THE CONFIDENTIAL AFFAIR

In New York, the rain didn't fall; it hit. It hit the ground in sheets, making me feel like the city wanted to wash me away. I wasn't leaving, though. Not now. I stood in front of Kade Industries' tower. The storm made the glass panels sparkle like a beast with a thousand eyes looking at me. Every drop of rain felt cold and sharp on my skin, but my blood was boiling inside. My heart was beating so fast that I could hear it over the noise. I should have owned this building. If Nicholas Jackson wasn't there. My mind lied to me by remembering the night my world fell apart. My lips were pressed together in a thin line. Going back: That Night My dad had mumbled, "Tomorrow." His hand was weak but firm on mine, and his eyes were cloudy from the fever. "I'll tell the board tomorrow." You will be called Amarae. You're ready... I'm better now than I ever was. I had faith in him. I thought for once that I wasn't unnoticeable and wasn't the daughter that everyone thought was too soft, too emotional, or just too... female. But tomorrow did not come. My dad was dead by dawn. Dangerous. The man who used to smile at me like a brother, Nicholas Jackson, stood in front of the cameras and said he would "protect the company while Richard Kade is away." Keep it safe? Not at all. He took it. He took everything. And I had run away that night, with only my anger and sadness to keep me living. Going back to the present: Now, after years, I am back. Even though the rain had messed up my image in the tower's glass doors, I could still see it: the same eyes as my dad's, but cooler. Better. When a voice cut through the noise, I took a step forward. My heels hit the marble steps, making a sound. "Amarέ Kade?" I went cold. Hearing my name on the lips of a stranger was like being shot. I turned slowly. The tall man in the black coat had his hair pulled back because it was raining. He looked at me with sharp gray eyes. He seemed...off. Not safe. "What are you?" I asked for it. He smiled and didn't answer. Instead, he gave me a folded piece of paper and then vanished like smoke into the crowd. As I unfolded it, my fingers shook. The words written quickly in ink burned into my mind: "The death of your father was not an accident." Watch out for people you trust. I tripped back into the building's shadow and grabbed the note so tightly that I thought it might blow up. "Elise," I said in a low voice as I took out my phone. Her voice answered right away. "Do you mean you're back?" I let out a damp breath. "He knows." Someone knows. "My dad was" "Weird." It's something we've always known. However, Amarae, if someone is now reaching out, it means Nicholas is falling. Now is our time. Her words calmed me down, but they also stoked the fire I had been holding back for years. "I'm not here to take back what's mine," I said in a low, dangerous voice. "I'm going to burn him down." Elise was unsure. "Getting even is messy." You must be smarter than him. Less warm. "I am already." I put my phone in my pocket and turned around to go back to the glass doors. As I did so, I almost hit a wall of shiny black steel. Not steel. A stretch car. My heart stopped. Not yet, no. I was not prepared. It took a while for the window to roll down. He was right there. John Nicholas Jackson. He looked like he hadn't changed at all, his dark hair was still perfectly in place and his jaw was still strong enough to cut glass. However, his eyes were cooler than I remembered. They met mine right away. Recognition flashed. Soon after, he hid his surprise behind a smile that was so cute it made me want to hit him. His voice was as smooth as sin as he said, "Well, well." "The ghost of Richard Kade's little girl." "I almost thought you died with him." My nails went through my hand. "Been let down?" "On the other hand," he replied. "I admire bravery." But staring at buildings while standing in the rain isn't exactly the big return I was hoping for. His words hurt, but I didn't move. I said in a whisper, "Don't worry." "This is just the start." Nicholas turned his head and looked at me like a lion looking at its target. "Be careful, Amarae. You're not the only one who knows how to play games at night. I couldn't see out because the window slid back up, and then the car pulled away, leaving me wet, cold, and more determined than ever. When I put my hand on the cold glass door of Kade Industries, I could feel the power that should have been mine. Nicholas had no idea how much I'd been through or how I'd changed. I was a stranger to myself after all that time had passed. He took my father, my family history, and my future. I would take it back, piece by bloody piece. But that note... "Watch out for people you trust." Who else was waiting in the dark if Nicholas wasn't the only one who was after them? After dark that night, Elise and I sat in a dim café together, my wet hair stuck to my face and the note between us on the table. Elise whispered, "This changes everything." She traced the words with her finger. "If Nicholas killed your father, he's not just a thief," "He kills people." I turned my head away. "No." Nicholas would have bragged about wanting him dead if he did. Not shadows, but power plays are what he lives for. Someone else took part. "Who?" I made my jaw tighten. "I'm going to find out." Elise got closer to her. "Amarae... You can't turn around once you start going this way. "Are you ready to hear the truth?" I didn't falter, but my voice cracked. “The truth has been a long time coming. I'll bleed for it now if I have to. As we were leaving the café, a car sped by and threw water at us. On the other side of the street, I thought I saw the same man in the black coat for a second. He was there, but when I blinked, he was gone. "Elise," I whispered as I held her arm, "someone is following us." "Good," was her cold answer. "That means we scared them already." When I got back to the hotel, I stood by the window and watched the storm light up the city. The way I looked at myself in the mirror was mean and unbending. I put the note on the glass and whispered to the night: "I am going to kill you, Nicholas Jackson." Right then, headlights cut through the rain. A black car pulled up in front of the hotel. Nicholas found me. I let out a whisper, shaking with anger and desire: "Start the war."