shattered promises

chapter 7

Hidden Files

The next morning felt unreal.

Like the world had shifted overnight while I wasn’t looking.

I barely slept after the attack. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the masked man again. Heard the gunshot. Felt the knife against my throat.

And worse—

I remembered the way Sebastian looked at me afterward.

Like losing me would destroy him.

That terrified me more than it should have.

Sunlight poured softly through the bedroom curtains, but it did nothing to warm the heaviness sitting in my chest.

I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the untouched cup of coffee one of the staff had brought earlier.

My mind wouldn’t stop spinning.

Liam’s secrets.

The attack.

The dead witness.

Sebastian.

Especially Sebastian.

A knock sounded at the door.

Then he walked in before I could answer.

Like he already belonged in every space around me.

“You’re awake,” he said quietly.

I looked up slowly.

His expression was calm as always, but there was tension beneath it today. The kind he tried hard to hide.

“You sound surprised.”

“I expected you to avoid me after last night.”

The honesty caught me off guard.

I crossed my arms slightly. “Should I?”

His gaze held mine for a second too long.

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“Whether you blame me for what happened.”

Silence settled between us.

Because part of me did.

But another part knew he had saved my life.

Twice.

“I don’t know what to think anymore,” I admitted quietly.

Something in his expression softened again.

Dangerous softness.

“You should eat,” he said after a moment.

“I’m not hungry.”

“That wasn’t a suggestion.”

I rolled my eyes slightly.

“There he is.”

A faint smirk touched his lips.

“For a second, I thought you preferred the softer version of me.”

Heat rose annoyingly fast to my face.

“I never said there was a softer version.”

“No?” He stepped farther into the room. “Then why were you staring at me like that last night?”

My heartbeat betrayed me instantly.

“I wasn’t staring at you.”

“You were.”

The confidence in his voice made me want to throw something at him.

Instead, I grabbed the coffee cup.

“Your ego is exhausting.”

“And your denial is entertaining.”

I hated that part of me almost smiled.

The moment didn’t last long.

Sebastian’s phone buzzed in his pocket, instantly changing the atmosphere again.

His expression darkened as he checked the screen.

“What happened?” I asked immediately.

“They found something in Liam’s apartment.”

My stomach tightened.

“What kind of something?”

His eyes lifted slowly to mine.

“A hidden storage drive.”

An hour later, we arrived at Liam’s apartment.

Or what used to feel like Liam’s apartment.

Now it just felt unfamiliar.

Cold.

Like every memory attached to it had been poisoned.

Police tape still covered part of the entrance from the investigation, but Sebastian’s connections clearly made access easy.

The officers let us through without questions.

That alone told me how powerful he really was.

The apartment looked exactly the same.

And completely different.

Liam’s jacket still hung over the chair.

His favorite watch still sat near the kitchen counter.

Tiny pieces of a life frozen in place.

My chest tightened painfully.

Because despite everything…

I missed him.

Or maybe I missed the version of him I thought existed.

Sebastian noticed my expression but said nothing.

For once, I appreciated the silence.

One of Sebastian’s security men approached us quickly.

“We found it hidden behind a loose panel under the desk,” he explained, handing Sebastian a small black drive.

Sebastian examined it carefully.

“Anyone access it yet?”

“No.”

“Good.”

My eyes stayed fixed on the device.

“You think this explains everything?”

Sebastian glanced at me briefly.

“I think Liam hid it for a reason.”

We moved into the living room while one of Sebastian’s tech experts connected the drive to a laptop.

Tension filled the room instantly.

Then—

Folders appeared on the screen.

Dozens of them.

Names.

Transactions.

Photos.

Private recordings.

My pulse quickened.

“What is all this?” I whispered.

The tech expert went pale.

“Jesus…”

Sebastian’s expression turned dangerously cold.

“What?”

The man swallowed hard.

“These are internal records.”

“From where?”

A long pause.

Then—

“From Blackwood Holdings.”

The room went silent.

I slowly turned toward Sebastian.

“What?”

His jaw tightened.

“That’s impossible.”

But judging from his expression…

It wasn’t impossible at all.

I stepped closer to the screen, my heart pounding harder with every file I opened.

