Behind Her Back
1248 Words
CHAPTER TWELVE
Eliana waited until Desmond left the mansion.
He thought she was sleeping in.
Instead, she was fully dressed in black leggings and a fitted blouse, her curls tied into a low bun. She slipped into the hallway quietly, phone in hand, Jason by her side.
“You’re sure Nora’s not in the west wing?” she asked.
Jason nodded. “She’s on a breakfast errand. I had one of the staff send her into the city for croissants we didn’t need.”
Eliana smirked. “You think like me now.”
“I learn from the best.”
She stopped at the security room.
The door had a digital code.
Jason entered it without hesitation.
Inside, screens buzzed. Walls of surveillance footage played on a loop. A quiet hum filled the air. This was where every eye in the mansion lived.
“Let’s start here,” Eliana said, pulling up the panel logs from the last forty-eight hours. “That voice from last night it's familiar. I want to cross-reference the audio with every woman on staff.”
Jason frowned. “Won’t that take hours?”
“I’ve been underestimated my whole life,” she replied. “Let’s make that their mistake.”
Meanwhile, across the city, Desmond sat in a sleek black car parked outside a towering glass building—the headquarters of King Industries’ primary investor.
Inside, he was about to launch phase one of his offensive against his uncle: a total reallocation of shares, restructuring the board’s powers, and freezing all accounts tied to suspicious overseas movement.
“You’re sure you want to do this today?” his legal advisor asked beside him.
Desmond looked out the window. “He attacked my wife at a public event. He’s made this personal.”
He stepped out of the car.
And walked into battle.
Back at the mansion, Eliana’s jaw tightened as the voice analyzer pinged a near match.
Samantha Linwood.
She blinked. “Samantha?”
Jason leaned in. “The chef’s assistant? No way. She’s barely twenty.”
Eliana clicked open the file. “She’s also been working here less than two months. No references. All background info checked out… barely.”
She pulled up Samantha’s access logs.
There it was.
Three nights before the gala Samantha had entered the restricted floor Nora was assigned to.
Using Nora’s badge.
Jason cursed under his breath. “So she’s the one who cloned it?”
Eliana stood. “Let’s go see her.”.
Samantha was in the back garden, snipping fresh herbs.
She didn’t see them coming.
“Eliana, Jason—” she stammered, straightening up. “Do you need something?”
Eliana’s voice was calm. “I need you to stop lying.”
Samantha’s smile faltered.
“I know you used Nora’s badge,” Eliana continued. “I know you accessed files you weren’t authorized to. And I know you sent the video.”
Samantha’s face went pale.
“I don’t ”
“Don’t insult me.”
Samantha’s eyes darted toward the kitchen entrance, calculating her escape.
Jason blocked it.
“I should scream,” she snapped.
“No one will hear you,” Eliana said coldly. “Unless you want the security team to drag you out in front of the entire staff.”
Samantha’s breath shook. “It wasn’t my idea. I was paid.”
“By who?”
“I don’t know his name,” she said. “But he sent me a picture of you. Said if I didn’t follow through, he’d send the same photo to my father and the authorities.”
“What photo?” Eliana asked.
Samantha hesitated. “You… with a man. In a club. Back when you were in that underground ring… before the auction.”
Jason turned to Eliana.
She didn’t speak.
Didn’t flinch.
She just said, “Get out.”
Samantha blinked. “What?”
“You’re fired,” Eliana said. “Leave this property in the next ten minutes, or I will make a scene.”
Samantha’s lips trembled. “I didn’t mean”
“I said go.”
After she was gone, Jason exhaled. “You okay?”
Eliana finally turned to him. “That photo… it’s real.”
Jason frowned.
“It was a night I was desperate for rent. I let a man kiss me in exchange for a deal. He touched me. I let it happen.”
Jason’s eyes softened. “You don’t owe anyone an explanation.”
“But they’ll twist it,” she said quietly. “Use it to destroy me. To say I was always this girl—always cheap, always available.”
Jason placed a hand on her shoulder. “You’re not that girl anymore.”
Eliana swallowed the lump in her throat.
“No,” she whispered. “I’m not.”
Desmond returned later that evening, the fire in his eyes dimmed but not gone.
“I froze three of his fake companies,” he told her. “Next week, we file a petition to have him removed as a shareholder.”
Eliana nodded. “Good.”
He studied her face. “What happened while I was gone?”
She hesitated.
Then handed him the report.
About Samantha.
About the badge.
About the photo.
Desmond’s jaw clenched as he read.
“She threatened to expose this?”
“She already did. The photo’s in someone else’s hands. Samantha was just a puppet.”
“Who has it?”
“I don’t know yet. But whoever it is they’re playing a long game. They don’t want to kill me. They want to crack me.”
Desmond set the file down.
And reached for her hand.
“I won’t let that happen.”
Eliana looked into his eyes. “Then don’t just protect me. Trust me.”
He nodded slowly. “What’s your next move?”
“I’m going to visit someone,” she said.
“Who?”
“Your uncle’s daughter.”
The next morning, Eliana dressed simply no glam, no jewels. Just jeans, a turtleneck, and flat boots.
She asked Jason to drive her across the city, to a modest townhouse surrounded by black iron fences.
Zara King opened the door.
Surprised.
But not unhappy.
“Eliana?”
“I need to talk to you.”
Zara glanced behind her. “My mother’s not here. You’ve got ten minutes.”
They sat in the living room, the space cozy but filled with tension.
“I know your father’s been after me,” Eliana said plainly. “I don’t care about his threats. But I do care about who he’s using.”
Zara said nothing.
“I think he’s preparing to use you too,” Eliana added.
That made Zara blink. “Me?”
“He sent someone after me using blackmail. Photos from my past. He’ll use whatever he finds to break Desmond. And I think you’re next.”
Zara looked away.
“You don’t owe him your loyalty,” Eliana said. “He’ll throw you to the wolves the second you’re no longer useful.”
Zara was silent for a moment.
Then: “What do you want from me?”
Eliana’s voice was quiet. “Information.”
That night, Desmond sat at his desk, eyes scanning files.
Eliana walked in.
He looked up. “How was she?”
“Scared. But smart.”
“You think she’ll help?”
“I think,” Eliana said, “Zara’s the key to everything.”
- Writer
