The Shadow
945 Words
I spent the night convincing myself I didn’t trust Damien Blackwood. By morning, I had almost believed it.
Almost.
I left the guest room at seven and found him standing by the windows, already dressed for work. He turned when he heard me.
Neither of us spoke.
His eyes looked tired.
Mine probably did too.
“Coffee?” he asked.
“No.”
“Breakfast?”
“No.”
“You’re angry.”
“I’m thinking.”
“That’s usually worse.”
I almost smiled.
Almost.
Then I remembered the message.
Your father asked Damien to kill you.
I looked away, he noticed.
Of course he did.
“You believe it.”
“I don’t know what I believe.”
He walked toward me.
“Then ask me.”
“I already did.”
“And I answered.”
“You could be lying.”
His expression hardened. “I could.” The honesty surprised me, but both of us had our secrets, and this one seemed bigger to me than anything else. Someone said my own father asked Damien to kill me, and the man I was supposed to destroy was standing right in front of me, getting dangerously close.
“But I’m not.”
He stopped in front of me. “I didn’t kill your father.”
“Did you see him that night?”
“Yes.”
“Before he died?”
“Yes.”
“What did he tell you?”
Damien looked away.
“He said someone inside Blackwood was working with Northstar.”
My heart jumped.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because I still don’t know.”
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small envelope.
“This is everything I have.”
I took it.
“What’s inside?”
“Your father’s last financial records.”
I looked at him. “Why give this to me?”
“Because you’re going to investigate whether I want you to or not.”
A faint smile touched his mouth.
“So I might as well make sure you don’t get yourself killed doing it.”
I shook my head and opened the envelope.
Inside were several pages.
Transfers.
Dates.
Account numbers.
And one name.
Elias Blackwood.
I stared at it.
“Who is Elias?”
Damien’s expression changed.
“My cousin.”
“He’s involved?”
“I don’t know.”
“Damien.”
“I said I don’t know.”
He took the documents from me.
“But I’m going to find out.”
..............
We returned to Blackwood Tower just before nine. The moment I stepped into the lobby, I sensed something in the air; something was wrong.
People were whispering.
Security was everywhere.
Damien’s assistant hurried toward us.
“Sir.”
“What?”
“We found something in Ms. Rhodes’s office.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
He handed Damien a small evidence bag.
Inside was a USB drive.
My name was written across it.
Damien looked at me.
“I’ve never seen that.”
“I know.”
He handed it back. “Don’t touch it.”
“Obviously.”
His assistant lowered his voice.
“There’s more.”
“What?”
“The security footage from last night has been deleted.”
Damien went completely still.
“How much?”
“Three hours.”
“Get IT.”
“Already done.”
Damien turned toward me.
“You’re coming with me.”
“Where?”
“My office.”
“Why?”
“Because whoever planted this wants you to find it.”
I followed him. His office doors closed behind us.
He placed the USB on his desk.
“Do you have a computer?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t use it.”
“Why?”
“Because if someone accessed the security system, they may have accessed your workstation too.”
I stared at him.
“How secure is this building?”
His expression was grim. “Not secure enough.”
He picked up his phone. “Double security.”
A pause.
“And nobody enters this floor without my authorisation.” He ended the call.
I looked at him.
“You’re scared.”
His eyes met mine. “Yes.”
The answer was so unexpected that I didn’t know what to say. He walked toward the windows.
“I’ve spent years making sure nobody can get close enough to hurt me.”
He looked back. “Then you arrived.”
My heart skipped.
“Damien…”
“You changed everything.”
He stepped toward me. “I don’t know when it happened.”
His voice was quieter now.
“But somewhere between you lying to me and me pretending I didn’t notice,”
He stopped inches away.
“I started caring.”
I couldn’t breathe. “That’s a problem.”
“Yes.”
“Because I’m still investigating you.”
“I know.”
“You should hate me.”
“I’ve tried.”
“And?”
His eyes dropped to my lips.
“It didn’t work.”
The room felt too warm. He reached up and brushed his fingers against my cheek. I closed my eyes. His lips were almost on mine when—
The door burst open.
“Sir!”
Damien pulled away instantly. His security chief stood there.
“Someone just accessed the restricted server.” Damien’s expression turned cold.
“From where?”
The man looked at me. “Ms. Rhodes’s office.”
My blood froze when Damien’s eyes met mine.
Neither of us spoke.
Then he said, “Lock down the building.”
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