Confidential financial records.

Secret meetings.

Illegal transfers.

And then—

Photos.

Photos of politicians.

Businessmen.

Powerful people entering private buildings late at night.

Some faces I recognized from television.

Others I didn’t.

But all of them connected somehow.

“This isn’t just corruption,” I whispered.

“No,” Sebastian said quietly.

“It’s blackmail.”

A chill ran through me.

Liam wasn’t hiding money.

He was hiding leverage.

Dangerous leverage.

Then another file opened automatically.

A video.

The timestamp showed it was recorded only three days before Liam died.

My breath caught instantly.

“Play it,” I whispered.

The room darkened slightly as the video began.

Then Liam appeared on the screen.

Alive.

Tired.

Afraid.

My chest tightened painfully.

“Oh my God…”

Liam looked directly into the camera.

“If you’re seeing this,” he said quietly, “then something went wrong.”

The room fell completely silent.

Even Sebastian looked tense now.

Liam rubbed a hand over his face tiredly.

“I never wanted Olivia involved in any of this.”

My throat tightened immediately.

“But I think they already suspect me.”

He glanced behind him nervously before continuing.

“I made copies of everything. If anything happens to me, release the files.”

My heart pounded harder.

“They can’t keep controlling people like this anymore.”

Then his expression changed.

Fear.

Real fear.

“If Sebastian finds out what I took—”

The video suddenly cut off.

Silence crashed over the room.

Heavy.

Sharp.

Dangerous.

Slowly…

I turned toward Sebastian.

My breathing uneven.

“He was afraid of you.”

Sebastian’s expression darkened instantly.

“I didn’t know about any of this.”

“But your company is all over these files!”

“My company,” he snapped sharply, “has thousands of employees.”

The anger in his voice startled everyone in the room.

But beneath the anger…

I saw something else.

Betrayal.

“You expect me to believe you had no idea?” I asked quietly.

His gaze locked onto mine.

“Do you?”

The question hit harder than it should have.

Because I wanted to believe him.

And that scared me.

Sebastian looked back at the laptop.

Then suddenly grabbed it shut.

“We’re leaving.”

“What? Why?”

“Because if Liam copied these files—”

Realization hit me instantly.

“They’ll come looking for them.”

“Yes.”

Almost immediately, alarms started blaring outside the apartment.

One of the guards cursed loudly.

“Sir—we have movement downstairs.”

Sebastian’s entire posture changed instantly.

“How many?”

“At least six armed men.”

Fear slammed into me.

“They found us.”

Sebastian grabbed my wrist immediately.

“We leave now.”

Gunshots echoed downstairs before anyone could move.

The sound sent panic racing through my chest.

Chaos erupted instantly.

Sebastian pulled me behind him while his security team moved into position.

Another gunshot exploded somewhere near the hallway.

Glass shattered.

People screamed downstairs.

My breathing became uneven again.

“This way,” Sebastian ordered sharply.

He pulled me toward the back hallway just as another loud crash echoed through the apartment.

The attackers were inside.

My heart pounded violently as we rushed through the narrow hallway.

“Sebastian—”

“Keep moving.”

His voice was calm.

Too calm.

Like this kind of danger was normal for him.

One of his guards suddenly appeared around the corner.

“There’s too many of them!”

Sebastian cursed under his breath.

“Take Olivia through the service exit.”

“What about you?” I asked immediately.

His eyes met mine briefly.

“I’ll handle the rest.”

“No.”

The answer came out before I could stop it.

Something flickered across his face.

Surprise.

Then frustration.

“Olivia—”

“I’m not leaving you.”

The words stunned both of us.

Because I hadn’t realized they were true until I said them.

Gunshots echoed again.

Closer this time.

Sebastian stepped toward me quickly.

His hands gripped my shoulders firmly.

“You listen to me very carefully,” he said intensely.

“If anything happens, you run. Do you understand?”

My throat tightened painfully.

“No.”

His jaw clenched.

“This isn’t negotiable.”

“It is to me.”

For one dangerous second…

Something emotional cracked through the control in his eyes.

Something real.

Then suddenly—

The apartment lights went out.

Darkness swallowed everything.

And somewhere nearby…

A gun clicked.