CURIOSITY AT PEAK.
1254 Words
Seraphina’s POV
“What makes you say that?”
“Because Daniel looked terrified.”
The words made her pause.
“Terrified?”
“Yes.”
Seraphina remembered the way his fingers had tapped against the table.
The way his face changed when Richard questioned him.
The relief when she said that was enough.
Daniel was hiding something.
But was he the traitor?
Or was he afraid of the real traitor?
“Come back to the office,” she said.
“I’m already on my way.”
The call ended.
Seraphina placed the phone down.
A strange feeling entered her chest.
Something was wrong.
She could feel it.
But she could not yet see the whole picture.
And that was dangerous.
An hour later, Marcus entered her office without knocking.
Seraphina looked up.
“You’re late.”
“Traffic.”
“You live fifteen minutes away.”
Marcus closed the door behind him.
“Then the traffic was very personal today.”
She ignored him.
“What did you find?”
Marcus placed a small device on her desk.
“A copy of Daniel’s phone activity.”
Clara, who was sitting nearby, looked shocked.
“Is that legal?”
Marcus looked at her.
“Do you really want to ask me that?”
Clara immediately looked away.
Seraphina picked up the device.
“Anything?”
Marcus nodded.
“Several calls from unknown numbers.”
“When?”
“The last call was this morning.”
Seraphina checked the time.
“Before the emergency meeting?”
“Thirty minutes before.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Did you trace the number?”
“I tried.”
“And?”
Marcus’s expression changed.
“It’s connected to a company that doesn’t officially exist.”
Seraphina slowly looked up.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“It gets better.”
Marcus pulled another file from his jacket and placed it on the desk.
“I checked Daniel’s finances.”
Seraphina opened it.
Her eyes moved through the pages.
Then stopped.
A large amount of money had entered Daniel’s account two weeks earlier.
She looked at Marcus.
“He was paid.”
“That was my first thought.”
“For the leak?”
“Maybe.”
Seraphina studied the documents.
Then something caught her attention.
The date.
The payment had been made before the information was leaked.
Someone had planned this.
Clara slowly sat down.
“So Daniel really betrayed us?”
Seraphina did not answer.
She was thinking.
Something still did not feel right.
“If Daniel was paid to leak the information,” she said slowly, “why did he look so afraid?”
Marcus crossed his arms.
“Because he knows he will get caught?”
“Maybe.”
She looked at the phone activity again.
“Or maybe he didn’t know who he was working for.”
Marcus’s expression hardened.
“That would make him stupid.”
Seraphina shook her head.
“No.”
She looked up at him.
“It would make him desperate.”
The room became quiet.
Before Marcus could respond, Clara’s phone suddenly rang.
She looked at the screen.
Then froze.
“Miss Vale.”
Seraphina turned.
“What?”
Clara slowly held out the phone.
“It’s the media department.”
“Answer it.”
Clara did.
Her expression changed as she listened.
Then she looked at Seraphina.
“What happened?” Marcus asked.
Clara swallowed.
“They want to know if Phoenix Group has canceled the East District project.”
Seraphina looked at Marcus.
He looked back at her.
The news was spreading faster than expected.
“Tell them no comment,” Seraphina said.
Clara nodded.
She ended the call.
Another message appeared on her screen.
Then another.
And another.
Seraphina picked up her own phone. The market was reacting.
Phoenix Group shares were dropping.
Competitors were moving.The trap was closing.
Or at least... Someone thought it was.
Seraphina slowly smiled.
“Let them panic.” Clara stared at her.
“Miss Vale?”
“Send the final instructions to the South Harbor team.”
Marcus watched her.
“You’re still moving forward?
Seraphina looked at him.
“I never said I was stopping.”
Marcus smiled.
“That’s what I wanted to hear.”
The rest of the day passed in silence and preparation.
By evening, most of the executives had left.
Only a few lights remained on inside Phoenix Group.
Seraphina was still in her office when Marcus returned again.
This time, he looked different.
She immediately noticed.
“What happened?”
He closed the door.
“Sit down.” Seraphina stared at him.
“That is usually my line.”
“Seraphina.” His tone made her expression change.
She slowly sat.
Marcus placed another file on her desk.
“I checked the leaked documents.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“And?”
“They weren’t the final version.”
For a moment, Seraphina did not understand.
Then she opened the file.
Marcus pointed at several pages.
“Look at the dates.”
She did.
Her expression slowly changed.
The plans.
The numbers.
The investment structure.
Everything was familiar.
But not current.
“This is the old strategy,” she whispered.
Marcus nodded.
“The version we created almost three weeks ago.”
Seraphina looked up.
“But that version was replaced.”
“Yes.”
“Only the executive team had access.”
Marcus nodded again.
“Exactly.”
Seraphina stared at the documents.
Someone had leaked the wrong file.
Daniel had access to sensitive information.
But he had not received the latest version.
Someone had deliberately given him the old one.
The realization slowly entered her mind.
Marcus watched her carefully.
“You understand what this means?”
Seraphina’s eyes became cold.
“Yes.”
Clara looked confused.
“What does it mean?”
Seraphina slowly stood up.
“It means Daniel may not be the real problem.”
Marcus’s face hardened.
“And?”
She looked at the dark city outside.
“It means someone inside Phoenix Group knew that the information would be stolen.”
Silence.
Clara’s face became pale.
“They allowed it?”
Seraphina shook her head slowly.
“No.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“They controlled it.”
The room became completely silent.
Someone had known about the traitor.
Someone had placed the old information where it could be found.
Someone had allowed the leak to happen.
But why?
To expose Daniel?
To protect the real plan?
Or because there was another game being played inside Phoenix Group?
Seraphina’s phone suddenly rang.
Unknown number.
Marcus looked at the screen.
“Again?”
Seraphina stared at it.
Her heart beat slowly.
Once.
Twice.
Then she answered.
“Hello?”
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then a man’s voice came through the phone.
It was Calm, Deep a little bit You’re asking the wrong questions, Miss Vale.”
Seraphina’s body became still.
Marcus immediately stepped closer.
“Who is this?”
A soft laugh came from the other side.
“The leak was only the first move.”
Seraphina’s eyes became ice cold.
“Who are you?”
The man ignored her question.
“Find out who gave Daniel the old file.”
Her grip tightened around the phone.
“And when you find that person…”
His voice became lower.
“Ask yourself why they wanted you to discover the truth.”
The line went dead.
Seraphina slowly lowered the phone.
Marcus stared at her.
“Who was that?”
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