Beneath The Surface
859 Words
LOLA’S POV
I couldn’t sleep.
The anonymous phone call replayed in my mind.
I sat at my dining table, staring across the photograph of Daniel Cross.
He looked frightened.
The person standing beside him had deliberately been torn out of the picture.
Who had sent it?
And more importantly, why help me?
I flipped the photograph over again.
Nothing new.
No fingerprints, no address, just silence.
My phone buzzed.
It was Orion.
‘Meet me at Starsign Tech. We have something.’
I immediately got dressed and ready to head out to meet him.
As I drove through the city, I noticed a black SUV in my rearview mirror.
It stayed two cars behind.
Every turn I made, it followed.
I tested it.
I exited the expressway.
The SUV followed.
I entered the service road.
It was still behind her.
My heartbeat quickened.
I immediately called Orion.
‘I think someone is following me.’
His voice changed instantly.
‘Where are you?’
I gave him my location.
‘Pull into the nearest police station.’
‘What?’
‘Don’t argue.’
Before I could answer, the SUV suddenly accelerated, then overtook me.
It disappeared into traffic.
I finally let out a breath I'd been holding.
Twenty minutes later I arrived at Starsign Tech.
Orion was already waiting outside.
I had never seen him standing at the entrance before.
The moment I stepped out of my car, he walked towards me.
‘Are you alright?’, he asked.
I nodded.
‘I think so.’
‘You think?’
‘It may have been nothing.’
‘No.’
His voice was firm.
‘It wasn’t.’
I was surprised by the concern in his eyes.
It made my tummy do a weird flip.
‘You believe me?’
‘I don’t think you’d invent something like that.’
I smiled faintly.
‘Thank you.’
Marus entered the conference room carrying a sealed evidence bag.
‘We found this.’
Inside it was Daniel Cross’s laptop.
‘It was recovered from a storage locker rented under a fake identity.’
Marcus placed it on the table.
‘The hard drive is encrypted.’
Adrien looked at Orion.
‘I’ll need time.’ I said.
Orion nodded.
‘Take all the time you need.’
Lola looked at the laptop.
‘What if Daniel wanted someone to find it?
Everyone looked at me.
I continued.
‘If he wanted to disappear, he would’ve destroyed it.’
Marcus slowly smiled.
‘She's thinking like an investigator.’
ORION’S POV
While Adrien worked on the laptop, I invited Lola onto the rooftop garden of Starsign Tech.
The city stretched endlessly beneath them.
Lola leaned against the railing.
‘You come here often?’
‘When I need silence.’
She looked at me.
‘You don’t seem like someone who enjoys being alone.’
‘I don’t.’
‘So why are you?’
I hesitated, then answered honestly.
‘Because after a while you stop knowing who’s genuine.’
She remained quiet.
I continued.
‘When you’re wealthy, people either want your money or your influence.’
‘And love?’
A faint smile crossed my face.
‘I stopped believing in that.’
LATER THAT AFTERNOON
LOLA’S POV
I met with Celine outside the office.
‘You’ve changed, girl.’
I frowned.
‘Have I?’
‘You smile when someone mentions Orion.’
‘I do not.’
‘You absolutely do.’
I laughed.
‘It’s professional.’
She folded her arms.
‘Be careful.’
‘Why?’
‘Because feelings make good journalists miss important details.’
I looked away.
I thought about what she said and I hoped that she was wrong.
BACK AT STARSIGN TECH
ORION’S POV
Adrien finally decrypted part of Daniel’s laptop.
One folder appeared.
PROJECT ECLIPSE.
Inside were dozens of encrypted files.
Most couldn’t be opened.
Except one.
A short video.
Daniel appeared on screen.
He looked exhausted.
Bruises marked his face.
His voice trembled.
‘If you’re watching this, I'm probably already gone.’
Everyone in the room became still.
Daniel continued.
‘I didn’t steal Project Helios.’
‘I tried to stop them.’
‘They’re inside the company.’
‘They’re closer to Orion than he realizes.’
The video suddenly glitched.
Static filled the screen.
Then, it ended.
Only forty-three seconds long.
Silence consumed the room.
I stared at the frozen image of Daniel.
I whispered,
‘I accused him.’
Marcus looked down.
‘So did I.’ he replied.
Lola quietly closed her notebook.
‘If Daniel was telling the truth, someone framed him.’, she said looking at me.
I nodded slowly.
‘And we helped them.’
For the first time, this investigation wasn’t about proving my innocence.
It was about finding the person orchestrating everything from within.
LATER THAT EVENING
3RD PARTY POV
As employees left Starsign Tech, a maintenance worker pushed a cleaning cart through the underground parking garage.
No one paid attention.
Inside the cart, hidden beneath cleaning supplies was a miniature camera.
The worker stopped beside Orion’s car.
He reached underneath the chassis.
A tiny magnetic tracking device clicked into place.
The man smiled.
As he walked away, he removed his cap.
It wasn’t a maintenance worker.
It was Diego Milani.
He pulled out his phone and sent one message
Phase two begins tomorrow.
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