
"You don't have to come in today," Sebastian said calmly, his gaze fixed on the road.
Selena turned slightly toward him. "I know."
"You can go back if you want. It'll be easier."
She studied him for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't want easier. I want to be there. I was yesterday, I'll be today."
That made him look at her properly this time, his gaze holding hers just long enough to understand that she meant it.
"There will be media," he said. "More than yesterday."
"I figured."
"They won't stay quiet."
"I don't expect them to."
Something in his expression shifted then, not resistance and not approval, just a quiet acceptance of the fact that she had already decided. He didn't argue again. By the time the car slowed in front of McGrey Holdings, Selena already knew there was no turning back.
The moment the car stopped, the noise hit all at once. Voices layered over each other, cameras flashing, movement pressing in from every direction.
"Mr. McGrey—!"
"Who is she—?"
"Is she the reason you disappeared—?"
The door opened, and before Selena could fully step out, Sebastian's hand was already at her waist, firm and steady as he guided her closer to him. His bodyguards moved instantly, creating a controlled path through the chaos while cameras flashed relentlessly around them. Selena didn't flinch. She didn't rush. She stayed exactly where she was—beside him.
And he didn't let go.
Inside, the building absorbed the noise, but not the tension. It followed them in quieter ways, in the glances that lingered too long and conversations that stopped the moment they passed. By the time they reached his office floor, everything looked controlled again, but only just. Rose was already waiting when they stepped in.
"They've been outside for over an hour," she said. "Legal is preparing a statement. Media division is drafting warnings on defamation and unauthorized reporting."
Sebastian nodded once. "Let them proceed."
Rose handed him a tablet. "There's something else."
Selena stepped closer as his gaze moved across the screen, and she saw it almost immediately.
"HelixCore Technologies Announces Early Launch of NeuralSync Interface."
She read it twice, slower the second time, taking in the description beneath it a wearable neural interface system designed to synchronize human cognitive responses with digital environments in real time, adaptive, predictive, and self-learning.
Her eyes lifted to him. "That's yours right? "
"Yes."
The word was quiet, but absolute.
"The same design?" she asked.
"Same framework. Same architecture. Same adaptive model."
Rose added carefully, "They're presenting it as original work. Full launch in three weeks."
Selena frowned slightly. "But your release—"
"Next quarter," Sebastian said.
The realization settled quickly, sharp and undeniable.
"They're ahead of you."
"They shouldn't be."
Rose continued, "There's no official breach on record."
Selena looked between them. "Then it isn't official."
Neither of them disagreed.
Sebastian set the tablet down, his focus narrowing. "Track every access point tied to the prototype. Limit exposure immediately. No one touches the NeuralSync files without clearance."
"It's already being done," Rose said.
"This is happening again, just like it did with Westline Acquisition" Sebastian said
Another firm moved in overnight. Same acquisition target. Same valuation structure. Same timeline. They offered higher. They knew exactly where to move and when. It's structured too precisely to be external guesswork." Rose replied.
Sebastian leaned back slightly, his expression controlled but focused. "Who's the firm?"
Rose shook her head, shell front, no direct trace yet.
And HelixCore?"
"We can't move yet," she replied. "Not without proof."
A knock came shortly after, then Jason stepped in without even asked to come in, and with the same ease he always carried, composed, familiar, like he belonged there without needing permission.
"I'm guessing you've seen it," he said.
Sebastian didn't respond immediately.
Jason's gaze shifted to Selena, softening just slightly. "You came back."
"I did."
There was something about him that still felt easy to be around, something unforced. Selena noticed it again, the quiet sense that being near him didn't require effort the way everything else in this world seemed to.
Jason leaned against the desk, glancing at the tablet. "HelixCore doesn't move like this unless
they're sure."
"They're not moving," Sebastian said. "They're following."
Jason's expression sharpened slightly. "Then someone's feeding them."
Selena spoke without thinking. "Or staying just ahead of you."
Both men looked at her.
Jason smiled faintly. "That too."
The conversation continued naturally from there, shifting into timelines, access points, internal teams. Selena listened closely, speaking only when necessary, her presence steady without forcing itself into the discussion. Nothing felt out of place, and no one treated her like she didn't belong there.
