The acrid stench of burned rubber hung in the garage long after the screeching tires faded. The echo of the near-impact still pulsed in Lena's ears, louder than her own heartbeat.
She pushed herself upright, palm pressed to the concrete pillar Nathaniel had dragged her behind. Her knees trembled, but her eyes burned with fire.
"Did you see the plates?" she snapped, scanning the ramp where the car had vanished.
Nathaniel shook his head, breath harsh, jaw tight. "Too fast. Tinted windows, no hesitation."
"No hesitation," Lena repeated, voice sharp. "That wasn't a scare tactic. That was meant to kill."
He stepped closer, his presence grounding her, though the fury in his eyes matched hers. "Or it was meant to look that way. A warning disguised as a hit."
Her laugh was bitter. "What's the difference? Either way, they want me off the board permanently."
Nathaniel's phone buzzed again. He glanced at it, his expression darkening. "It's worse than I thought. The leak is spreading internationally. Investors are pulling back. The stock is slipping already."
Lena's chest tightened. One move. Just one move from Adrian, and the board had the excuse it wanted.
"First they ruin my name," she said. "Now they try to ruin me."
Nathaniel looked at her, intensity burning in his gaze. "Then we find out who's driving the car literally and figuratively."
Lena crossed her arms, steadying herself. "Adrian won't get behind the wheel himself, this was subcontracted. Which means there's a trail. Drivers, payments, surveillance cameras."
"You sound like you've done this before."
She met his stare without blinking. "I've survived corporate warfare for a decade. Trust me, assassination attempts are just the next level."
For a flicker, Nathaniel's mouth curved not in humor, but in admiration.
But the moment snapped when Ethan Cole, Nathaniel's assistant, rushed into the garage, face pale. "Sir Ms. Voss security footage shows the car bypassed the gate system. Someone with clearance tampered with it."
Lena's stomach dropped. "Clearance?"
Ethan nodded grimly. "Meaning… this wasn't just an outside hit. Someone inside Cross Enterprises opened the door."
The air between them thickened with realization.
"An inside job," Nathaniel said quietly.
Lena's throat tightened, anger flooding hot through her veins. "Then Adrian's claws reach deeper than we thought."
Nathaniel's voice hardened. "Or Isabella's."
The three of them stood in silence, the echo of the attack still vibrating in the concrete walls around them.
Finally, Lena straightened, pulling her blazer tighter like armor. "If they think I'm running scared, they're wrong. I want the footage. Every frame. I want financial records pulled on Adrian, his associates, anyone who's taken his calls in the last forty-eight hours. And I want it tonight."
Nathaniel studied her, a storm in his eyes. "You're not even shaken."
She held his gaze steady. "I am shaken. But that doesn't matter. What matters is I don't die tonight, and I don't disappear tomorrow. You still want an alliance, Nathaniel? Prove it. Stand with me while I hunt them down."
The air between them crackled, heavy with tension, old wounds, and something neither of them wanted to name.
He stepped closer, his voice low, dangerous. "Then we hunt."