The next morning, Ronan woke up to his phone ringing non-stop.
Groaning in irritation, he reached blindly for the device on his bedside table and answered it. His eyes were heavy and swollen from crying all night. The moment the call disconnected, he looked down at the screen, and his jaw dropped.
There was an absurd number of missed notifications staring back at him.
Missed Calls:
Michael: 22
Lily: 9
The Police: 4
The police?! Ronan's heart skipped a beat. Why on earth are the police calling me?
Before he could even process the shock to call Michael back, his phone lit up again with Michael's caller ID. He quickly swiped to answer.
"Hello-"
"Finally! You actually picked up!" Michael's voice boomed through the speaker, laced with pure frustration. "Where on earth have you been keeping your phone?!"
"Ah, I didn't sleep until dawn last night," Ronan stammered, rubbing his tired eyes. "Why? What's going on?"
"I can't talk about it over the phone," Michael snapped, his tone dangerously sharp. "Get dressed as fast as you can and get down to the Vante building immediately."
"But-"
"Right now!!"
The line went dead.
Ronan stared at his phone in disbelief. "Hello? Mich?!" He let out a frustrated sigh and slammed the phone onto the bed. "Shit!"
Glancing angrily at his watch, he saw it was barely seven in the morning. Dragging his hands down his face, he forced himself out of bed and rushed into the bathroom to get ready.
. . . . . . . . . .
By ten o'clock that morning, Liora's first lecture had finally ended.
A collective sigh of relief echoed through the lecture hall as students began breaking off into small groups, either gossiping about their week or heading out to meet friends from other departments. Some immediately pulled out their phones to scroll through social media.
As usual, Liora sat completely alone at her desk, her head buried deep in her textbook, trying to block out the noise.
Amidst the chatter, Mia walked into the hall.
"Oh, Mia, you're finally here? Where have you been all morning?" one of the students called out.
"Just running a few errands," Mia replied smoothly. She cast a sharp, lingering look at Liora with a strange smirk on her face, though Liora remained completely oblivious, keeping her eyes glued to her book.
Not even a minute later, a boy holding a phone suddenly gasped aloud, drawing everyone's attention.
"Guys! Look at this! Have you seen the news?!" the boy shouted, his voice echoing across the room. "Ronan has been taken in by the police for questioning!"
Hearing that name, Liora's entire body went rigid. Her heart began to hammer against her ribs, and a sudden, inexplicable wave of terror washed over her. Her eyes widened as she looked up from her book.
"What?!"
"Why?"
"What happened? Tell us!" the other students clamored, crowding around the boy.
"Hold on, HYK News is broadcasting a live report right now. I'll turn the volume up." the boy said, tapping his screen.
Liora tensed, straining her ears to catch every single word of the broadcast.
HYK Live Broadcast:
"...A shocking discovery was made at approximately 6:00 AM this morning inside the private office of Mr. Ronan Brown, the prominent CEO of Vante Group. The authorities have identified the deceased as Ms. Daisy Taylor, Mr. Browns's personal secretary.
Her body was discovered during a police sweep of the Vante building premises following a missing person's report filed by her family. While medical examiners state the cause of death appears to be an abnormal and sudden bodily weakness, investigators are treating the case with extreme caution. The coroner estimates the time of death to be between 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM yesterday evening. Mr. Brown has maintained that he was not present in the building during those hours..."
The broadcast shifted to anchors discussing the public's reaction, but Liora could barely hear them over the sound of her own frantic breathing. A cold sweat broke out across her skin.
Around her, the students began to whisper fiercely.
"That is bizarre. How does someone just suddenly become so weak that they die? Out of nowhere?"
Mia sneered, pointing a mocking finger directly at Liora. "Why don't we go ask her over there? It looks like she'll end up exactly like that corpse pretty soon. The girl can't even walk ten steps without collapsing."
