Chapter 7: Shadows Behind Glass
679 Words
Chapter 7: Shadows Behind Glass
The office was too quiet.
Selene stood by the tall glass wall of ArcStrata’s twelfth floor, staring out at the skyline as if it could offer her clarity. The city was alive, humming with ambition, but within her, everything felt still—coiled and cold.
Behind her, Adrian’s voice cut through the silence.
“We need to talk about the design leak.”
She turned, arms crossed. “I assumed we were still pretending that didn’t happen.”
Adrian sighed. “I ran a systems trace. The files weren’t taken externally—someone inside accessed them. Someone with clearance.”
“Who?” she asked sharply.
He hesitated. “Elias.”
Selene's heart stuttered. “Elias wouldn’t—he’s been with me since before ArcStrata was more than a name.”
“I’m not saying he sold us out,” Adrian said carefully. “But someone used his credentials. And the timestamps line up with the night of the gala.”
Selene’s mind raced. Elias had been acting strange. Distracted. Secretive.
But betrayal?
Before she could respond, Naomi Trent stepped in—her entrance brisk, almost surgical.
Naomi had been Adrian’s chief analyst at his former firm, a brilliant woman with a knack for finding hidden flaws in blueprints—and people. Selene had never trusted her, but right now, she needed answers more than comfort.
“I’ve reviewed the metadata,” Naomi said, dropping a tablet on the table. “The files weren’t just accessed. They were transferred. To a server owned by a shell company—WexCorp Holdings.”
Selene stiffened. “Wex. Dorian Wex.”
Naomi nodded. “He’s resurfaced. And he’s not working alone.”
She tapped the screen again.
A grainy image filled it—a candid photo taken from across the street. Dorian Wex standing beside a tall, elegantly dressed woman with sharp eyes and a smile like frost.
Selene’s breath caught. “Isla Raines.”
Adrian’s silence was confirmation enough.
Naomi raised a brow. “You know her?”
Selene gave a bitter laugh. “She and I interned together. Once. We were paired on the same competitive project. I won. She smiled through it. Then I heard she’d left architecture. Disappeared.”
“She didn’t disappear,” Adrian said. “She recalibrated.”
“And now,” Naomi added, “she’s reappearing—with your stolen work.”
---
The next few hours were chaos.
Selene pulled Elias into her office, the door clicking shut behind them. He looked exhausted, eyes rimmed with red.
“I didn’t leak anything,” he insisted. “I swear. But... I’ve been followed. Watched. I think they got into my account.”
Selene wanted to believe him. Needed to. But every instinct in her screamed caution.
“If you’re lying—” she began.
“I’m not,” he said firmly. “But I think Naomi might be.”
Selene blinked. “What?”
Elias leaned closer, voice hushed. “You ever ask why she followed Adrian here so quickly? Or how she always has answers no one else can find?”
Selene was silent. A new doubt took root.
---
That night, Selene walked alone through the empty design studio. The models on the tables cast long shadows under the track lights. Her world felt cracked—no longer black and white, but shifting shades of betrayal.
A sound behind her made her turn.
Adrian.
He didn’t speak at first. Just watched her.
“You still don’t trust me,” he said.
“I don’t trust anyone right now,” she replied. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not trying.”
He took a step forward. “Then let’s try together. No more secrets.”
Selene studied his face. And for a heartbeat, she saw the man she used to hate—and the one she might be starting to love.
She nodded slowly.
“Together,” she whispered.
But neither of them saw the shadow beyond the glass wall—Naomi, watching from the hallway.
Listening.
And smiling.
- Writer
