The office felt colder than usual.
Anna stepped out of the elevator, her heels echoing softly against the marble floor as employees greeted her with polite smiles. Everything looked normal on the surface—busy staff, ringing phones, quiet conversations—but something in the air felt… off.
She ignored it and walked straight to her cabin.
The moment she placed her bag down, her assistant rushed in, slightly out of breath.
"Ma'am… there's a problem."
Anna frowned. "What happened?"
"Your presentation files for today's investor meeting… they're gone."
Anna froze for a second. "What do you mean gone?"
"They were in the system last night. This morning—they've been completely deleted."
Her fingers tightened slightly on the edge of the table. That presentation contained weeks of work. Critical data. Financial projections. Everything.
"Restore them," Anna said calmly, though her voice had hardened.
"We tried. The backup is corrupted."
Anna exhaled slowly, controlling her frustration. This wasn't an accident.
Someone did this.
"Get IT," she said. "Now."
Across the city, in a high-rise office, Ethan Mitchell stood with his hands in his pockets, watching the skyline.
Behind him, a screen displayed multiple files—company data, internal emails… and Anna's deleted presentation.
A man beside him spoke carefully, "Everything is done."
Ethan smirked slightly. "Good."
His eyes shifted to Anna's photo on the desk.
"Let's see how long you stay calm, Anna."
Back in her office, Anna rebuilt the presentation from memory, her focus sharp, her movements precise. If someone thought they could shake her so easily, they clearly didn't know her.
By the time the meeting began, she walked into the conference room with full confidence.
Oliver was already there.
His eyes immediately met hers, scanning her face as if searching for any sign of weakness.
"You okay?" he asked quietly as she took her seat beside him.
Anna nodded slightly. "Files were deleted."
His expression darkened instantly.
"Who?" he asked.
"Don't know yet."
Oliver leaned back in his chair, his jaw tightening. "I do."
Anna turned to him. "What?"
But before he could respond, the door opened.
A man walked in.
Tall. Confident. Calm.
Anna's breath caught.
Ethan Mitchell.
"Hope I'm not late," he said smoothly, taking a seat across the table as if he belonged there.
The room went silent.
Oliver's gaze turned ice-cold.
Anna felt her heartbeat quicken—not out of fear, but shock.
"Ethan?" she said quietly.
He smiled.
"Miss me?"
The tension in the room shifted instantly.
Oliver leaned forward slightly, his voice low and dangerous. "What are you doing here?"
Ethan didn't even look at him at first. His eyes stayed on Anna.
"I'm the new investor," he said calmly.
Anna's mind raced.
Investor?
That meant he had power here. Influence.
This wasn't just a coincidence.
This was planned.
Finally, Ethan turned his gaze to Oliver, a faint smirk playing on his lips.
"Looks like we'll be working together," he added.
Oliver's expression didn't change, but the air around him grew colder.
"Don't get too comfortable," he said quietly.
Ethan chuckled softly. "Oh, I'm very comfortable."
His gaze shifted back to Anna.
"After all… I came back for a reason."
Anna held his gaze, refusing to show any weakness.
But deep inside, she understood one thing clearly.
This was just the beginning.
And whatever Ethan had planned… it wasn't going to be simple.