The surrounding students burst into cruel laughter. Liora lowered her gaze and said nothing. She was entirely used to their textbook insults, but today, her mind was completely elsewhere.
"But seriously, this is bad," another student whispered, looking worriedly at the screen. "The body was found right inside his private cabin. If the police prove there was foul play, Ronan is going to be the prime suspect."
Liora's blood ran cold. That can't happen, she thought frantically, a desperate wave of relief washing over her as she did the math. He can't be a suspect. Mr. Brown was with me during that exact time.
"Wait, it gets worse," the boy with the phone muttered, wrinkling his nose as he read a new text update. "The police are definitely leaning toward a homicide investigation because of Mr. Brown's timeline."
The students leaned in closer, their eyes wide. "What do you mean? What did he do?"
"Apparently, his behavior yesterday was completely uncharacteristic," the boy explained, reading directly from an online article. "He was out of the office since the morning and never returned. He left the area an hour before his secretary died, but his assistant claims he never came back to his usual spots. He has never acted like that before."
"Yeah, that is weird," another girl chimed in, frowning. "He usually never misses a meeting."
"But this is the craziest part," the boy whispered, looking up at his classmates. "The report says he was spotted meeting a mysterious girl on Street ×××× exactly one hour before the estimated time of death."
Liora's breath hitched in her throat. Her hands began to tremble against her desk.
That street... He's talking about me.
. . . . . . . .
Over at the MYG News building, the atmosphere was thick with tension.
Mr. Adams, the chief editor, was pacing a frantic path back and forth across the floor. For several minutes, his staff had watched him walk the exact same route, aggressively rubbing his hands together and stomping his feet in a fit of rage.
Sophia stood among the group of onlookers.
"Honestly, it makes sense why the boss is throwing a tantrum," Matthew whispered quietly, keeping his eyes on Mr. Adams so his friends could hear him. "What kind of news chief would be okay with burying a massive story like a dead body in the Vante Group building? He wants it on the front page, not as a minor footnote."
"Where even is Mr. Lewis right now?" Sophia asked, her brow furrowed with worry.
Abigail let out a heavy sigh. "He's still over at the Vante building. Talk about loyal friendship. But honestly, you can't blame Mr. Lewis. Who would want to broadcast sensationalized dirt when their best friend is the one in the hot seat? He's trying to protect Mr. Brown, but it's making our boss lose his mind."
A few of the reporters nodded in silent agreement.
"Sophia!!!"
Sophia flinched as Jack, a friend from the production department, came sprinting around the corner, shouting her name.
"Hey! What is all that yelling for?!" Mr. Adams barked, abruptly stopping his pacing to glare at the intruder for disrupting his train of thought.
"Oh, sorry, sir! Please, carry on." Jack apologized quickly, bowing.
The other reporters bit their lips, trying their hardest to suppress their laughter as Mr. Adams scowled and resumed his angry pacing. Jack quickly hurried over to Sophia's desk.
"Sophia, someone is downstairs in the lobby to see you." Jack whispered.
Sophia blinked in confusion. She rarely, if ever, had visitors at work. "To see me? Who is it?"
"She said her name is Liora."
Sophia's eyes went wide. Without a word of explanation to her team, she bolted toward the elevators, leaving her coworkers staring after her in utter bewilderment.
When Sophia reached the ground floor, she immediately spotted Liora sitting on the edge of a sleek lobby sofa. The younger girl was nervously twisting her fingers together, her eyes darting anxiously around the room.
"Liora?!" Sophia called out.
Liora shot up from the sofa the moment she heard Sophia's voice. Sophia rushed over to her, immediately placing a hand on Liora's forehead and checking her over.
"Why are you here? Is everything okay? Are you feeling sick again?" Sophia asked frantically.
For a brief second, Sophia's mother-hen behavior made Liora forget her crushing anxiety, and a soft smile slipped onto her face. "No, no, Sophie. I'm fine, really. I just... I came because I need to find out about something."
