Chapter 2
2014 Words
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Title ng Chapter: Fired
“Office. Now,” Damian said, and his grip on my arm was like iron.
I didn’t resist. Fighting him here would only prove Selina right - that I was some desperate girl causing drama.
Inside his office, the door slid shut with a soft hiss. Soundproof. Whatever happened here wouldn’t leave the room.
Damian didn’t let go of me immediately. He studied me like I was a problem he needed to solve. His eyes were dark, sharp, the kind of eyes that noticed every lie.
“Sit,” he said.
I didn’t sit. “I’m not here to be interrogated, Mr. Kain.”
“Then why are you here at 11:47 PM, Miss…?” He paused, waiting.
“Luna. Luna Morales.”
He nodded once, like he was filing the name away. “Luna. You’re on cleaning crew. Your shift ended at 10 PM. So explain.”
I crossed my arms. “Payroll’s late. Again. I needed the overtime.”
His jaw tightened. “Kain Corp pays on time.”
“Not to third-party contractors,” I said. “Check your outsourcing company, KleanTech. They’ve been holding our pay for two weeks.”
Damian went still. That hit a nerve.
Before he could respond, Selina burst into the office, heels clicking furiously. She looked furious, but I caught the fear in her eyes.
“Damian, don’t listen to her. She’s trying to blackmail me.”
“Blackmail?” I laughed, but it came out flat. “I don’t need to blackmail you. I have the video.”
I held up my phone.
Selina lunged again. This time Damian stepped between us.
“Stop,” he said, voice low and dangerous. “Both of you.”
He turned to me. “Give me the phone.”
“No.”
“Now, Luna.”
I hesitated. If I gave it to him, what was stopping him from deleting it and firing me?
But if I didn’t, I’d look guilty.
Slowly, I unlocked the phone and handed it over.
Damian watched the video. His face didn’t change, but something in his eyes did. Cold rage.
When it ended, he looked at Selina.
“You’re suspended. Effective immediately. Security will escort you out.”
Selina’s face went white. “You can’t do this! I’m a board member!”
“I’m the CEO,” Damian said. “And you just tried to steal 50 million dollars.”
Two security guards appeared at the door. Selina shot me a look full of venom before they dragged her out.
Silence fell.
Damian turned back to me.
“Thank you,” he said. It sounded like the words physically hurt him.
“You’re welcome,” I said. “So I can go now?”
“Not yet.” He set my phone on his desk. “You said you know how to stop the hack.”
“I do. But I want something in return.”
Damian raised an eyebrow. “You’re in no position to negotiate.”
“Actually, I am.” I pointed at the phone. “Without me, you wouldn’t know it was Selina. Without me, Project Omega gets leaked tomorrow. And without Project Omega, Kain Corp loses its biggest investor next week.”
His eyes narrowed. “Who are you?”
“I told you. I’m Luna Morales. Maid.”
“Luna Morales doesn’t know firewall architecture.”
I smiled. “Luna Morales knows a lot of things.”
Damian walked around his desk, slowly, like he was approaching a wild animal.
“Why are you cleaning my penthouse if you know this?”
“Because I need the job,” I said simply.
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting.”
He stared at me for a long moment. I refused to look away.
Finally, he sighed.
“Fine. Tell me how to stop the hack. Then you’re fired.”
I blinked. “What?”
“You heard me. You were in the office after hours. That’s grounds for termination. I can’t make exceptions, even if you saved the company.”
“Even if I save it again?”
“There won’t be a again.”
I felt anger rise in my chest. All that risk, and this was his thanks?
“Line 4473,” I said quickly, before I could change my mind. “There’s a backdoor. Run a full diagnostic and close port 4473. Change all admin passwords. And fire KleanTech. They’re the ones who installed the backdoor.”
Damian frowned. “How do you know this?”
“I told you. I saw it.”
“Luna.” His voice was low. Warning.
I stepped back. “That’s all I know. Now are you going to fire me or not?”
He didn’t answer right away. He looked at me like he was trying to memorize my face.
“Security will escort you out,” he said finally. “And Luna… don’t come back.”
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*Outside Kain Corp. 12:30 AM.*
The night air hit me cold, but it wasn’t the weather that made me shiver.
I was fired. Again.
Third job this month. No one wanted a cleaner who talked back.
I pulled my jacket tighter and started walking toward the bus stop. My apartment was 40 minutes away.
“You’re Luna Morales, right?”
I stopped.
A man in a black suit stood by a black car. He didn’t look like security. He looked like trouble.
“Yes?” I said carefully.
“My employer would like to speak with you.”
“Your employer fired me ten minutes ago.”
The man didn’t smile. “He changed his mind.”
I should have said no. I should have walked away.
But I was tired. Tired of being poor. Tired of being invisible.
“Fine,” I said. “Where?”
“The car, Miss Morales.”
