Jade woke up with a dull headache, still wearing her pajamas.
Daniel hadn't come back during the night.
She stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, then sighed.
"With all what happened, I completely forgot about our conversation last night…"
"I wanted to end this contract.."
She sat up, her mind heavy.
"This means the situation is worse than I expected."
She went into the living room
Just then, the elevator door opened.
Luccianho stepped into the living room, dressed in a black suit, his expression serious as always.
"Com licença, senhorita Lee," he said politely in Portuguese.
She blinked and turned to him.
"I came to take a file. Daniel asked me to bring it to the company," he added in English.
Jade frowned.
"This is unsettling," she murmured.
Luccianho nodded slightly.
He turned toward Daniel's office, but Jade stopped him.
"Luccianho, I'm coming with you to the company."
He paused.
"It's not necessary, miss. And I think my boss wouldn't like it."
Jade crossed her arms, her eyes sharp.
"Luccianho."
He stopped completely.
"I'm coming," she repeated firmly.
He hesitated, then nodded.
"As you wish, senhorita."
Jade went to her room, changed quickly into a simple but elegant outfit, tied her hair, and grabbed her bag.
Her heart was racing.
For the first time, she was stepping into Daniel Ooman's world.
And she had the feeling she wouldn't like what she was about to discover.
.
.
The car stopped in front of Ooman Tower.
Jade stared at the massive glass building.
Tall, cold, intimidating. A symbol of power.
But today… it felt like a battlefield.
Reporters crowded the entrance. Cameras flashed. People were shouting questions.
"Mr. Ooman! Is it true Helix filed a lawsuit?"
"Did Ooman Systems lose billions?"
"Is Daniel Ooman stepping down?"
Security guards struggled to keep the paparazzi away.
Luccianho stepped out first, his presence calm but intimidating. He opened Jade's door.
The moment she stepped out, cameras turned toward her.
"Who is she?"
"Is that Daniel Ooman's fiancée?"
"She came during the scandal?"
Jade straightened her posture.
So this is his world…
She walked inside with Luccianho, ignoring the chaos.
The lobby was silent, but tense.
Employees were whispering.
"Did you see the stock market?"
"This is bad…"
"They say Helix wants to destroy us."
"Mr. Ooman hasn't slept."
Some stopped when they saw Jade.
Others bowed slightly, surprised.
She felt their eyes on her.
They see me as the CEO's fiancée… not Jade.
The elevator doors opened.
Luccianho pressed the highest floor.
"Mr. Ooman has been in meetings since early morning," he said calmly.
"Did he sleep?" Jade asked quietly.
Luccianho's jaw tightened.
"No."
When the elevator opened, Jade felt the atmosphere change.
Cold. Heavy. Strategic.
Assistants were running, holding tablets and files. Lawyers were arguing in low voices. Executives were tense.
A huge glass wall showed the city below—
like Daniel was watching the world from above.
Luccianho handed the file to an assistant.
"I will inform him you are here, miss."
Jade nodded.
She walked slowly, her heels echoing in the corridor.
Then she saw him.
Daniel was standing in front of a giant screen, talking to several executives.
His suit was flawless. His expression unreadable.
But his eyes were darker than usual.
A man who didn't sleep.
A man under attack.
And still… terrifyingly powerful.
One executive whispered to another:
"He looks like he could destroy Helix with one order."
Jade swallowed.
This is Daniel Ooman.
Not the teasing, mysterious man at home.
But the king of an empire under siege.
And she had just entered his battlefield.
Daniel saw Luccianho with Jade, the others went out immediately.
He was surprised to see her here at the same time happy and angry he didn't know himself.
Daniel turned to her, his voice calm but cold.
"What are you doing here?"
Jade crossed her arms, completely unfazed.
"I came to help my husband," she replied with a sarcastic smile.
He raised an eyebrow.
"And how exactly can you help me? As far as I know, you know nothing about this."
She tilted her head, pretending to be offended.
"Who do you think you're talking to?" she said, half vexed, half amused.
"I'm a pro in computer stuff."
Daniel let out a faint scoff.
"Do you think this is some high school computer project?"
She rolled her eyes dramatically.
"Excuse me, Mr. Tech Emperor. Where do you think I met Gabriel? He's a computer genius. He taught me everything—well, I almost forced him to teach me."
She walked toward the desk and sat in front of the computer without asking permission.
Daniel watched her, clearly not convinced.
Jade's fingers moved quickly on the keyboard.
Her playful expression slowly disappeared.
She leaned closer to the screen, her eyes narrowing.
"…That's strange."
Daniel stepped closer.
"What did you find?"
She opened another log file, then another one, scrolling fast.
Her lips parted slightly.
"There is no way this was an accident."
Daniel froze.
She pointed at the screen.
"Look. This access key wasn't authorized by your internal system. It bypassed your firewall like it already knew your protocols."
She typed a command, revealing hidden logs.
"These traces were erased manually. Whoever did this knew exactly where to hide."
Daniel stared at the data.
He had checked those logs himself.
But he hadn't seen this layer.
She turned to him slowly.
"Daniel… you were sabotaged."
The room went silent.
His amber eyes darkened.
"Who?" he asked quietly.
Jade shook her head.
"I don't know yet. But this person had internal access. Someone very close to your system."
She smirked slightly, trying to lighten the tension.
"So… not bad for a 'high school computer girl,' right?"
For the first time, Daniel looked at her differently.
Not as his fiancée.
Not as a contract.
But as someone who had just seen what he hadn't.
Jade's discovery confirmed what Daniel had suspected from the beginning.
But suspicion without proof meant nothing in the corporate world.
And now… he had proof.
Daniel stared at the screen for a long moment, his expression unreadable.
Then he straightened and turned around.
"Luccianho."
Luccianho immediately stepped forward.
"Yes, chefe."
"I want a full investigation," Daniel said calmly, but his voice was dangerously cold.
"Internal and external. Check every employee with access to the system. Board members, engineers, partners. No one is excluded."
Luccianho nodded once.
"I want names," Daniel continued.
"And I want them fast. Whoever did this thought they could play with my empire."
His eyes darkened.
"They were wrong."
Luccianho bowed his head slightly.
"I will find them."
He turned and left silently.