Luca's POV
I don't need much.
Just a dark room, my laptop, and a strong enough signal to crack through Wolfe Enterprises' firewalls like butter. Today, I've got all three.
The soft glow of my screen is the only light in this Brooklyn loft. Exposed brick, half-eaten noodles on the table, two dead plants in the corner—I live in chaos, but my code? My code is clean.
I lean in, fingers flying over keys, windows opening and closing as I dive deeper into Katherine Wolfe's private email server. She thinks she's untouchable. So neat, so proper, hiding behind her boardroom confidence and expensive heels. But she doesn't know I'm already inside her walls.
"Come on, come on…" I mutter under my breath.
Lines of encrypted data flash past. Then—I see it.
An email draft. Unsent, but saved. Attachments too. Spreadsheets.
My brow furrows.
"Bingo."I pull up the documents. Fabricated financial data. Altered line items, numbers shuffled just enough to look suspicious but not fake. They're pinned to Eva's name. Katherine's trying to frame her. I should've guessed. She's been circling Eva for weeks now.
I sit back and shake my head. "You dirty little snake."
For a second, I actually feel a spark of anger. Not for me—Katherine's garbage doesn't touch me. But Eva? She's my asset. My link inside Wolfe Enterprises. And if they burn her too fast, my entire plan collapses.
I grab my burner phone and type a quick encrypted message.
*Red file flagged. Avoid Database 3A. Do not touch anything until I say.*
I send it to Eva's secure channel. She'll get the hint. She always does. Smart girl.
I swivel back to my screen and start working. I can't just stop Katherine—I have to buy Eva time. I start building a trail, shifting the edits Katherine made to point to someone else—a junior accountant named Ben. The poor guy won't see it coming. But he's clean. He'll survive a little heat.
Click. Click. Save. Spoof IP.
Now Katherine's trap looks sloppy. It'll trigger flags, sure, but not the kind that blows up Eva's career. At least, not yet.
I sip from a cold coffee beside me. Bitterness coats my tongue.
Eva has no idea how close she came to losing everything tonight.
I've saved her again.
Not because I'm noble. I'm not.
I just need her.
I pull up our shared dropbox and skim the new files she uploaded earlier—internal reports, investor updates, quarterly audits. Each one is a brick in the foundation I'm building to crush Wolfe Enterprises from the inside.
And Damien?
He'll never see it coming.
I should stop here. Call it a win. But I don't. I open my chat window and type another message to Eva:
*You want protection? You need to give me access to the live financial system. This paper trail is child's play. I want the real-time numbers. And I want them now.*
I stare at the message for a beat, then hit send.
She won't like it. It's a risk. But she'll do it. Because she's in too deep.
I lean back in my chair and stretch. My spine cracks, loud in the silence. The thrill of outmaneuvering Katherine hums through my veins. There's something beautiful about outsmarting people who think they're the smartest in the room. People like Katherine. People like Damien.
I tap the keys again, checking the back door I installed in their database. Still holding strong. Good.
I pulled up Eva's picture. Just a headshot from her ID badge, but it's enough.
She doesn't smile in it. Cold eyes, tight lips. Guarded. Like she knows the world's full of monsters and she's trying not to show her teeth too early.
I like that about her.
She's not like the others.
Still... I wonder how much longer she'll play my game.
She thinks she's using me. Maybe she is.
But the deeper she goes, the more she needs me. The more she can't escape.
That's the thing about secrets. They don't just get you killed. They bind you to the people who know them.
And I know all of hers.
I glance at my second screen. Katherine's activity tracker is still running. I watch as she opens the email she tried to send to the board chairman, the one I intercepted and replaced.
Her mouse hovers. She pauses.
Did she notice?
No. She clicks away. Ignorant.
I chuckle. "Amateur."
I open my log, noting the success of the redirect, then start writing code for a new firewall bypass—just in case they beef up security after tonight.
A soft buzz pings on my phone.
Eva responded.
*You'll get it tomorrow. After hours. One shot. Don't screw it up.*
My lips curl into a grin.
She's predictable.
Desperate.
And mine to guide—or destroy.