The nervousness rushed right back into Liora's expression.
"What is it?" Sophia asked, her tone softening.
"Can we... can we sit down and talk?"
Sophia nodded, and the two of them sat side by side on the sofa. Sophia waited patiently, studying Liora's pale face until the younger girl finally found her voice.
"Sophie, I need to know the inside details about the Vante Group case." Liora pleaded. She knew that as a prominent field reporter, Sophia would have access to information the public hadn't seen yet.
Sophia stared at her, utterly stunned. Liora had never shown a single shred of interest in anything outside of her university courses before. "What's gotten into you? Why the sudden interest in a corporate scandal?"
Liora bit his lip, looking up at Sophia with wide, pleading puppy eyes. "Please, Sophie... just tell me."
"Ah, stop! Don't give me that look." Sophia groaned, totally defenseless against the expression.
Liora offered a small, appreciative bunny smile. "Please?"
"Fine," Sophia sighed, leaning in closer. "What exactly do you want to know?"
"Why are they calling it a murder investigation? And... why do they suspect Mr. Brown?" Liora asked, her voice shaking slightly on Ronan's name.
Sophia took a deep breath, looking around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "First of all, don't buy into everything the mainstream media is feeding people. Those other channels are just spinning narratives for views. Even though they're throwing the word 'murder' around, nothing has actually been proven yet. It's strictly suspicion, but the police are applying intense pressure specifically because of Mr. Brown's timeline."
"What do you mean?" Liora asked, her hands growing colder.
"There are two main red flags the investigators are fixated on," Sophia explained. "First is how erratic Mr. Brown's schedule was yesterday. Second, they confirmed he left his building an hour before the secretary's estimated time of death to meet a mysterious girl on the street."
Liora's chest tightened painfully. "H-Have they... have they figured out who the girl is?" she asked, terrified of the answer. She had no desire to be dragged into a police investigation; she just wanted to live her life in peace.
Sophia let out a heavy sigh. "And that's the absolute biggest roadblock right now. In reality, the fact that he met someone during that window should be his perfect alibi. It proves his whereabouts. But the real problem is that Mr. Brown refuses to open his mouth. He won't say a single word about who that girl is. So, of course, it's making the police incredibly suspicious. If it was just a innocent meeting, why is he protecting the kid's identity so fiercely?"
Tears instantly blurred Liora's vision. He's keeping quiet... to protect me. But why would he go that far?
"But Sophie," Liora choked out, trying to find a loophole to save Ronan without exposing herself. "Doesn't Mr. Brown have CCTV cameras inside his private cabin? Can't they just check the footage to prove he wasn't there when she died?"
"That's the next major issue where the case is completely gridlocked," Sophia said, shaking her head. "The entire security system in his office suffered a massive, localized power surge right around that exact hour. The cameras went completely dark. If it was just a natural death from illness, why did the power conveniently cut out right then? The police think someone intentionally sabotaged it to hide something."
Liora swallowed hard, the weight of the situation crashing down on her. "Thank you for telling me, Sophie. I... I have to go now. I'll talk to you later." she muttered breathlessly.
Before Sophia could even attempt to stop her, Liora threw herself off the couch and bolted toward the exit.
"Liora, wait! Where are you going?!" Sophia yelled, taking a step to chase after her.
But just as she reached the lobby turns, the elevator doors slid open, and Michael stepped out into the hall. Sophia froze in her tracks, immediately dropping her head into a respectful bow. All around the lobby, the remaining staff members instantly went silent and bowed to their executive boss.
Michael walked briskly toward the main office doors, but as he passed the lobby area, his eyes locked onto Sophia. He paused for a fraction of a second, a dark, devastating smirk playing at the corner of his lips as he watched a bright crimson blush creep up Sophia's neck.
Sophia tentatively looked back toward the glass doors, but Liora had already vanished into the crowded London streets. She let out a worried sigh.
. . . . . . . . .
