Elena knew something was wrong before anyone said it.
It was in the way the office moved.
Too fast. Too quiet. Too controlled.
People didn't look at each other.
They looked at their screens.
At their phones.
At anything that avoided eye contact.
That was never a good sign.
She had barely stepped into the building when her phone buzzed again.
Then again.
Then again.
Elena frowned, shifting her bag higher on her shoulder as she walked.
"What now…" she muttered under her breath.
She opened the first alert.
Her steps slowed.
"Cole Dynamics Deal Unstable– Internal Circulation"
Her stomach dropped.
"No," she said quietly.
Another message came in.
Then another.
"Two Investors Withdrawing."
"Possible Leak Confirmed."
"Containment failing."
Elena stopped walking completely.
Right in the middle of the hallway.
People moved around her, brushing past, but she didn't notice.
"This isn't contained…" she whispered.
Her fingers tightened slightly around her phone.
This wasn't just a breach anymore.
This was damage.
Real damage.
And it was spreading.
By the time she pushed open the door to Adrian's office, she already knew what she'd find.
Tension.
It hung in the air, thick and sharp.
Adrian stood near his desk, one hand resting against it, the other loosely holding a tablet.
He wasn't looking at her.
He was reading.
"Elena," he said without lifting his head.
No sarcasm. No edge.
That alone told her everything.
"You saw it," she said.
Not a question.
A pause.
Then he looked up.
"Yes."
That was it.
One word. Flat. Controlled.
But she saw it.
The slight tightening of his jaw.
The way his fingers pressed just a little too firmly against the edge of the tablet.
Cracks. Small. But there.
"How bad?" she asked.
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he set the tablet down carefully.
Too carefully.
"Two investors have already pulled out," he said.
Elena exhaled slowly, running a hand through her hair.
"Damn it."
"It won't stop there," Adrian added.
No emotion in his voice.
But the implication was clear.
It was going to get worse.
Elena turned away slightly, pacing once before stopping.
Her mind was already moving.
Calculating. Connecting.
"This lines up with the pattern I showed you," she said. "Timing, precision, it's controlled. This wasn't random."
"I know," Adrian replied.
She turned back sharply.
"You didn't sound like you cared yesterday."
That hit.
Not loudly.
But directly.
Adrian's gaze settled on her.
Steady. Unreadable.
"I care about results," he said.
Elena let out a short, humorless laugh.
"Right. And this is the result."
Silence stretched.
Because she wasn't wrong.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then his phone buzzed.
Elena's eyes flicked toward it automatica.
Then away. Faster.
More deliberate this time.
Not important. Not relevant.
Adrian noticed.
Of course he did.
But he didn't say anything.
Instead, he picked up the phone, glanced at it briefly, It was just another notification alert from a news outlet about the company's situation. He set the phone back down, completely ignoring what he just saw.
Elena noticed, but decided to ignore it also and focus on the situation at hand.
"We don't have time to play defense anymore," she said. "Whoever this is, they're escalating."
Adrian nodded once.
"Then we escalate faster."
Their eyes met.
And this time, they were on the same side.
Not allies. Not yet.
But aligned.
For now.
Elena stepped closer to the desk, pulling up the logs again.
"I found a pattern last night," she said, tapping the screen. "Small delay in access logs. Repeated. Intentional."
Adrian moved beside her.
Close. Closer than before.
She felt it.
That shift in space.
That awareness.
But Ignored it.
"Show me," he said.
She did.
Breaking it down.
Explaining it.
And for the first time, he didn't interrupt.
Didn't challenge. Just listened.
That…that threw her off more than anything.
"…and if I'm right," she finished, "this isn't just internal."
A pause.
"They're targeting specific outcomes."
Adrian's gaze sharpened.
"Meaning?"
Elena hesitated.
Just for a second.
"Meaning they wanted this deal to destabilize."
Silence.
Because that changed everything.
This wasn't just a leak.
It was intent.
Behind them, the city moved like nothing had changed.
Cars. Lights. Noise.
Inside, everything had.
Adrian stepped back slightly, running a hand over the back of his neck.
A small gesture.
Quick. But real.
"I want a full list," he said. "Anyone with access to that level."
"I'm already working on it."
"Good."
Another pause.
Then he called her
"Elena."
She looked up.
"Don't miss," he said.
Not a warning.
Not quite trust either.
Something in between.
Her chin lifted slightly.
"I don't."
Their eyes held for a second longer.
The door closed behind her with a soft click.
Then her phone buzzed again.
This time, she didn't ignore it.
She glanced down.
Adrian didn't move immediately.
For a moment, the room felt….quieter than it should.
He exhaled slowly, running a hand over the back of his neck before reaching for his phone.
Unlocked it.
"You disappeared earlier."
He stared at the message for a second.
Not because it was surprising.
Because it felt….badly timed.
His thumb moved before he thought too much about it.
"I was occupied."
Across the city, Elena had just dropped into her chair when her phone lit up.
She glanced at it, then leaned back, one heel slipping off absentmindedly as she stretched her foot.
"You always are."
A small huff escaped her.
"Says the one who notices when I'm gone."
There was a pause.
Long enough to feel intentional.
Adrian read that twice.
Something about it pulled at the corner of his attention.
"I notice patterns."
Elena's fingers hovered over the screen.
Her gaze drifted briefly back to her laptop, the logs still open.
Then back to the message.
"That sounds like a boring way to live."
Another pause.
Adrian leaned back slightly in his chair, eyes narrowing just a fraction, not in suspicion, but in thought.
"It's efficient."
Elena tilted her head slightly, a faint smile forming without her realizing it.
"You don't strike me as someone who should settle for efficient."
That one, landed differently.
Adrian's grip on the phone tightened just a little.
"And you think you know what I should settle for?"
Elena's smile faded into something softer. More thoughtful.
"No."
"I just think people who pay that much attention don't do it for nothing."
Silence.
Adrian didn't reply immediately.
Didn't look away from the screen either.
Because that, felt a little too close.
Across the city, Elena waited a second.
Then another.
Then she shook her head lightly and dropped the phone onto the desk.
"Not my problem," she murmured under her breath.
Her attention snapped back to the screen.
To the data. To the pattern.
And just like that, the moment passed.
A few seconds later, Adrian finally typed.
"You're overthinking it."
But by the time the message sent, she wasn't looking anymore.