Lila's breath caught as she stared out her guest suite window, the shadow from moments ago gone, swallowed by the Hamptons estate's dark woods. Her laptop sat open, the photo of Zara with Elias's late brother, Julian, burning into her mind. The Aurora Holdings conspiracy was unraveling—Nexus Global, a hacking network, and now a personal tie to Elias's past. The note—Trust no one. Aurora is watching—felt like a noose tightening. Someone was out there, and they knew she was getting close.
It was 4 a.m., the ocean's roar a restless pulse outside. Lila's fingers trembled as she saved the photo to a secure drive, her heart racing. She'd traced Aurora's funds to Nexus Global, a rival tech firm, but the photo suggested Zara wasn't just Elias's COO—she might be the key to everything. Was she the hacker? The traitor? And what did Elias know?
A soft knock broke her thoughts. "Lila." Elias's voice, low and urgent, seeped through the door.
She hesitated, her sweater wrinkled from hours of work. Opening the door, she found him in a dark sweater, his gray eyes shadowed with something new—concern? He stepped inside, his presence shrinking the room, his cologne sharp and grounding.
"You saw something," he said, his gaze flicking to the window. "What was it?"
"A shadow. Outside." Her voice was steady, but her pulse wasn't. "Someone's watching me, Elias. And I found something else." She turned her laptop, showing the Nexus Global link. "Aurora's funds are flowing to your rival. This isn't just a breach—it's corporate warfare."
His jaw clenched, but his eyes softened, just for a moment. "You're good, Lila. Too good." He moved closer, his hand brushing her arm as he studied the screen. The touch sent a jolt through her, her body betraying her with a rush of warmth. She stepped back, focusing on the data.
"I need more than access codes," she said. "If Nexus is involved, we're talking millions, maybe billions, in play. And Zara—she was with your brother. In a photo. From two years ago."
Elias froze, his expression unreadable. "Show me."
She pulled up the photo, Julian's arm around a younger Zara, their smiles intimate. Elias's face darkened, a storm brewing in his eyes. "Julian worked with Zara on Aurora," he said, his voice tight. "Before it went wrong. Before he died."
"Died how?" Lila pressed, her defiance flaring. "You keep dodging, Elias. If I'm risking my life, I need the truth."
He turned away, staring at the ocean through the window. "Julian's car crashed. Drunk, they said. But he wasn't a drinker." His voice cracked, a rare fracture in his control. "I thought it was an accident. Now… I'm not sure."
Lila's chest tightened. She wanted to reach out, to bridge the gap, but the NDA, the threats, the shadow outside kept her guarded. "Zara knows something," she said. "She mentioned Phase Two. If she's working with Nexus—"
"She's not," Elias snapped, turning back. "Zara's loyal. But someone isn't." He handed her a new set of encryption keys. "Trace the Nexus connection. Find the traitor."
Their fingers brushed, the air electric. Lila's heart raced, caught between his intensity and her distrust. "And if it's you?" she asked, half-challenging, half-fearing the answer.
His lips curved, a dangerous edge to his smile. "Then you're in deeper than you think."
Before she could respond, Zara's voice cut through the hall. "Elias! We've got a breach in the server room."
He cursed under his breath, heading for the door. "Stay here," he told Lila. "Lock it."
But as he left, Lila's phone buzzed on the nightstand. She grabbed it, expecting another threatening message. Instead, it was a text from an unknown number: a photo of her Brooklyn apartment, the window open, Nimbus's silhouette in the frame.
Her blood ran cold. They weren't just watching her—they were in her home.