The office felt like a pressure cooker, the walls closing in on Emma as she sat at her desk. The hum of the fluorescent lights above was barely noticeable amidst the tension that crackled through the air. She glanced up, watching as Adrian strode into the room, his face a mask of cold fury. His usual calm was gone, replaced by a barely contained storm. The data on his screen flickered for a second before the files disappeared, as if even the technology was wary of his rage.
"Get in here, Emma," Adrian's voice was sharp, commanding, and Emma's heart quickened at the way he called her name.
She jumped up, smoothing her blouse to cut across the room and greet him. His eyes, always so composed, were flashing hot with anger, and the muscle along his jaw flexed as he ran a hand through his hair.
"What's wrong?" Emma asked, although by the looks of things, she knew she wasn't going to like it.
"You tell me," Adrian snapped, slamming a file onto the table in front of her. The top page was covered with the logo of a competitive corporation: Brazier Technologies. Emma's stomach twisted as she recognized the document. It was a confidential report, one that had only been discussed in the most secure meetings. And now, somehow, it was in the hands of their rival.
Emma's mind whirred. This was no coincidence. Whoever had leaked that document knew exactly what they were doing. They were sending a message.
"The leak came from inside," Adrian said, his voice low and dripping with venom. "Fewer people have access to this information, and not one of them should have been able to lay a hand on it." His eyes narrowed. "I know what this means. I need answers, and I need them now."
Emma nodded quickly, her heart pounding. This was exactly what they'd been trying to prevent, and now it had happened. It wasn't just a slip-up or a mistake. This was deliberate sabotage. But who could have done it?
She looked at the report once more, feeling the weight of the information weighing her down. "How did this get out?" she asked more to herself than to him. "I mean… how could someone have gotten access to this without anyone noticing?
For one scintilla of a moment something, fear maybe, no something way more sinister, flared bright in Adrian's eyes. "The only people in access are myself and some of the senior execs," his strangled voice continued. Tangled with anger. "This is one of the tightest files in the company.
Emma's stomach churned. She had helped organize some of these files, seen the internal documents that passed through Adrian's office on a daily basis. She knew how locked down everything was. This breach wasn't a mistake. It was planned. "But that means…" She trailed off, her mind scrambling for a connection. "It has to be someone with access to your private office.
Adrian's eyes darkened, and Emma could almost see the wheels in his head, the pieces falling into place. His jaw clamped together. "Exactly," he muttered. He rose from the desk and started pacing the room, heavy and purposeful steps.
Emma's heart was racing as she tried to process everything. Who could it be? Who could have betrayed him? She had worked closely with Adrian over the past few weeks, and though his interactions with most of the staff were professional, she knew enough about the structure of Arcadia to understand that trust didn't come easily at the top. Adrian had no real friends at work-not that she could see-and that isolation made him a prime target for someone trying to exploit his vulnerabilities.
But who? Who could have done it?
Adrian ceased pacing and turned to her. "We need to act fast. I'll start an internal investigation, but I need you to keep your eyes open. Whoever is behind this might try to cover their tracks. I can't let anyone know how much I suspect them.
Emma nodded, still trying to fathom this. She had no doubt the leak came from the highest levels in the company. There were just a few who could orchestrate this: people who had direct access to Adrian's files, people who knew what sensitive information they contained.
Understood," she said, her tone even-voiced when the swell of emotions inside had her clenching a fist to keep it down. Sure, she wanted to find the saboteur, wanted to stop him before he razed what Adrian had built over the years. Yet at the same time, she felt lousy to even consider anyone in his small circle might betray him with an act as ruthless as:.
Adrian's eyes locked onto hers, his expression intense. "I'll keep you in the loop, Emma," he said, his voice a little softer than before. "I trust you to handle this discreetly."
His words slapped her like a ton of bricks. Trust. He'd never said that to her before. It was like, with one sentence, Adrian had peeled the layers of distance he so carefully placed between them away. She wasn't an assistant anymore; she was somebody he could rely on.
But with trust comes responsibility. And its weight leaned considerably on her shoulders.
"I'll do whatever it takes," Emma replied, her voice steady. "We'll figure this out."
Adrian nodded curtly and turned away, already in work mode again. His posture had stiffened, his mind no doubt racing through contingencies and next steps. "I'll be in my office. I expect a report on my desk by the end of the day. I want names."
She watched him go, the feeling of dread settling in her stomach. This wasn't just about finding the mole; this was about protecting everything Adrian had built, everything he was trying to preserve.
Yet, as she sat back down at her desk, her mind continued to wander to something that bothered her-the strange feeling that in that very moment of weakness, Adrian had let her in on something much more than just the job. There was something in his eyes, something that begged the question of whether maybe the stakes weren't wholly business anymore.
The question was still there, whirring in her head as she sifted through the files, her fingers automaton-like over the documents. Was the saboteur a threat against the company, or was there something more personal she wasn't seeing?
She spent hours poring over the records, searching for discrepancies, patterns-anything that might lead her to the perpetrator. Her mind was a maelstrom of calculations and interrelations, but no matter which way she turned it, the leak seemed deliberate. The file had been transferred, yes, but it hadn't been through the usual channels. It had been passed directly from Adrian's private office to someone on the inside.
Someone had been watching. Someone who knew exactly when to strike.
And then, right on the edge of her mind, something clicked. A name.
Emma's fingers stilled on the keyboard, her heart pounding in her chest. The thought chilled her to the bone.
Could it be them?
She quickly pulled up the file of senior executives, scanning each name with growing dread. There it was, staring back at her—a name she had seen far too often lately.
The pieces were starting to fall into place, but Emma knew she couldn't jump to conclusions. Not yet.
But something in her gut told her the saboteur wasn't just trying to destroy Adrian's empire. They were trying to destroy him—personally.
And Emma was the point in the middle.
The clock on her desk ticked louder, with seconds slipping away like sand between her fingers. No more time to be wasted.
On your marks, get set-hunt.