VALERIA'S POV
The Sterling Gala was a fever dream of fake.. well fake everything, so judging by the way Marcus greeted me, fake as it also was. I decided going back to my apartment was safe for now.
I kicked off my heels, the red silk dress pooling on the floor. I didn't bother with the lights. I threw on an oversized shirt, the fabric smelling faintly of my own sweat which reminded me how I was yet to do laundry.
Then I sat at my desk, legs crossed, the burner laptop's glow the only thing cutting through the dark.
I plugged in the USB. The metal was still warm from Marcus Sterling's pocket.
It wasn't just a drive. It was a physical gateway to a Cold Storage slush fund, a digital vault that didn't exist on any public server.
Most people think hacking is about code. It's not. It's about anatomy. I learned it in the backrooms of the underground clinic, patching up men who paid their medical bills in encrypted data.
If you can map a nervous system, you can map a server. You find the pressure points. You find the vein.
And then, you cut.
"Cute, Marcus," I whispered, my fingers dancing over the mechanical keyboard. My palms were slick with sweat. "But you're like a dinosaur in a digital age."
I was very careful bypassing it because one wrong move would trigger a silent alarm that would have Marcus's security at my door in minutes.
[ACCESS GRANTED]
A fifty-million-dollar slush fund. Hidden in a shell company labeled for Wedding Miscellaneous.
Wedding Miscellaneous? Wtf was that
He probably had plans for it tonight if he brought it to the engagement gala.
I moved fast, clean, surgical.
First, I carved out twenty million and funneled it into a dark pool, using it to buy up the distressed debt of one of Marcus's logistics firm.
I wasn't just taking his money. I was becoming his secret landlord.
Then I removed fifteen and ran it through digital casinos and Macao hubs until it came out clean on the other side, landing in an offshore account under a name that hadn't existed until five minutes ago - Clara Smith
Ten million was liquidated next. That one was for the underground clinic, the only place left in this city that had ever felt remotely like home.
The final five was my favorite.
I sent it to an anonymous whistleblower collective with a digital note attached.
A down payment on the truth. Break his stock by noon. If he tries to trace this, burn it.
Then I uploaded the photos from Alaric's blackmail dossier to my shadow contact.
Archive these. If Alaric turns on me...earlier than expected, I want Marcus's illegal signature on the front page of every tabloid. If they're going to be a family, let's make it a tragedy.
I closed the laptop and sat there in the dark, listening to the silence ring, my heart thudding a frantic rhythm against my ribs. I felt...High.
"Checkmate, you old bastard."
--
By morning, I was carrying coffee in one hand and a lie in the other.
Alaric was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window when I walked in, a tablet in his hand.
"A fifty-million-dollar vacuum," he muttered without turning. "Marcus is losing his mind. He's spent the last few hours screaming at his security team."
"Maybe he misplaced it," I said, setting his black coffee on the desk. "Rich men are so careless with their toys."
Alaric turned. He studied my face for a heartbeat too long, his gaze tracing the slight dark circles under my eyes that I couldn't quite hide with concealer.
"He's calling it a coordinated cyberattack."
"Right. Poor Marcus. My heart bleeds for your new in-law." I adjusted my skirt. "I have work to do, Chairman."
"Wait."
The air shifted, turning heavy and charged.
"Seraphina is just a contract on a page, Valeria."
I didn't turn around, but I was wondering why he felt telling me that was important. I was just playing games and i hope he didn't think I cared who he was with.
"A five-year consolidation agreement for the board," Alaric continued. "She doesn't know yet. To her, it's a fairy tale. To me, it's a strategic alignment."
I knew he was cold, but this? I'm almost starting to pity the spoiled brat. Five years of playing house with a man who looks at her like a line item and a contract she knew nothing of.
"And after it?" I asked.
"The contract dissolves. She gets a payout. I get the board."
"Five years is a long time to play house with a woman you can't stand, Alaric."
"I've survived worse."
He stepped closer, his shadow falling over me like a shroud.
"And inflicted worse, too," I whispered.
Later, I was back at my desk, staring at my phone while Marcus Holding bled across the stock tracker in sharp red lines and boy was i ecstatic.
A shadow fell over the screen.
Alaric.
"Tracking Marcus Holding, Kitty?"
I didn't lock my screen. I let him see the red.
"I like watching things fail. It's therapeutic."
His hand landed on the back of my chair, his knuckles brushing my shoulder.
"Go home, Valeria. Marcus is going to be in this building soon. He's looking for someone to blame. I don't want your mouth anywhere near him."
I looked up at him, a slow, cold smile spreading across my lips.
"You don't want my mouth near him?" I leaned in, my voice a breathy taunt. "But you're perfectly fine with it being on you."
The muscles in Alaric's jaw leaped. His eyes turned into black pits of raw hunger. For a second, the CEO mask cracked. Then he straightened.
"Get out. Now."
So I did.
I gathered my things and headed for the elevator. Just as the doors were sliding shut, a hand caught them.
Michael Miller stepped in with a small, tight smile that didn't reach his eyes. He looked impeccably professional, but he was standing just an inch too close for comfort.
"Heading out early, Miss Valeria?"
"Boss orders, Miller. Apparently, it's a volatile day."
"It is indeed." He smoothed the front of his jacket. "Strange timing on that Sterling leak, wouldn't you say? It's almost as if someone had a front-row seat to the account codes."
My grip tightened around my bag.
"The world is full of coincidences."
"It is. But I don't believe in them."
The elevator doors opened at the ground floor. He stepped out first, then turned back and held the door for me with a polite nod.
"Have a safe evening. And do be careful with your phone. Wouldn't want you to lose any... personal data in the chaos."
He walked away before I could respond. He knew. What he knew, I don't know yet
But he was basically tellin me he was watching.
--
That night, I sat on my sofa with a glass of red wine and the news playing low in the background.
HEADLINE: STERLING GLOBAL SPOKESPERSON DENIES LIQUIDITY CRISIS
The PR anchor was beaming. "The missing fifty million was actually a pre-planned transfer for a new charitable foundation in honor of the Von-Sterling nuptials."
I snorted, wine staining my lips.
A charitable foundation. Creative, Marcus.
The fifty million had been pocket change to a man who owned half the city's skyline. A humiliating sting, but not a death blow.
My laptop chimed. A message from the dark pool flashed across the screen.
[TRANSACTION CONFIRMED. THE 45M IS INVISIBLE. WHAT'S NEXT?]
I set the wine down slowly, the red liquid catching the cold fire in my eyes.
"Let him enjoy the spotlight," I whispered. "It's easier to aim when the target is standing in the light."