CHAPTER 37: INTERNAL LEAK
The room did not move.
The words still hung between them like shattered glass.
The leak came from your credentials.
Elara stared at Adrian.
"That's impossible."
His expression remained unreadable.
But his silence was worse than accusation.
Behind them, security shutters began sliding over sections of the executive floor. Magnetic locks sealed side corridors with metallic finality.
Marcus's voice still crackled through Adrian's phone.
"Adrian? We need both of you in operations now."
Adrian ended the call.
Neither of them spoke for a moment.
Then Elara said quietly—
"You don't believe I did this."
It wasn't a question.
Adrian's gaze stayed on her.
"I believe your credentials were used."
"That's not the same thing."
"No."
His answer was calm.
Controlled.
Infuriating.
Elara folded her arms.
"So what now?"
Adrian stepped aside and gestured down the corridor.
"Now we verify."
She almost laughed.
"You really know how to make trust sound clinical."
His jaw shifted slightly.
"Trust without proof is expensive."
"And suspicion without proof?"
Their eyes locked.
"More expensive."
Then he walked.
And she followed.
Because if someone was using her identity inside Knox Global—
This was no longer just Adrian's war.
It was hers too.
The moment they entered, conversation died.
Analysts looked up.
Security staff straightened.
Even Victor Hale, seated lazily near the main console, seemed more alert than usual.
Marcus stood beside the digital wall, tension written across his face.
On-screen, Helios pulsed in layered grids of code while market mentions and media spikes crawled along side panels.
And in the center:
52:18:09
The countdown continued.
Marcus spoke first.
"I isolated the transmission."
He tapped the screen.
A new panel appeared.
User Access ID: ELARA.VALE / Executive Tier
Timestamp: 11:43 AM
Transfer Packet Sent: External encrypted relay
Victor whistled softly.
"That's unfortunate."
Elara ignored him.
"Show me the route."
Marcus did.
The packet had moved through three internal nodes before exiting Knox Global's secure network.
Fast.
Clean.
Professional.
She narrowed her eyes.
"This was staged."
Marcus looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because whoever did this wanted it traced."
She pointed at the routing pattern.
"No competent internal leak uses executive credentials and leaves a visible chain."
Victor smiled faintly.
"Unless the goal was not secrecy."
Adrian's gaze remained on the logs.
"The goal was pressure."
Elara turned to him.
"And suspicion."
He met her eyes.
"Yes."
Marcus rubbed his forehead.
"So someone inside the company framed Elara, leaked Helios data, and triggered media escalation."
Victor leaned back.
"Busy little traitor."
Adrian issued orders quickly.
"No one leaves this floor without clearance."
Security moved instantly.
"All executive accounts are frozen and re-authenticated."
Marcus nodded.
"Done."
"Any access tied to Elara's credentials gets mirrored."
Elara frowned.
"Mirrored?"
Marcus answered carefully.
"It means if the intruder uses your credentials again, we'll see it live."
Victor raised a hand lazily.
"And if they use mine?"
No one answered.
He smirked.
"Rude."
Adrian turned to Elara.
"Your devices."
She stared.
"You're kidding."
"Phone. Laptop. Keycard."
"You think it's me."
"I think you're compromised."
The difference was subtle.
But real.
She handed everything over anyway.
Because refusing would look worse.
Victor murmured as she passed him, "Nothing says romance like forensic confiscation."
She considered murder briefly.
An hour later, Elara stood alone inside a temporary glass office while cybersecurity staff cloned her devices.
She hated the feeling.
Not fear.
Violation.
Someone had stepped into her identity and weaponized it.
The door opened.
Adrian entered.
She didn't turn.
"Come to audit my breathing patterns too?"
He closed the door behind him.
"They found no malware on your phone."
"How comforting."
"No compromise on your laptop either."
She finally faced him.
"So someone accessed my credentials another way."
"Yes."
She crossed her arms.
"Then apologize."
His eyebrow lifted slightly.
"For what?"
"For looking at me like a suspect."
"I looked at you like a variable."
She stared.
"That may be the least human sentence I've ever heard."
A pause.
Then unexpectedly—
The corner of his mouth moved.
Almost a smile.
Gone instantly.