A little while later, back on the journalism floor, Mr. Adams abruptly cornered Sophia in the hallway, dragging her into a quiet alcove.
"Boss, please, I really can't do this." Sophia protested, trying to pull away.
"What do you mean you can't?!" Mr. Adams hissed, his eyes blazing with ambition. "I've told you a thousand times, when I give an assignment in this department, 'no' is not an option!"
"But sir, you know what Mr. Lewis is like. He isn't a pushover, and he doesn't take notes from anyone! He's incredibly ruthless when it comes to executive decisions. Have a little mercy on me, please." Sophia pleaded, holding her hands up.
"That is exactly why you have to be the one to do it." Mr. Adams insisted, grabbing Sophia by the shoulder and steering her toward the executive suite. "Everyone in this entire building knows you have a unique rapport with Mr. Lewis. The boss doesn't look at you the way he looks at the rest of us hacks. If anyone can get him to approve this Vante exclusive, it's you."
"But-"
Mr. Adams completely ignored her protests, dragging Sophia down the carpeted hallway toward Michael's private office.
What Mr. Adams said wasn't entirely wrong. For the past few weeks, the entire department had noticed how differently Michael treated Sophia. The intense, lingering glances he threw Sophia's way every morning and evening, the way Sophia would hopelessly blush in response, and the fact that Michael summoned him to his private cabin at least five times a day under the guise of "special assignments", it hadn't gone unnoticed. Rumors that something profound was developing between the cold billionaire boss and the young reporter were already spreading like wildfire through the MYG building.
"Now remember the script." Mr. Adams whispered aggressively, giving Sophia a reassuring pat on the shoulder as they reached the heavy oak double doors. "You walk in there and say, 'Sir, our investigative team has uncovered far more exclusive details on the Vante case than any rival network. If we run this broadcast tonight, MYG will completely dominate the ratings.' Got it?"
Sophia's shoulders slumped, her eyes glossy with dread. "Boss... please... I can't do this..."
But Mr. Adams had already raised his hand and knocked loudly on the door.
From within the soundproofed room, a deep, commanding voice echoed: "Come in."
Before Sophia could even attempt to flee, Mr. Adams shoved her hard through the door, pulled it shut behind her, and immediately pressed his ear against the wood, desperate to catch even a whisper of what was about to happen inside.
Sophia stood frozen by the entrance, casting a thoroughly miserable glare back at the closed door before slowly turning to face his boss.
Michael was seated behind his massive desk, typing away on his laptop. Hearing the commotion, he slowly raised his head. The moment his sharp eyes landed on Sophia, the coldness in his expression melted into an amused, knowing smirk.
"Miss me already?" Michael asked, his voice smooth and laced with a quiet playfulness.
"A-Ah... no," Sophia stammered, her cheeks instantly flushing a deep pink. "Mr. Adams sent me in here, sir."
Michael chuckled softly, leaning back in his leather chair. "He understands things that you clearly don't."
"Wh-What?" Sophia blinked, entirely confused.
Michael simply shook his head, dismissing the comment with a faint smile. "What is it you need, Sophia?" he asked, returning his focus to his laptop screen.
Sophia swallowed hard, trying to remember Mr. Adams's aggressive script. "Um... it's about the Vante Group incident. Mr. Adams wanted to know if we could greenlight an extended, deep-dive broadcast on the case for our evening slot."
The playful atmosphere vanished instantly. Michael didn't look up from his screen, his jaw tightening as he spoke in a flat, dangerous tone.
"That is not going to happen."
"Right. Understood, sir. I'll take my leave then," Sophia blurted out, incredibly relieved to have an excuse to escape.
She turned on her heel and practically fled the room. Michael finally looked up from his laptop, his eyes tracing Sophia's hurried retreat, a genuine, soft smile gracing his lips as the door clicked shut.
Meanwhile, across town at the Vante headquarters, Ronan...
* * * * * * * *