PART 16 — The First Move
1019 Words
Nothing felt normal anymore.
Not the office.
Not the silence.
Not even the way she stood beside me.
Everything…
Felt like it was waiting to break.
“She won’t stop.”
Her words from earlier echoed in my head.
And she was right.
Because people like her…
Never stop.
They don’t wait.
They move.
And when they do…
It’s never simple.
The first sign came sooner than expected.
“This doesn’t make sense,” she said, flipping through the documents.
Her brows furrowed slightly.
“What?” I asked.
“These numbers,” she pointed at the report.
“They don’t match yesterday’s data.”
I walked over.
Took the file from her hand.
And looked.
She was right.
Completely wrong.
“This report was finalized last night,” I said.
“I know,” she replied.
“That’s why this is strange.”
Silence.
Something wasn’t right.
“This isn’t a mistake,” I said slowly.
Her eyes met mine.
“You think someone changed it?”
“Yes.”
And we both knew who.
“Should we check the system?” she asked.
“Already doing it.”
I moved quickly.
Opened the database.
Checked the logs.
And there it was.
An access record.
Late at night.
Unauthorized.
But cleverly done.
Not obvious.
Not careless.
Intentional.
Her fingers tightened slightly.
“It’s her, isn’t it?”
I didn’t answer.
I didn’t need to.
Because she already knew.
“She’s starting,” she whispered.
No.
She already started.
“This is just the beginning,” I said.
Silence.
Because we both understood what that meant.
If this continued—
It wouldn’t just be data.
It could be reputation.
Projects.
Trust.
Or worse—
Her.
“We need to fix this before anyone notices,” she said.
Always thinking ahead.
Always calm.
Even now.
“I’ll handle it,” I replied.
“No.”
I looked at her.
Her expression was serious.
“I’ll help.”
Silence.
“You don’t have to—”
“I know.”
“But I want to.”
That answer…
Caught me off guard.
Because she wasn’t stepping back.
Not this time.
She was stepping in.
Closer.
Into the problem.
Into the risk.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
She nodded.
“I said I needed space,” she said.
“But I didn’t say I’d leave you alone in this.”
Silence.
That sentence…
Meant more than she realized.
We worked side by side.
Like before.
Fixing.
Tracing.
Correcting every altered detail.
And for a moment…
It felt familiar.
Comfortable.
Like nothing had changed.
But that feeling didn’t last long.
Because suddenly—
“Sir, we have an issue.”
The door opened.
A staff member rushed in.
“What is it?” I asked.
“There’s a complaint from the client,” he said.
“What complaint?”
“They received the wrong report.”
Silence.
My jaw tightened.
“How?”
“We don’t know.”
But I did.
I looked at her.
Her face had gone pale.
“She’s moving fast,” she whispered.
Too fast.
Too precise.
Too planned.
“This wasn’t random,” I said.
“No.”
“It was targeted.”
At me.
At us.
“I’ll handle the client,” I said.
“I’ll fix the internal data,” she replied instantly.
No hesitation.
No fear.
Just action.
And that…
Worried me more.
“Don’t do anything alone,” I said.
“I won’t.”
But I wasn’t convinced.
The meeting with the client was tense.
Questions.
Doubts.
Pressure.
But I handled it.
Barely.
Because my mind…
Was somewhere else.
With her.
When I got back—
Something felt wrong.
Too quiet.
Again.
“She’s not here,” someone said.
My chest tightened.
“What do you mean?”
“She went to the archive room.”
Archive room?
Why there?
I didn’t wait.
I moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
Because something inside me—
Didn’t feel right.
The hallway was empty.
The lights dim.
And the closer I got…
The stronger that feeling became.
Something was wrong.
I opened the door.
And there she was.
Standing near the shelves.
Looking at the files.
But her expression—
Wasn’t calm.
Wasn’t focused.
It was tense.
“Hey,” I said.
She turned.
Surprised.
“You shouldn’t be here alone,” I added.
“I know,” she said softly.
“But I needed to check something.”
“What?”
She hesitated.
Then—
“I think she’s not just changing reports.”
My eyes narrowed.
“What do you mean?”
She handed me a file.
“Look at this.”
I opened it.
And immediately—
Something felt off.
Signatures.
Dates.
Records.
Subtle changes.
But enough to cause damage.
Serious damage.
“This…” I muttered.
“Is manipulation.”
Not just small sabotage.
This was bigger.
Way bigger.
“She’s building something,” she said quietly.
“A setup.”
Silence.
Because if this continued—
It could destroy everything.
Not just a project.
But the entire company.
And me.
“We need proof,” she said.
“We’ll get it.”
Together.
But before we could move—
A sound echoed behind us.
The door.
Closing.
Slowly.
We both turned.
But no one was there.
Just the empty hallway.
Silent.
Too silent.
Her hand instinctively grabbed my sleeve.
A small movement.
But full of fear.
“She was here,” she whispered.
I didn’t respond.
Because I knew.
This wasn’t just a warning anymore.
This was a game.
And we were already inside it.
I stepped closer to her.
Not thinking.
Just instinct.
“You’re not dealing with this alone,” I said.
Her grip tightened slightly.
“I know.”
But her voice…
Wasn’t as steady as before.
And for the first time—
I saw it clearly.
She was scared.
Not of the situation.
But of what it could do…
To us
Because this time, it’s no longer just about love or the past… it’s about survival—and one wrong move could destroy everything we have left.
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