The city felt like it was beating faster, almost crazy. I could feel Bianca's next move coming, like a hungry animal getting ready to attack. Liam and Damian worked all the time, two quiet people stuck to their screens, looking through piles of computer records. The air in my office was thick with worry, each hour feeling like a clock ticking down. The small secrets leaking from my company were like tiny cuts, making my company weaker from the inside.
Then, the first big problem happened for everyone to see.
A big tech magazine, known for finding bad things in companies, wrote a mean story about Hilly Enterprises. It talked about "bad ways of doing business" and "wrong ways to handle secrets." It used unclear words but clearly pointed fingers at my company. The small details weren't for everyone to know, but the story was enough to make people doubt my company. The story came out in newspapers and online at the same time, spreading very fast.
My phone kept ringing. Worried people on the board, nervous customers, and reporters all wanted answers. This wasn't just an insult; it was a direct hit. Bianca was using the secrets she stole to hurt my company's good name.
"She's attacking how people see us," I told Liam, my voice calm even with the storm growing inside me. "This is just the first part. She's getting us ready for something bigger."
Liam, looking tired but focused, nodded. "The story mentioned special projects, Ms. Hilly. Details that only a few people would know. It's too exact to be by chance."
My eyes immediately went to the screen showing Damian. He was still in the IT secure room with Liam. Could he have given her this information? The thought was a bitter poison. He was working to find the leak, but what if he was the one leaking?
Just as everything was very messy, Liam's voice cut through the noise, sharp and urgent. "Ms. Hilly! I found something. A pattern. The secret transfers weren't random. They happened every time a new project idea was finished. And the last one… the details in this story match a project that only a small, trusted group approved last week."
My blood ran cold. This was more than just random spying. This was very specific. "Who had access to that specific project idea, Liam?"
He typed very fast. "Just you, me, our main lawyer, and… Mr. Nellie. He looked at the technical parts of the project before it was finally approved in IT."
The air left my lungs. Damian. It always came back to him. The betrayal, the public shame, the careful rebuilding of my life – and now, this. Was he truly a changed man, or just a better actor?
A new wave of anger came over me, colder and more dangerous than before. This wasn't just a coincidence. This was a plan. She had him give her information, and I had foolishly put him in a place where he could do the most harm.
I told Liam to get a very secret, fake project idea ready. It was a bait document, full of "secret" details about a new, amazing technology. Only a few people would get to see it. And Damian would be one of them.
"This document is a trap, Liam," I explained, my voice chillingly calm. "We will watch every single time it's looked at, every second it's seen, and every time it's tried to move outside our safe computer network. If it leaks, we'll know exactly who took it."
Liam understood right away. His face was serious. "What about Mr. Nellie, Ms. Hilly?"
"He gets to see it," I said, my decision firm. "It's the only way to be sure. We need to catch this person doing it."
I watched Damian log in later that day, getting to the fake project idea. He spent a long time looking at it, his face unreadable on the screen. My heart pounded, a mix of hope that I was wrong about him, and a cold certainty that I was about to be proven right. The waiting was terrible.
Twenty-four hours. Thirty-six. Forty-eight. No leak. I found myself almost relieved. Maybe I was wrong about Damian. Maybe he really had changed. Maybe this was just a coincidence, a very cruel one.
Then, just as I was about to stop the trap, Liam burst into my office, his eyes wide. "Ms. Hilly! It's out. The fake project idea. Apex Solutions just asked for a patent for a technology almost the same as ours. And Bianca Moreau herself just said she's having a press conference tomorrow, showing off their 'next big thing'!"
My stomach dropped. The trap had worked. The leak was confirmed. And Damian…
My eyes were fixed on the camera feed of the IT room. Damian was still there, working. He looked up from his screen, a strange, almost knowing look on his face, as if he felt things closing in on him. The game was no longer hidden. Bianca had set her trap, but in doing so, she had walked directly into mine. And the key to finding out the whole messy truth now lies with the very man who might be my biggest enemy, or my most surprising helper.