I got in.
The car drove for twenty minutes before stopping in front of a building I knew too well.
Kain Corp. Tower.
“We’re going back?” I asked.
The man opened the door. “Top floor.”
Damian’s penthouse office.
When the elevator doors opened, he was waiting. No suit jacket now. Just a white shirt, sleeves rolled up. He looked less like a CEO and more like a man who hadn’t slept in days.
“You came back,” he said.
“You called me back.”
“I need you.”
I laughed. “Now you need me?”
“Project Omega’s firewall is more compromised than I thought. Line 4473 was just the start. I need someone who can find the rest.”
“And you think that’s me?”
“I think you know more than you’re telling me.”
I walked past him into the office.
“And if I help you?”
“You get your job back. Triple pay. And a NDA worth six figures.”
Tempting. Very tempting.
“What’s the catch?” I asked.
Damian’s expression hardened.
“You work directly under me. No more hiding in the shadows, Luna. I want to know who you really are.”
I stopped walking.
He knew. Or at least, he suspected.
I turned to face him.
“And if I refuse?”
“Then you walk out that door, and you never work in this industry again. I’ll make sure of it.”
Threat.
Classic Damian Kain.
I stared at him. He stared back.
Finally, I sighed.
“Fine. But I have one condition.”
“What?”
“When this is over, you owe me one favor. No questions asked.”
Damian studied me for a long time.
“Deal,” he said.
He walked to the side table and poured two glasses of water. He handed me one.
“Drink,” he said. “You look like you’re about to pass out.”
I took it, mostly to stop my hands from shaking.
“How did you know about Line 4473?” he asked, sitting across from me.
I hesitated. If I told him the truth, he’d dig deeper. He’d find out who I really was.
“I used to work in IT,” I lied. “Before Kain Corp.”
“Where?”
“Startup in Makati. Got shut down last year.”
Damian nodded slowly, but I could tell he didn’t believe me.
“Show me,” he said, standing up and walking to his computer. “Show me how bad it is.”
I followed him.
His setup was impressive. Three monitors, custom keyboard, security protocols running in the background.
“Log in,” he said, stepping aside.
I hesitated for half a second, then typed.
My fingers remembered faster than my brain.
Within two minutes, I was inside Project Omega’s core system.
“s**t,” Damian muttered behind me.
“Yeah,” I said quietly. “Shit.”
There were three more backdoors. Not just Line 4473.
Selina had been busy.
I closed them one by one, setting up alerts so we’d know if anyone tried again.
“Who taught you this?” Damian asked.
“My brother,” I said without thinking.
The room went quiet.
Damian’s eyes flicked to mine. “You have a brother?”
I realized my mistake too late.
I didn’t talk about my brother. Not to anyone.
“Had,” I corrected. “Had a brother.”
Damian didn’t push. But I saw the question in his eyes.
After ten minutes, I leaned back.
“Done,” I said. “It’s clean. For now.”
Damian exhaled. I hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath.
“Thank you,” he said again.
This time, it sounded sincere.
I stood up, suddenly exhausted.
“So… I can go?”
Damian shook his head.
“No. You’re staying.”
“What?”
“Project Omega launches in 72 hours. If Selina tries again, I need you here.”
“I have a life, Mr. Kain.”
“Not anymore,” he said flatly. “You’re Kain Corp’s consultant now. I’ll have HR set you up in the morning. Penthouse suite on the 40th floor. Security will drive you.”
I stared at him.
“You can’t just decide that for me.”
“I just did.”
I wanted to argue. I wanted to walk out and never look back.
But I knew better.
If I left, Selina would find me. And next time, she wouldn’t just try to steal data.
She’d try to kill me.
“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “But I’m not sleeping here.”
“There’s a bedroom attached to the office,” Damian said. “Use it.”
I looked around. The office was massive. Floor to ceiling windows, a view of the entire city.
And a door I hadn’t noticed before.
Damian followed my gaze.
“My office,” he said. “My rules.”
I wanted to slap him.
Instead, I walked to the door and opened it.
Inside was a small bedroom. Clean. Minimal. Expensive sheets.
“Nice,” I said dryly. “Do you keep all your employees here?”
“Only the ones who save my company.”
I set my bag down.
“When do I start?”
“Now,” Damian said. “Get some sleep. We have a board meeting at 8 AM.”
I stopped at the doorway.
“Damian?”
He looked up.
“Why me?” I asked. “Why not your IT team?”
He was quiet for a long moment.
“Because you saw what they didn’t,” he said. “And because… I trust you.”
Trust.
The word felt foreign coming from him.
I nodded and closed the door.
Alone at last, I let myself breathe.
I had a job. A place to sleep. And 72 hours before everything went to hell.
And Damian Kain still didn’t know who I really was.
But he would.
Soon.
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*End of Chapter 2*
- Writer