When Jason finally stood to leave, he looked between them, nodded at them and gave them a reassuring smile. Sebastian didn't respond, and Jason didn't wait for one. His gaze passed briefly over Selena before he walked out. The room settled into a quieter kind of stillness after the door closed.
Selena let out a small breath she hadn't realized she was holding and leaned lightly against the edge of the desk. "He owns a company too, doesn't he?"
"Yes."
"What kind?"
"Less of what I do, but a bit similar "
"His grandfather built it. He runs it now. Sterling Dynamics."
She nodded slowly, taking that in. "And he's good at it?"
"He is."
There was no hesitation in the answer, and that told her more than anything else could.
She watched him for a moment, then said quietly, "You're always so different in a good way with him"
"I've known him a long time," he said.
It wasn't a full answer. But it was enough.
Selena didn't push further. Instead, she stepped closer, closing the small distance between them. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The tension from everything outside the room still lingered, but here, it felt contained, quieter.
"You're handling this," she said softly.
His eyes moved to hers. "Handling what?"
"All of it," she replied. "The press, the company, whatever this is with HelixCore. You already are."
Something in his expression shifted, not dramatically, but enough for her to see it.
"You don't sound unsure," he said.
"I'm not."
He studied her for a second, as if measuring the certainty in her voice.
"You don't even know everything yet."
"I don't need to," she said. "I can see enough."
That held his attention.
She didn't look away. "You don't panic. You don't react just because something moves against you. You wait, you understand it, and then you decide what to do. That's not something people fake, Sebastian."
Silence followed, but it wasn't empty. It settled between them in a way that felt grounded.
"You'll handle this," she added, quieter now, but no less certain.
For a brief moment, something unguarded crossed his expression, something he didn't usually let anyone see. Then he stepped closer. His hand moved to her waist again, slower this time, more deliberate, drawing her just slightly toward him. The gesture wasn't for show, and it wasn't rushed. It was instinctive, like something he had already accepted without needing to explain.
Selena didn't resist. Her hand came to rest lightly against his chest, steady, familiar.
"You don't seem worried," he said.
She shook her head faintly. "I am. Just not about you losing."
That earned the smallest shift in his expression, something that almost looked like a smile but didn't quite become one. He held her there for a moment longer, his grip tightening just slightly, enough for her to feel it, enough for it to mean something without needing words.
A knock came at the door. This time, it broke the moment cleanly. Sebastian didn't move immediately, his gaze still on hers for a second longer before he stepped back.
"Come in."
Rose entered again, composed, but with a different kind of urgency this time.
"Sir," she said, placing another file on the desk. "Media monitoring just updated. This just went live."
Sebastian glanced at her briefly. "Show me."
Selena reached the screen first. And this time—it wasn't about business.
It was her.
A clear image. Not from the charity alone, but from outside the building that morning. Her face, her posture, the way she stood beside him—captured, framed, and already turned into something else.
The headline sat beneath it.
"Woman Linked to McGrey Identified—Mysterious Connection to Willowbrook Sparks Questions."
Selena's fingers stilled slightly against the edge of the desk.
"They found my town," she said.
"Yes."
Not the bookstore, not yet at least. But close enough. Another line followed beneath it.
"Sources suggest she may be connected to McGrey's unexplained absence from public life."
Selena exhaled slowly, her expression steady even as the weight of it settled.
"They're building a story," she said.
"They always do," Sebastian replied.
Her gaze remained on the screen for a moment longer before she looked up at him. "And now I'm part of it."
"Yes."
She nodded once, grounding herself in it. "Then we don't let them decide what that story is."
Something in his gaze sharpened at that. He stepped closer again, his hand finding her waist once more, firm and certain in a way that made everything else feel distant for a moment.
"No," he said quietly. "We don't."
Outside the glass walls of his office, the company continued moving as if nothing had changed, people working, systems running, conversations continuing.
But inside—everything had shifted. Because now it wasn't just about the company.
It wasn't just about the product.
And it wasn't just about him.
The attention had found her.
And this time—it wasn't slowing down.