First strike
1045 Words
Elena's POV
The sun pushed higher beyond the darkened shades, turning the penthouse into a cave of artificial light. Leo was still asleep in the guest room, his breathing steady under the heavy blanket. I stood in the doorway for a long moment, watching the rise and fall of his small chest, before forcing myself back to the kitchen island.
Adrian and Mia hunched over laptops and phones, voices low. Coffee cups sat half-empty, rings staining the marble. Mia's contact—the former cyber crimes guy—was already digging on a video call, his face grainy on the screen.
"Give me thirty minutes," he said. "I'll have her recent IP trails and burner accounts."
Adrian nodded, his jaw tight. His hand brushed mine when I sat down, a quick squeeze that lingered. "We hit her where it hurts. Public exposure. Evidence to the board. Cut off her access."
I traced a coffee ring with my finger. "And Leo? The school?"
"We keep him here today." Adrian's voice left no room for argument. "Security detail. Margaret's sending more people."
Mia leaned back, rubbing her eyes. "Vanessa's smart. She'll see this coming. We need to be smarter."
I looked at the folder spread across the marble—the evidence we'd compiled. Then at my phone, dark and silent. Waiting for her to move first. That was the problem. We'd been reacting since the estate.
"Give me the burner number," I said.
Adrian looked up. "What?"
"Vanessa's been texting me. She's expecting me to panic, to run, to beg." I reached for my phone. "What if I don't?"
Mia's eyebrows lifted. "You want to bait her?"
"I want to throw her off balance." I pulled up the last message. "Sun's up. School bell rings soon." My fingers moved before I could second-guess myself.
"Nice view from the balcony. Too bad you can't see Leo's face from there. He looks just like Adrian. Did you factor that in?"
I hit send.
Adrian stared at me. Mia let out a low whistle.
"Elena..." Adrian started.
"She expects fear." I set the phone down, my heart pounding. "Let's give her confusion instead."
The phone buzzed almost immediately.
"Bold. But bold gets people hurt."
I didn't respond. Let her wonder.
Leo woke eventually, padding out in his pajamas, hair sticking up in every direction. He climbed into my lap at the island, still half-asleep.
"Hungry," he mumbled.
Adrian moved before I could. He pulled eggs and bread from the fridge, movements surprisingly sure. "Pancakes sound good, kid?"
Leo nodded against my shoulder. I watched Adrian c***k eggs, the domestic scene so jarring against the tension in the room. For a moment it felt almost normal. Almost like a family.
My phone stayed dark. No more messages.
The cyber contact's voice cut through the quiet. "Got something. Recent transfers from a Sterling shell to a private investigator firm. And a new burner pinging near your location. She's close."
Adrian turned off the stove. "We move now. Evidence drop to the board. Press leak if needed. End this."
Leo looked up at all of us, sensing the shift. "Are we playing another game?"
I hugged him tighter. "Yeah, baby. A big one."
The next hours blurred. Calls. Emails. Adrian pacing while on the phone with board members. Mia coordinating with her contact. I stayed with Leo in the living room, reading him stories, my voice steady even as my hands shook.
But I was also watching the clock. Thinking.
At one point Adrian knelt beside us, handing Leo a tablet with a new puzzle game. "For when Mommy needs a break."
Leo took it, already focused. Adrian's eyes met mine over his head. The worry there was raw, unguarded.
"Thank you," I whispered.
He brushed a thumb across my cheek. "We're in this together."
The cyber contact called back. "Major hit. Vanessa's been paying off school staff. One teacher's been feeding her info. And there's a new payment—today. To someone at Knight Tower."
Adrian's face hardened. "She's inside my building."
Mia stood. "We need to move faster."
But as Adrian reached for his phone, I held up my hand. "Wait."
They both looked at me.
"If she's paying someone at Knight Tower, she's desperate." I pulled the folder toward me. "We don't just expose her to the board. We expose her to everyone. The press. Her family. The partners she's been lying to for years."
Mia's eyes narrowed. "That's a war, not a battle."
"She started it." I met Adrian's gaze. "I'm finishing it."
Adrian studied me for a long moment. Something shifted in his expression—surprise, maybe. Or pride.
Then my phone buzzed on the counter.
We all froze. I picked it up slowly.
"Nice try. But I'm always one step ahead. Check the balcony. Sweet dreams. – V"
Adrian moved first, pulling the shades aside just enough. A small package sat on the balcony ledge. Simple brown paper, damp with morning dew. A single wire curled from one corner, thin as a spider's thread. It looked almost harmless. Almost like a gift.
Security rushed in, moving with practiced efficiency. The package was pulled away fast, carried to a containment box. Another decoy. No explosion. No threat.
But the message was clear. Vanessa was done playing nice.
Leo looked up from his puzzle, eyes wide. "Is the prince angry again?"
I pulled him close, heart hammering. Adrian's hand found my shoulder, steady but tense.
Then I looked at my phone again. At my message to Vanessa—the one she hadn't responded to. The one that threw her off just enough to make her react.
"She's scared," I said quietly. "That's why she's escalating."
Adrian looked at me. "You think?"
"I know." I met his eyes. "She's never had anyone push back before."
Mia appeared beside us, phone pressed to her ear. She lowered it slowly. "The cyber contact traced the payment to Knight Tower. It's not just any employee. It's Vanessa's personal assistant. She's been feeding information from inside your building for months."
Adrian's jaw tightened. "Get her out. Now."
Mia nodded, already dialing.
The fight wasn't just coming.
We were already in it. And for the first time, I wasn't just surviving.
I was fighting back.
—
- Writer
