"Conference room. Now."
It wasn't directed at her. It was aimed at the Lucent Security Regulation Unit the elite internal body responsible for guarding the system. Ten men and women moved quickly, their posture stiff. They knew that tone. Everyone did.
Mei followed at a careful distance. Technically, she had no reason to be there. But the hack fell under the audit umbrella, and she could always play the "observer" card. She wanted to see how he handled this.
The glass doors slid open to reveal Kieran already at the head of the long table. Dark suit. Perfectly set tie. No trace of the man who'd kissed her in the Lucent chamber yesterday. His eyes were harder now colder, like tempered steel.
"You had one job," he began, voice low but dangerous. "One."
The room was silent except for the faint hum of the air conditioning.
"The breach reached Lucent's secondary firewall before anyone in this room even noticed," he continued. "If I hadn't been in my office—" He stopped, letting the pause sharpen the air. "Do you know what would have happened?"
No one spoke.
Mei leaned against the far wall, arms loosely crossed, pretending to be there by accident but watching him intently. This wasn't the calculated, quiet man she'd learned to read. This was the side of him people whispered about the one that didn't forgive mistakes.
Kieran's gaze cut through the team. "Lucent is not just a system. It is the most dangerous creation in the world. You fail, and it will not just end your jobs it will end lives. Do you understand me?"
A quiet, nervous chorus: "Yes, sir."
"Not good enough," he snapped. "Stand."
Chairs scraped against the floor as they rose.
"Again," he ordered.
"Yes, sir!" The reply was louder now, but still carried the tremor of people who knew they'd been caught.
"You will implement double-verification on every access log starting today. No external connections without my direct clearance. And if there's one more lapse…" His eyes swept the room like a blade. "Don't expect me to protect you from the consequences."
No one dared move until he said: "Dismissed."
The team filed out, shoulders tense, avoiding his gaze like they were escaping a storm. Mei stayed where she was, pretending to scroll through her tablet.
"You enjoyed that?" she asked when they were alone.
His head turned toward her, expression unreadable. "Enjoyment doesn't factor into security."
"You were… strict," she said, letting her tone fall somewhere between impressed and curious.
"When you guard something like Lucent, you can't afford to be anything else."
She studied him for a moment. The weight in his voice wasn't just authority — it was ownership. Lucent wasn't just a system to him. It was personal.
"And the hacker?" she asked, keeping her voice casual.
"I'll find them," he said simply, eyes narrowing slightly. "People leave traces, even when they think they're ghosts."
She felt the words in her chest. That strange familiarity in the breach code tugged at her again.
Lucas. The name she didn't want to think.
Her ex.
The day moved on, but the tension lingered like static in the air. The security team worked in silence, triple-checking protocols. Kieran moved between departments with short, precise orders. People cleared a path when he walked by.
Mei stayed in the background, pretending to focus on files while stealing glances at him. Noticing how his hand would grip the edge of a desk when he was thinking. How his jaw tightened when someone gave him half an answer.
At the coffee station, they reached for the same cup. Their fingers brushed light, brief but enough for her to notice his pause. His eyes flicked to hers, and for a moment there was no office, no breach, no Lucent just that thread of awareness between them.
Then he stepped back, letting her take it.
"Thanks," she murmured, letting her fingertips linger on the porcelain.
"Don't mention it," he said, but his voice was slightly lower than before.
By late afternoon, she found him in his office, sleeves rolled up, tie loosened a small sign of strain. He was leaning over his desk, the glow from his monitor throwing sharp lines across his face.
"Find anything?" she asked, stepping inside.
"Fragments," he said. "Not enough to name them. But enough to know they'll try again."
His voice had an edge, the kind that came from knowing your enemy was skilled maybe even as skilled as you.
"You'll catch them," she said, letting her hand rest briefly on the folder she'd brought before sliding it toward him.
"I intend to," he replied.
That night, in her apartment, Mei powered up her secure device. The code fragment replayed in her mind that rhythm, that specific way of structuring a line. She remembered leaning over Lucas's shoulder in their cramped apartment, her chin resting on him as he typed.
"Dangerous?" she'd teased once.
"Dangerous for amateurs, babe," he'd said with a grin. "I'm a professional."
She'd believed him. Until the day he vanished without warning, leaving her with questions and debt she couldn't explain. Until the day she learned love could be both the sweetest and the sharpest thing you could hold.
Her phone buzzed.
BLACK SWAN:
The breach changes nothing. You will continue as planned.
She typed: Security is tighter now. Access will be harder.
BLACK SWAN:
Then get closer. We'll make it easier for you.
A pause. Another message followed:
Tomorrow. 08:00. We'll get you into the Lucent chamber. Alone.
Her pulse jumped. This was the moment she'd been preparing for access to Lucent without Kieran there. But if he found out…
And if the hacker really was who she feared… Lucas… then she might not be the only one after it.
She switched off the phone and stared at the black screen. Tomorrow would test every lie she'd told, every mask she'd worn.
And if either man Kieran or Lucas saw through her, it would all be over.