CHAPTER7
1101 Words
The wind howled against the glass walls of the Montauk beach house, but it was nothing compared to the storm rising inside Lucas.
He paced the living room barefoot, the sunset casting long shadows across the floor. Elena watched him from the sofa, arms wrapped around her knees, her skin still warm from the fireplace but her mind racing cold with dread.
“Someone inside your company had access to that rooftop,” she said finally. “That narrows it down, doesn’t it?”
Lucas shook his head. “Thorne Enterprises employs over a hundred executives with security clearance. That doesn’t include assistants, janitorial teams, or vendors. Any one of them could’ve been bribed. Or worse…”
She stood, crossing to him. “Or worse what?”
His voice dropped. “Or planted.”
The idea tasted bitter on his tongue. He prided himself on control—on knowing the people closest to him. If someone had infiltrated that trust…
Elena touched his arm. “Then we start with who had something to gain from this. Vivian? She’s desperate.”
Lucas met her gaze. “Vivian is vindictive, but reckless. Whoever sent that message was calculating. Cold.”
A ping broke the tension. Lucas grabbed his phone. A text from Marcus.
Security logs narrowed to four possible access points. All cleared with Level-3 clearance. Reviewing building footage now.
He texted back: Prioritize internal employees. Anyone who could access both roof and server panel.
Elena leaned on the counter. “If we go back to the city, we walk straight into a trap.”
“I know,” he said. “But hiding isn’t enough anymore. They’re escalating. And they’re watching me which means you’ll always be in danger as long as we’re apart.”
Elena frowned. “So what do we do?”
Lucas turned to her, jaw set. “We fight smart.”
Two days later, they returned to Manhattan—quietly. No media, no grand entrances. Marcus arranged for a secure entrance through a back elevator at Thorne Tower. Elena wore a hat and sunglasses. Lucas dressed down for the first time in years.
Inside the executive suite, the lights were dim. His assistant, Nadine, greeted them with a forced smile.
“I cleared the floor. No one knows you’re here yet.”
Lucas nodded. “Good. I need discretion.”
Nadine gave Elena a small glance curious, maybe jealous but said nothing more.
As she disappeared down the hall, Elena leaned in. “She doesn’t like me.”
Lucas chuckled under his breath. “She doesn’t like anyone who gets this close.”
“Noted.”
They entered his private office. Marcus was already waiting, screen lit with security footage and files.
“I narrowed it down to four employees,” he said. “But this one” he clicked on a photo“raises red flags.”
Lucas leaned in. “Kieran Doss? He was hired last year in IT.”
Marcus nodded. “Top credentials. But his background checks show inconsistencies. He claims to have worked under a fake firm likely a shell company.”
“And?” Elena asked.
Marcus clicked again. “And he had a lunch meeting last week… with Vivian Shaw.”
Lucas’s jaw clenched. “Bring him in. Quietly.”
An hour later, Kieran Doss sat nervously across from Lucas, unaware that Marcus and two silent guards were posted just outside the door.
Lucas folded his arms. “Tell me why you met with Vivian Shaw.”
Kieran blinked. “What? I—I didn’t.”
Lucas slid a photo across the table. It showed him and Vivian at a bistro downtown, her hand on his arm.
“I don’t respond well to lies.”
Kieran’s shoulders slumped. “She approached me. Said she wanted help hacking a personal account. She offered money ten grand. I didn’t take it.”
“But you met her anyway.”
“I was curious!” Kieran sputtered. “She said you were covering something up. That the company wasn’t safe. I figured if she was telling the truth”
“Did you disable the rooftop camera?” Lucas’s voice turned icy.
“No! I—I wouldn’t! I did access the system to check its range after she mentioned something about security flaws, but I never”
Lucas stood. “You’re suspended until further notice. Your credentials are being revoked. Marcus will escort you out. If you’re innocent, you’ll cooperate.”
The door opened, and Marcus appeared like a shadow.
As Kieran was escorted out, Lucas turned to Elena. “He’s not smart enough to do this alone.”
“No,” she said. “But now we know Vivian’s not finished.”
Lucas ran a hand through his hair. “She’s trying to use pawns. Keep her hands clean.”
“Then let’s dirty them,” Elena said.
Lucas gave her a dark smile. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
That night, Lucas and Elena returned to his penthouse.
The blinds were closed. The lights dimmed. But the air was still thick with memory and paranoia.
They stood in the living room, facing each other under the soft glow of the chandelier.
“I want to believe it’s over,” Elena said. “But it’s not, is it?”
Lucas stepped closer. “No. But we’ve drawn her out. She’s exposed now. She’ll move again louder, maybe sloppier.”
Elena nodded. “And we’ll be ready.”
He cupped her face gently. “You know, before you came back, I never let anyone into this apartment. Not like this. Not into me.”
She rested her hands over his. “And now?”
“Now it feels like home again. Because of you.”
Elena leaned into him, her voice soft. “Then promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“No more half-truths. If we’re in this, we’re in it. Even if it gets ugly.”
Lucas nodded slowly. “You have my word.”
They kissed, not with fire this time—but with conviction. With something unbreakable.
As they settled in for the night, Elena curled into Lucas’s chest, sleep pulling at the edges of her thoughts.
But just as her eyes closed, Lucas’s phone buzzed again.
Another message.
He picked it up slowly. Read it. Stiffened.
Elena sat up. “What is it now?”
Lucas’s face was pale.
The message was a single sentence:
“If you won’t break her heart, I will.”
Attached was a new photo Elena’s father. Taken from inside his bookstore.
- Writer
