Chapter Three: Her First Mistake
1030 Words
Alina crouched behind a locked office door at nearly 9:00 p.m., the glow of the desk monitor painting her face in blue light. Her palms were slightly damp, her pulse erratic. She wasn’t supposed to be here.
But she was.
And so was the file.
She scrolled quickly, eyes flying across the confidential internal documents she’d managed to access using credentials copied from Damon’s desk earlier that day. A single code, left carelessly on a sticky note tucked into his leather planner, an oversight so rare it had to be fated.
The file in question detailed early-stage talks with an international firm—RauTech Holdings. The same conglomerate that had once made a tentative offer on her father’s company before withdrawing just weeks before Damon moved in for the kill.
This wasn’t proof, not yet, but it was a trail. A link between what her family lost and what Damon Voss had gained. It was leverage.
She plugged in her hidden drive and downloaded the encrypted folder. One minute. Just one—
“Working late?”
Her blood froze.
Damon.
She yanked the USB out and turned to see him in the doorway, loose tie, top button undone, jacket slung over his shoulder like he owned the night. His expression was unreadable.
“I—uh—” She forced a smile. “I was trying to prep for the Q2 forecast meeting. I thought this was just a shared workspace.”
“It is,” he said slowly, stepping inside. “But most new employees don’t risk unlocking director-level files on day three.”
Her breath caught. “It wasn’t locked. It was just... open.”
“Was it?” His voice was calm. Too calm.
She placed the USB in her blazer pocket casually. “If I crossed a line, I’m sorry.”
He stepped closer. “You’ve crossed a few lines already, Miss Cross.”
Alina braced herself. The room suddenly felt smaller.
But then... he tilted his head.
“You’re ambitious,” he said. “Almost dangerously so. You remind me of myself when I was younger.”
She blinked. “Is that a compliment?”
He chuckled. “No. It’s a warning.”
A long beat passed between them. Then he walked to the desk, closed the file with a single tap, and picked up the planner she’d used.
It was the same one with the sticky note—now missing. Had he noticed?
“I appreciate initiative,” he said. “But if you want to impress me, try doing it without stealing.”
She straightened. “Are you accusing me of something?”
“I’m giving you a chance to walk out of this office tonight without a security escort.”
Alina’s heart pounded. Her entire plan teetered on the edge.
“I just want to do my job,” she said quietly.
His eyes narrowed. “Then stay out of mine.”
He turned and walked out without looking back.
Alina didn’t breathe until the elevator chimed. Then she sagged against the desk, her stomach coiled into knots. That was close. Too close.
But she’d gotten the file.
And that made it worth it.
Damon rode the elevator to the parking level, his expression carved in stone. He couldn’t prove anything—not yet—but something about that moment had scratched a warning across his instincts.
She had a flash drive in her hand.
Why?
He stepped into his car, hands tightening on the steering wheel. He’d built an empire by trusting gut over logic. His gut told him Alina Cross was not who she claimed to be.
And yet...
She fascinated him. She didn't blink in front of pressure, didn’t shrink under his scrutiny. She was fire in disguise.
He just wasn’t sure if she was warming his blood… or preparing to burn him alive.
Back in her apartment—small, barely furnished, quiet—Alina locked the door and immediately plugged the USB into her private laptop. A separate system, offline, firewalled, untraceable.
She ran the contents through a parser, decrypting the folder with the key her handler had given her. Her contact was known only by an alias: Meridian. Wealthy. Private. Connected to everyone and no one. They’d promised answers about her father’s company, provided she delivered dirt on Damon Voss.
What she saw now made her stop cold.
Emails. Meeting notes. A draft contract that predated her father’s financial collapse. Voss International had been in bed with RauTech a full month before they pulled out of her father’s deal.
She’d always suspected Damon had orchestrated it. Now she could prove it.
She sent a coded message to Meridian with a single line:
> Confirmed connection between RauTech and Voss prior to 2019. More incoming.
No reply came.
She stared at the screen. Part of her expected a flood of satisfaction. But all she felt was heat behind her eyes and a burn in her throat.
Her father had died bankrupt. Depressed. Alone. The company he built over three decades sold off in pieces while the media called Damon Voss a business prodigy.
And now, Damon sat in a glass tower, sipping twelve-year-old whiskey while people like her fought to pay rent.
He deserved everything coming for him.
At Voss International, Damon replayed the moment in his head for the third time. The way she froze. The edge in her voice when challenged.
Then his phone vibrated.
Vanessa Kline.
He almost declined. Then he sighed and answered.
“Still working late?” she purred. “Some things never change.”
“What do you want, Vanessa?”
“I was reviewing the new staff profiles and noticed a rather... interesting name. Alina Cross. Ring any bells?”
His chest tightened. “What about her?”
“She’s a little too polished for an entry-level assistant. And guess what? Her background doesn’t check out.”
Damon’s silence was brief but deadly. “Fix it.”
“I would, if I knew what she was hiding.”
He hung up without another word.
She was hiding something. And it was only a matter of time before he found out what.
- Writer
