Adrian
Elena always chose places with windows.
I don't think it was intentional at first.
But after a while I noticed the pattern — cafés with open views of the city, restaurants perched above the streets, quiet corners where sunlight could reach the table.
Places where nothing felt hidden.
It was one of the many reasons I trusted her.
When I arrived, she was already there.
Standing by the window with her phone in hand, her dark hair catching the afternoon light as traffic moved far below us.
She turned the moment she sensed me walking up behind her.
"You're alive," she said.
"Barely."
She studied my face for a second, then smiled faintly.
"You look like you've been fighting spreadsheets again."
"Intelligence reports."
"Worse."
I exhaled quietly, some of the tension from the morning easing just from being there.
Elena sat down across from me once we ordered coffee.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
We didn't always need to.
That had become one of the things I valued most about her.
Then she tilted her head slightly.
"Something's bothering you."
"It usually is."
"This time it's different."
She had always been good at reading people.
Too good sometimes.
I leaned back slightly in my chair.
"We're tracking a network moving money through legitimate companies."
Elena's expression shifted subtly.
Concern.
Interest.
"Corporate laundering?"
"Something bigger."
"How big?"
"Structured."
That word carried weight.
Because structure meant leadership.
And leadership meant power.
Elena rested her hands lightly around her cup.
"My company works with a lot of international partners," she said carefully. "If something like that is happening…"
"I know," I said.
That was part of the complication.
Elena worked for Crosswell Industries — one of the companies that had recently started appearing in our financial tracing.
I hadn't told her that yet.
Not because I didn't trust her.
Because I was still trying to understand how deep the connection went.
She watched me closely.
"You're holding something back."
"Maybe."
"That's not comforting."
I considered my next words carefully.
"Has anything unusual happened at work lately?"
Elena frowned slightly.
"Unusual how?"
"New leadership decisions. Sudden changes. Deals that don't make sense."
She thought about it.
And then something in her expression changed.
"There was a meeting last week."
"What kind of meeting?"
"Executive-level. Closed door."
"That's normal."
"Not when half the department heads weren't told about it."
That got my attention.
"What was it about?"
"They didn't say."
Her eyes narrowed slightly now as she started connecting things herself.
"Why are you asking about this?"
Before I could answer, Elena's phone buzzed on the table.
She glanced at the screen.
Her expression shifted.
Slightly confused.
"That's strange."
"What is?"
"I just got an alert about an emergency board gathering tonight."
I frowned.
"That's short notice."
"Exactly."
She opened the message and read it more carefully.
"Attendance mandatory for key divisions," she murmured.
"Location?"
"Our main corporate building."
The same one my department had been monitoring for weeks.
Something cold settled in my chest.
"Do you have to go?"
Elena looked up at me.
"Yes."
"Then I'm coming with you."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Since when do intelligence officers attend corporate board events?"
"Since today."
Elena studied me for a long moment.
Then she leaned forward slightly.
"Adrian… what aren't you telling me?"
I held her gaze.
"Just promise me something first."
"What?"
"If anything feels wrong tonight — anything at all — you leave immediately."
That made her pause.
Because she knew me well enough to understand what that tone meant.
"This isn't just about corporate politics, is it?" she asked quietly.
"No."
"Then what is it about?"
I didn't answer right away.
Because at that exact moment…
Across the city…
Lucian was stepping into a car that was heading to the same building.
And neither of us knew yet…
That the night ahead would change everything again.