Mia stood at her desk outside the CEO's office, fingers gliding over her keyboard with mechanical precision. It was late, well past 9 p.m., and most of the floor had emptied hours ago. Only a few after-hours diehards lingered. She wasn't here to impress anyone tonight.
She was here for something else.
The soft sound of Elena's voice drifted through the slightly ajar office door. Mia paused her typing, her gaze flicking toward the sliver of light cutting across the hallway carpet.
She shouldn't listen.
She knew that.
But she did.
Inside, Elena's voice was low, clipped not the polished, corporate sharpness Mia was used to hearing in public.
"No," Elena said. "We can't delay the audit again. I don't care what Victor says it has to go forward."
There was a pause, a rustle of papers.
"He's hiding something. And I won't let him choke this company from the inside out."
Mia's brows lifted slightly. Her hand hovered over the mouse, unmoving.
A second voice filtered faintly through the phone speaker. She couldn't hear the words, but the tone was urgent. Defensive.
"No, I haven't told anyone yet," Elena said. "Not Sophie. Not even Liam."
Mia's lips parted, surprise flickering across her features.
Not even Liam?
Interesting.
She leaned back in her chair, fingers absently adjusting her earpiece. If she activated the secondary mic embedded in the trim of the CEO doorframe the one she had planted under the pretense of updating the office's soundproofing settings she could hear everything. In perfect clarity.
But not yet. The timing was everything.
Mia shifted, making just enough noise to alert Elena of her presence.
Inside, the conversation cut off. A chair scraped, and papers rustled. Seconds later, Elena emerged from the office, expression unreadable but sharp.
"You're still here," Elena said, cool but not unkind.
Mia gave a practiced smile. "Just finishing up the staff payroll approvals. I figured you might need me a little longer tonight."
Elena studied her for a beat too long. "Right. Thanks."
As the CEO disappeared into the elevator, Mia's smile faded. She waited until the floor fell silent again before slipping back into Elena's office.
She approached the desk like a ghost, eyes scanning until she found what she wanted Elena's personal notepad, half-hidden beneath a stack of reports.
She snapped a photo of the top page with her phone.
It read:
Private Audit: Ledger 73-X / Asset Transfers → Cayman. Ask Felix?
Don't trust Victor.
Cross-check Dad's journal.
Liam? Wait.
Mia's thumb hovered over the send button, ready to forward the image to her hidden contact.
But something stopped her.
A pang of hesitation.
Not guilt never that.
Curiosity.
Elena Roth wasn't just playing defense anymore. She was planning something.
Mia could feel it, like a pressure building beneath the walls.
She tapped her phone screen and encrypted the image. Then, instead of sending it, she filed it in a hidden folder. For now.
Let Victor wait.
Let Elena think she was alone in her war.
Mia was listening.
And soon, she'd choose which side to serve.
The one that won.