Chapter Two – The Warning
1329 Words
I didn’t sleep that night.
Every creak of the walls, every gust of wind scraping against the window made me flinch. I kept my eyes on the door until dawn light spilled through the blinds. When I finally dared to move, I found nothing missing except the flash drive.
It was gone.
A sick dread coiled in my stomach. I checked under the bed, the counter, and even behind the bathroom mirror. Nothing. Whoever had come into my apartment had taken it… and left the door open on purpose.
A message.
By the time I reached Voss Enterprises that morning, my nerves were raw. The building’s mirrored façade reflected a version of me that didn’t belong to a woman pretending to be calm when everything inside her was screaming.
Claire, the receptionist, smiled too sweetly when I passed. “Rough morning?”
“Just tired,” I managed.
She leaned in slightly, lowering her voice. “Word of advice? Don’t get tired around here. Mr. Voss notices everything.”
Her tone wasn’t gossip. It was a warning.
I nodded, forcing a small smile, and headed to my desk.
Lucian’s office door was closed, but the faint murmur of his voice drifted through the glass. I could tell he was on the phone his tone clipped, commanding, like he was orchestrating a war rather than a meeting.
I set down my bag, turned on my computer, and tried to breathe. The screen blinked to life with a pop-up notification:
Security Alert: Unauthorized Access Detected.
My blood ran cold. It was tagged to my username A.Reed.
Before I could close it, the intercom buzzed.
“Miss Reed.” His voice filled the air, calm and deep. “My office. Now.”
I froze for a heartbeat, then stood. My heels echoed softly as I walked inside.
Lucian sat behind his desk, one hand resting on the keyboard, the other holding a mug of black coffee. His gaze lifted slowly, steady and unreadable.
“Good morning,” I said, keeping my voice polite.
“Morning,” he replied. “Sleep well?”
A test. I gave him the same empty smile I’d practiced in the mirror. “As well as can be expected.”
“Good.” He leaned back. “Then you’ll be alert enough to explain why my system detected an unauthorized login from your credentials last night.”
My heart dropped.
“I…I don’t know what you mean.”
He said nothing, just watched me. The silence stretched until I wanted to scream. Then he gestured to his screen.
“Here,” he said. “Time-stamped at 11:47 PM. Attempted access to a restricted directory.”
My throat went dry. He had proof digital, precise, impossible to deny.
“I must have left my computer unlocked,” I said quickly. “Maybe someone else”
He cut me off with a quiet laugh. It wasn’t friendly. “You think my security team would mistake your device for someone else’s?”
“I”
“Miss Reed.” He stood, moving around the desk. The air seemed to shrink as he came closer. “Let’s stop pretending. You’re smart. Smarter than most of the idiots who work here. So, I’ll ask you again.”
He stopped inches from me. His eyes caught the morning light steel-grey and sharp enough to see through lies. “What were you looking for?”
I could feel the weight of his gaze, the heat of his nearness. I wanted to step back but refused to give him that satisfaction.
“I wasn’t looking for anything,” I said, meeting his eyes. “Maybe your system glitched.”
He studied me for a long, unbearable moment. Then he smiled a faint, dangerous curl of his lips.
“Glitched,” he repeated. “Right.”
He stepped past me, brushing so close my pulse tripped over itself.
“Go back to your desk,” he said. “You’ll stay under surveillance for now. If you touch another restricted file, I’ll personally escort you out.”
“Yes, sir.”
I turned to leave, but his voice followed, quiet and deliberate. “And Ava?”
I froze.
“When you lie,” he said softly, “your left hand trembles. You might want to fix that.”
I didn’t answer. Couldn’t. I just walked out, forcing my breathing to stay steady until I reached my desk.
The rest of the morning crawled by. I typed, filed, and smiled at co-workers who pretended not to stare. Inside, I was shaking.
By noon, I’d made up my mind I had to find out who took that flash drive.
At lunch, I slipped away to the basement archives. Hardly anyone came down here. The lights flickered weakly, humming against the walls. Dust hung in the air like secrets.
Lily had once worked in this department. I’d found her name on an old payroll record. Maybe there was something left as a clue, a memory, anything.
Rows of metal cabinets stretched into the dimness. I pulled open drawers, flipping through folders until a whisper behind me made me freeze.
“Looking for something?”
I turned sharply.
A tall woman stood by the doorway, her short red hair glinting under the fluorescent light. She wore a lab coat with a company badge: Dr. Elena Graves, Research Division.
“Just reviewing old files,” I said quickly. “Mr. Voss asked me to.”
Her gaze sharpened. “You’re his new assistant.”
“Yes.”
She stepped closer, lowering her voice. “Then take this advice: don’t ask too many questions about Lily Clarke.”
My pulse stumbled. “Excuse me?”
Her lips curved faintly. “Some names are better left buried. People who dig them up don’t last long here.”
With that, she turned and walked away, heels clicking against the concrete.
I stood rooted in place, the air suddenly too thin.
How did she know I was interested in Lily? Was it a coincidence or a threat?
By the time I returned to my desk, Lucian was standing there, speaking with Claire. He turned when I approached.
“Miss Reed,” he said. “Come with me.”
I followed him down the corridor to a smaller office lined with bookshelves and glass. He closed the door behind us.
“You’ve been busy,” he said simply.
I stiffened. “I was just filing reports.”
His gaze was level. “Dr. Graves reported seeing you in the restricted archives. I told you to stay away from places you don’t belong.”
I bit back my anger. “If I’m going to assist you properly, I need to understand the company’s structure.”
“You need to do as you’re told.”
The quiet authority in his voice sent a shiver down my spine. I hated the effect he had on me how even his disapproval carried an edge of something magnetic.
He studied me for another long moment, then sighed. “You’re either very brave, or very foolish.”
“Maybe both,” I said before I could stop myself.
A flicker of surprise crossed his face then, something else. Admiration?
“Get back to work,” he said at last, turning away.
As I left the room, my phone buzzed. A text. Unknown number.
STOP DIGGING OR DIE.
My stomach twisted. I looked around, but no one was near me. No one even looked up.
The message disappeared seconds later, as if it had deleted itself.
I slipped my phone into my pocket, hands trembling.
Who sent it? Someone in this building, someone watching.
I glanced toward Lucian’s door, half expecting him to look up, to reveal that he knew. But he didn’t move, didn’t even glance my way.
And for the first time, I wondered if he wasn’t the one threatening me if maybe, just maybe, he was the only thing keeping me alive.
- Writer
