Julian Thorne never believed in coincidences.Coincidences were for amateurs.Patterns — now those told the truth.
By Monday morning, he had a pattern.
Elara's access logs showed late-night activity — files opened long after office hours, encrypted drives connected to her system. Yet there was no trace of what she downloaded. Someone had covered her tracks.
Someone smart.Someone like her.
Julian's assistant, Ava, entered quietly with a tablet. "Sir, these are the visitor records you requested."
He scanned the data — times, names, security footage stills.And then he saw it.
A shadowy figure captured near the private parking exit two nights ago.Tall, male, expensive coat.Face turned away — but the camera caught just enough.
Julian's jaw tightened. "Enhance that."
Ava hesitated. "Sir, it's blurry, but… it looks like Adrian Blackwell."
The name hit the air like a gunshot.
Julian leaned back slowly, tapping his pen against the desk.Blackwell.The man who tried to outbid him. The man whose brother had lost everything because of him.
And now, possibly, the man standing beside his ex-wife.
"Keep this quiet," Julian said, his tone low. "No reports. No alerts. Not yet."
Ava nodded and left, leaving Julian alone with the quiet hum of suspicion.
Meanwhile, across the city, Elara met Adrian in a hidden café — her nerves disguised behind perfect calm.
"I think Julian suspects something," she said quietly.
Adrian's lips curved. "He's bound to. You're not exactly blending in anymore."
She frowned. "You don't understand. He doesn't guess — he knows. Once he senses a trail, he doesn't stop until he burns everything."
Adrian leaned forward, eyes dark. "Then let him burn. We'll just make sure the fire consumes him first."
She studied him, unsure if his confidence was strength or madness.
"Julian's not a fool," she said. "He'll connect the dots."
"Then break one," Adrian replied coolly. "Let him follow the wrong thread. Feed him something false. You used to know exactly how his mind works — use it."
Elara inhaled slowly. He was right. She did know Julian.She knew his patterns, his pride, his rage.
And maybe, just maybe, she could use them all against him.
That night, Julian stood by his window overlooking the city, his reflection merging with the skyline.
He didn't know what game Elara was playing — but this time, he wasn't going to be blindsided.
"She wants to rise?" he murmured to himself. "Then I'll remind her who built the sky."
But deep down, even he knew — the sky was shifting.And somewhere in the dark, two devils were plotting his downfall.