The office felt different.
It wasn't just the quiet hum of computers or the faint sound of the city outside the high-rise windows—it was the way tension had started to weave through the hallways like smoke. People whispered more. Eyes followed Adrian Cole as he walked past. Even the twins—Lila and Luna—could feel the shift.
Luna sat at her desk, tapping her perfectly manicured nails against the polished wood. She'd replayed the video in her mind over and over again, and each time, the victory tasted a little sweeter. Adrian didn't even realize how deep she had him now. One wrong move, one hint of defiance, and everything she'd recorded could destroy his spotless reputation.
"Stop tapping," Lila muttered beside her.
Luna turned lazily, a smirk playing at her lips. "Nervous, sis?"
"No," Lila said, but her voice was tight. "Just tired of watching you set fire to everything. This isn't you, Luna."
Luna scoffed softly. "Oh, but it is me. It's the version Dad would be proud of. The one who doesn't just cry over the past. The one who fights back."
Lila clenched her fists in her lap, struggling to keep her voice down. "You don't even know if Adrian was responsible for what happened. You're acting like you're sure, but—"
Luna's smirk faltered, just a fraction. But she masked it with a shrug. "I know enough. And if he wasn't the one, then he was part of it. The Coles took everything from us, Lila. This is justice."
"Justice or obsession?" Lila asked quietly.
Luna didn't respond.
Across the floor, Adrian stepped out of his office. He was calm, collected, dressed in a crisp black suit, but something about his shoulders told Lila he was unraveling inside. The company was starting to feel the heat.
He caught Luna's gaze briefly. His eyes were unreadable, dark and careful. That was the thing about Adrian Cole—he rarely showed what he felt. But this time, even he couldn't hide the unease.
Lila followed him into the elevator a few minutes later, catching the doors just before they closed.
"Going somewhere, Miss Blackwood?" Adrian's voice was low, clipped, but not cold.
She nodded. "Yeah, same floor."
They stood in silence as the elevator hummed down. But halfway through, Adrian exhaled, the kind of breath that carried weight. "I don't know what game your sister is playing," he said finally. "But something's off. And I'm not blind."
Lila's heart jumped. She opened her mouth, but the words tangled on her tongue. "She's just… ambitious. You know Luna."
"She's more than ambitious," he said. "She's calculated. And for some reason, it feels like I'm standing in the middle of a trap I didn't see coming."
His words were so precise it scared her. Lila had spent the last few weeks trying to hold the pieces together—protect Luna, keep Adrian at a distance, and somehow protect herself from the storm that was building.
"I'll handle it," she whispered.
"Can you?" he asked quietly. His eyes met hers, and for a second, it felt like he could see straight through her.
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened, breaking the moment. But Lila carried that question with her long after he walked away.
By the end of the day, everything started to fall apart faster.
Luna's manipulation was working too well. She'd convinced one of the board members to push for a surprise meeting—one where Adrian would be cornered. She'd leaked tiny pieces of misinformation, enough to make him look careless.
And now, the boardroom was packed.
"Mr. Cole," said one of the older members, voice sharp, "is there any truth to the claims that the company has been exposed to legal risk due to… personal misconduct?"
The room went silent.
Lila's stomach turned. Luna sat near the back, crossing her legs and watching the scene like someone watching a chessboard, one move away from checkmate.
Adrian's jaw tightened, but he didn't flinch. "There's no truth to any of these accusations. I've run this company with integrity since the day I stepped into this chair. Whoever is spreading these lies will be dealt with legally."
One of the members slid a thin envelope across the table. "Then explain this."
Adrian opened it. It was a photo—one taken from that night. Blurred but damning enough to twist any story. A night that hadn't meant anything like what it was being turned into. His pulse spiked. His face didn't show it.
Luna had struck.
After the meeting, Adrian locked himself in his office. For the first time in years, he felt the ground shift beneath him. Someone was coming for him hard. Someone who knew exactly where to cut to make him bleed.
Lila walked in without knocking. "Adrian…"
He looked up sharply. "Did you know about this?"
Her breath hitched.
His voice was steady but sharp as a blade. "Tell me the truth, Lila."
She stepped closer. "I didn't leak anything."
"But you know something," he said. "I can see it in your face. I trusted both of you. I gave you space in this company. And now I'm staring at photos of something that shouldn't even exist."
Her chest tightened painfully. She wanted to tell him everything—how Luna had plotted, how she'd been drowning in guilt, how none of it was what it seemed. But fear held her back.
"You're right," she whispered finally. "I know something. But I can't…" Her voice cracked. "I can't betray her."
He stared at her for a long time, something in his eyes breaking slowly. "Then you've already betrayed me."
Lila froze as he walked past her. She'd never felt smaller.
That night, Luna stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows of their apartment, looking down at the glittering city. Lila stormed in, still shaken.
"Are you happy now?" Lila hissed.
Luna turned with that same cold smile. "It's just the beginning."
"You've gone too far, Luna!"
"No. I'm just getting what we deserve."
Lila grabbed her arm. "You don't even know if he did it. We've built this entire revenge on lies we didn't even question."
Luna's expression flickered, but she shook it off. "It doesn't matter. He'll pay like they made Dad pay."
"But what if he didn't do it?" Lila whispered. "What if we're destroying the wrong man?"
Silence. The kind that felt like a blade.
For the first time, Luna didn't have a quick, sharp comeback. Her mask slipped just enough for Lila to see the fear underneath—the fear that she might have made a mistake she couldn't undo.
Meanwhile, Adrian sat in his dark office long after everyone had left. He stared at the city outside but saw nothing. All he could think about was betrayal, unanswered questions, and the hollow echo of trust breaking.
He didn't know who was behind it yet. But he was going to find out.
And when he did, there would be no mercy.