Chapter 10: The Mole
Back at the penthouse, silence had become a stranger.
Elara sat on the edge of the couch, watching the encrypted hard drive spin slowly on the coffee table, its blue light blinking like a warning.
She glanced at Killian, who was on a secure call with Declan, face hard and jaw tense. Every second that passed felt like it carried a secret.
When he hung up, she stood. "Tell me."
"They traced a signal—someone inside my company tried to remotely access the file last night."
Elara blinked. "Someone you work with?"
Killian gave a slow nod. "Which narrows it down… to about eight hundred employees."
She folded her arms. "Start with the ones who knew about the contract. The marriage. Me."
He looked at her, surprised. "You think one of them betrayed you?"
She shook her head. "No. I think they betrayed you. And if Damon knew about me before I remembered, someone had to be feeding him information."
Killian paced. "That would mean it goes back months… maybe even before the crash."
"Exactly."
Suddenly, his phone buzzed again. A single name on the screen: Nadia Chen.
He didn't answer.
Elara noticed. "Who is she?"
Killian hesitated. "Head of security. She's… also an ex."
Elara's eyes narrowed. "And you think she'd do this?"
"I think she's smart enough to."
Before Elara could respond, the building's fire alarm shrieked to life.
Killian grabbed her hand instantly. "It's not a drill."
They raced down the emergency stairs, heartbeats loud against the echoes of the sirens.
When they reached the lobby, two men in black were waiting—armed.
Elara froze.
Killian stepped in front of her, jaw clenched. "Go," he growled. "To Declan's."
"I'm not leaving—"
But he shoved the drive int
o her hand. "Trust me."
And then chaos broke loose.