The Heart The Billionaire Couldn’t Hack

The first time Ethan Cole saved Amara Okafor, she hated him for it. The second time, she feared she might need him. And the third time... She was absolutely terrified she might love him. … Amara realized she had just dropped the glass she was holding only after she heard the abrupt sound of it hitting the floor. The headline she had just read was the only thing she could think about as she watched the glass break into countless pieces. FEDERAL CYBERCRIME INVESTIGATION; COLE TECHNOLOGIES AND NOVAGEN IN COHOOTS! For a minute, all Amara could hear was the ringing in her head. Not the music. Not the conversations. Not the millions of attendees at the year’s largest tech event. Everything became a blur. Her company. Her dream. Her entire life. Amara had given building NovaGen her everything for ten whole years. Ten whole years of nights void of sleep. Ten whole years of continuously having to prove herself in a world designed against her better interests. Now, just one headline was enough to make the walls of her company, her ten-year-old creation, start to fall apart. Her life was falling apart right before her very eyes, shattered to a million pieces like the glass that lay before her. "Miss Okafor?" A reporter shoved a microphone in her direction. "Did you work with Ethan Cole in secret to influence the market?" Her stomach fell. "What?" One more reporter came forward. "Are you and Ethan Cole in charge of this investigation? "No." She couldn’t recognize the feeble sound that escaped her lips as hers. For the first time in years, Amara couldn’t conceive an answer in her mind. Her eyes searched the room fervently and landed on her so-called partner in crime, the all-powerful billionaire CEO, Ethan Cole. Across the room, Ethan Cole stood perfectly still. The billionaire CEO. Her greatest rival. The man she had devoted three years of her life to defeating. He looked calm. Too calm. Like he had information she desperately needed but didn’t have. Their eyes met, but instead of seeing the constant wave of victory and success in his expression... Concern was imminent. And that scared her more. … Two hours later, the NovaGen emergency board meeting was an utter disaster. "Investors are pulling funding." "We must halt operations." "Our reputation is being ruined by the media." In Amara's mind, the voices mingled together like a bitter protein drink. Everyone was conversing. Everyone was terrified. They all looked to her. Waiting. Because Amara was always the one who knew the solution. The individual who resolved issues. The one who carried everything. She opened the folders that were in front of her. The evidence. The investigation documents. The financial reports. Nothing made any sense. Someone had carefully built a case against her. Someone who knew NovaGen. Someone who knew her. And for the first time in a long time, answers felt far from her. Her brain was blank. "Amara?" Her CFO's voice pulled her back. "What do we do?" She looked around the table. Her team. The people who trusted her. The people whose careers depended on her. And suddenly, the weight became too much. Her chest tightened. She hated the feeling. She hated not knowing. She hated needing someone. So, she stood. Faster than her brain could process, the words flew out of her mouth. "We fight back." Everyone became quiet. "We investigate every document. Every transaction. Every person involved." Her voice became louder. "Tonight, NovaGen won't collapse." The room calmed down gradually. They took her word for it. The worst thing was that. Even when she wasn't sure, they still trusted her. … After everyone left, Amara stayed behind. Alone. The moment the door closed behind them, the strength disappeared. She sat down. Covered her face. Just for a second. Just long enough to admit the truth that had been raging inside her since she saw the headlines. She was absolutely terrified. A knock on the door pulled her into composure. She immediately straightened. "I want to be alone." The door opened anyway. Of course. Ethan Cole walked in. A rush of anger suddenly flooded her mind. "Why are you here, Ethan?" He let himself in, the door closing behind him. "Helping." She laughed. Actually laughed. She wasn’t aware she could laugh amid all the chaos. "You?" "Yes." "The same man who spent years trying to outdo me?" His eyes stayed on hers. "My plans to defeat you haven’t changed." The answer annoyed her. But somehow, he brought some normalcy to the storm in her mind. At least Ethan was still Ethan. She stood. "If you came here to be cocky, you can leave." "I'm not here to annoy you, Ms. Okafor." "Then why?" He placed a file on her desk. Amara trailed the file with her eyes. "What’s this, Mr. Cole?" "Proof." She opened it. Her expression changed. Inside were pictures. Messages. Transactions. A person she knew. A person she trusted. Her assistant. The person who had worked beside her for years. The person who knew everything about NovaGen. Her hands shook. "No." Ethan watched her carefully. "How didn’t I know?" She searched his eyes. "How long?" "Three months." The room went silent. Three months. Someone had been betraying her for three months. And she never noticed. Amara could feel the knife in her back, and she was completely mortified. "I need to know who made him do this." "I have that information, Amara." Her eyes snapped to his. "Who is it?" Ethan hesitated. That was the first time she sensed an unusual aura from within him. Fear. "The mastermind behind this scheme isn't targeting our companies." Amara frowned in utter disbelief. "Then what could it be?" His voice softened. "We are their targets." Before she could ask questions about what he was talking about, the office screen lights came on, drawing their attention. A message appeared. No name. No source. Just seven words. ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS LISTEN. The office lights flickered like something out of a horror movie. Then went out. And somewhere in the depth of the darkness, Amara came into the consciousness of something extremely terrifying. This was a dirty job, and the mastermind was not a stranger. It was an inside job.