Snow blanketed the streets, muffling the sounds of the city and wrapping it in an eerie stillness. Stella sat at her desk, her fingers hovering over the keyboard of her open laptop. The cursor blinked, mocking her inability to focus on the next chapter of her novel. Her mind wasn't on the words that usually flowed so freely—it was on the enigmatic email that now felt like a ticking time bomb.
She hadn't slept much since her conversation with Talia. Noah's fierce denial still echoed in her ears, but so did the weight of the evidence she'd seen. Jonathan Ross's claims haunted her. Who was lying? And what did the truth mean for her fragile relationship with Noah?
Her phone buzzed, slicing through the silence. Another email. Unknown again.
"Meet me where it all began. Midnight. Don't tell Noah."
Her chest tightened as she read the message three times over, the words etched into her brain. Her fingers trembled as she tapped out a reply but hesitated. A knot of unease formed in her stomach, but curiosity burned brighter.
Where did it all begin? Could it be RISE Systems—the building where everything Noah held dear once crumbled?
Midnight – RISE Systems' Abandoned Office Building
The building stood shrouded in the kind of silence that made every creak and groan of the structure echo like a gunshot. Stella hesitated at the threshold, her breath fogging in the freezing air. The sharp wind carried a foreboding chill that felt like a warning.
"Hello?" she called out into the cavernous, dilapidated space. Her voice bounced off the walls, swallowed by the shadows.
A figure emerged from the darkness, tall and precise in his movements. Jonathan Ross.
"Stella Wilhelm," he greeted, his voice as smooth as silk, undercut with venom. "I wasn't sure you'd come."
Her stomach churned at the sight of him. His sharp suit and polished demeanour seemed an affront to the decaying surroundings.
"What do you want, Jonathan?" she demanded, her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands.
"Answers," he said, stepping closer. "And I think you want them too."
She crossed her arms, her defences rising. "You're the one sending me those emails?"
Jonathan smirked, his eyes glinting. "I needed to get your attention. Noah has a knack for silencing people, you see. But you… you're different. You care about him, don't you?"
Her chest tightened, but she stood her ground. "I don't see how that's any of your business."
"Oh, but it is," he countered, his tone dropping. "Because if you stay close to him, you'll be collateral damage when the truth finally comes out."
"What truth?" she shot back, her voice sharper now.
Jonathan reached into his coat and retrieved a small USB drive, holding it up like a prize. "The truth about how Noah Dawson built his empire. The betrayal. The lies. The destruction he left in his wake to get where he is today."
Stella's pulse quickened as her eyes darted to the USB. "And you expect me to believe you?"
His smirk widened. "See for yourself. Emails. Contracts. Correspondence. Noah framed me to take the fall while he walked away with everything."
She wanted to dismiss him, to throw his words aside as the ramblings of a desperate man. But doubt, like a stubborn weed, took root in her mind.
"You could've fabricated this," she said, her voice trembling.
"Maybe," Jonathan conceded, stepping closer. "But can you afford not to know? Can you truly trust a man who keeps so many secrets?"
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Without thinking, she pulled it out and saw Noah's name flashing on the screen.
"Answer it," Jonathan taunted. "Ask him yourself. Let's see if he's ready to tell you the truth."
At Noah's Penthouse
The USB drive clattered onto the glass coffee table as Stella stood in the centre of Noah's sleek penthouse, her chest heaving with a mixture of anger and fear.
"Noah, what is this?" she demanded, her voice trembling.
He stood frozen, his usual calm unravelling as his eyes fell on the drive. "Where did you get that?"
"From Jonathan Ross," she snapped. "He says it's proof you ruined him. That you framed him to build your empire."
Noah's jaw tightened, his fists clenching at his sides. "You shouldn't have gone to him, Stella. You don't know what kind of man he is."
"Maybe I don't," she shot back. "But I'm starting to wonder if I know what kind of man you are."
His face softened for a moment, pain flickering in his eyes before his walls came back up. "It's not what you think," he said finally.
"Then tell me what it is!" she yelled, the desperation in her voice cutting through the tension. "Because right now, all I have is his story. And you know what? It's starting to make sense."
Noah sighed, raking a hand through his hair. "Jonathan's work was flawed. It would've tanked the company. I found out, had my team fix it, and launched without him. He thought I was cutting him out. He made it personal."
"So you didn't frame him?"
"No," he said firmly. "But I didn't stop the board from pinning the blame on him when things went south. I should have. I let him take the fall because I was too focused on saving the company."
Her heart ached at his confession. "You used him."
"I made a mistake," Noah admitted, his voice low,he knelt down . "And I've been paying for it ever since."
Before Stella could respond, her phone buzzed again. This time, it wasn't a text. It was a call—from Unknown.
Her hands trembled as she answered.
"Hello?"
A distorted voice crackled through the line. "If you want the whole truth, meet me tomorrow. Alone."
The line went dead before she could ask anything more.
She looked up at Noah, her face pale. "This isn't over."
"No," he agreed grimly, his voice like steel. "It's just beginning."
The next morning, Stella checked her email. Attached to the newest message from Unknown was a grainy photo: Noah and her brother, Kai, shaking hands in front of RISE Systems… the day before the scandal broke.
Her heart stopped as the realization hit her like a freight train.
Kai was involved.