Elara exhaled sharply.
"You're impossible."
"No."
He stepped closer.
"Just cautious."
"About everyone?"
"Yes."
She held his gaze.
"Even me?"
His answer came too slowly.
"That depends."
"On what?"
"How dangerous you decide to be."
The air shifted.
Again.
That charged line between hostility and something else.
Elara hated that she noticed it.
"You know what your problem is?"
"I'm sure you'll tell me."
"You think control is intimacy."
He went still.
For the first time in several minutes, Adrian had no immediate response.
She saw it.
The smallest crack.
Then Marcus burst through the door without knocking.
"We have movement."
Back on the operations floor, screens flashed yellow.
Marcus pointed.
"Someone just attempted another outbound packet using Elara's credentials."
Elara moved beside him.
"Where?"
"Node C-17. Internal archive corridor."
Adrian's tone sharpened.
"Physical terminal?"
"Yes."
Victor stood.
"Oh, finally. Action."
Security teams were already running.
Marcus pulled up live camera feeds.
A narrow archive hallway.
Rows of secured terminals.
And one hooded figure at a workstation.
Face hidden.
Hands moving fast.
Elara's pulse kicked.
"Can you zoom?"
Marcus did.
The figure looked up suddenly—
As if they knew the camera had found them.
Then smiled.
And killed the feed.
Static filled the screen.
Victor muttered, "Stylish."
Adrian was already moving.
"Elara with me."
She blinked.
"You trust me enough to bring me?"
"No."
He didn't slow down.
"You know the archive layout."
She almost laughed while running after him.
The lower executive archive was dim and silent.
Security doors had sealed sections of the floor, creating long sterile hallways of polished concrete and glass.
Adrian and Elara moved quickly with two guards behind them.
"Left route is faster," she said.
He changed direction immediately.
No hesitation.
Interesting.
They reached Node C-17.
The terminal screen still glowed.
Empty corridor.
No hooded figure.
One guard checked intersections.
"Clear."
The other examined the room.
"No sign of exit."
Elara stepped to the terminal.
The packet transfer was incomplete.
But something else was open.
A local text file.
She clicked it.
One sentence.
YOU KEEP LOOKING FOR THE WRONG KIND OF TRAITOR.
Adrian read over her shoulder.
"What does that mean?"
She scrolled lower.
Another line appeared.
NOT EVERY LEAK COMES FROM GREED. SOME COME FROM FEAR.
The guard called out.
"Sir."
They turned.
On the floor near the wall sat a small black device no larger than a deck of cards.
Blinking red.
Marcus's voice exploded through Adrian's earpiece.
"MOVE NOW—"
The lights died.
Complete darkness swallowed the corridor.
Then every emergency siren in Knox Global activated at once.
Backup generators kicked in seconds later.
Red emergency lighting flooded the halls.
Phones lost signal.
Elevators froze.
Security feeds across half the building went offline.
Marcus's voice returned through static.
"Main grid compromised! Internal systems partitioned!"
Victor's voice in the background sounded almost delighted.
"Things are getting dramatic."
Adrian crouched beside the device.
"It's not an explosive."
Elara steadied her breathing.
"Then what is it?"
He turned it over.
A network disruptor.
Portable.
Sophisticated.
Marcus came back clearer.
"Whoever planted that just blindfolded half the tower."
Elara looked down the corridor.
No guards now.
No footsteps.
No hooded figure.
Just red light and sirens.
Then her stomach dropped.
"Adrian."
"What?"
"The terminal."
The screen had updated by itself.
A live message now scrolled across it.
IF YOU WANT THE GHOST, COME ALONE.
Below it:
LEVEL 47. EAST OBSERVATION ROOM. 10 MINUTES.
Adrian's expression hardened.
Marcus shouted through comms.
"It's a trap."
Victor's voice followed smoothly.
"Obviously."
Elara looked at Adrian.
"You're not going."
He met her gaze.
"Yes, I am."
She stepped in front of him.
"Then I'm coming."
"No."
"Try stopping me."
The sirens screamed louder.
The countdown somewhere above continued ticking.
And on the terminal—
A final line appeared.
BRING ELARA, OR I RELEASE WHAT SHE DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT YOU.