ld metal a stark contrast to the heat rising in her chest. Her office, usually a sanctuary of minimalist design and quiet focus, no

d her dreams. Liam Stone. His face was pale, his usually confident posture gone. He l

e. She pushed the tablet across the polished wood of her desk. It spun and stopped di

us, but the article credited the leak to an insider at Zenith Designs. And next to the article was an email, accidenta

e started, hi

g strength. "Don't you dare try to expla

ly, he gave a single, almost imperceptible nod. A wave of cold washed over Ava, so intense it felt like being plunged into

al with the motive and the ruthlessness to orchestrate this. They had

on in her mouth. She had fought them on every front, outbid them, out-designed them. And all along, their weap

ly every sense of the word. He was the one who brought her tea when she worked through the night, the one who listened to h

crets, but with her own vulnerabilities. Had it all been a lie? E

at. "What did they offer you? Money? A prom

enuine pain there. It was confusing. It didn't fit with the cold

hair scraped against the floor. "I trusted you. I let you into my life,

and a heartbreak so profound it physically ached. She wanted to scream, to throw something, to wipe

r voice flat and empty

e, you have

any credentials on the counter. I don't want to see you again. Ever. You are fired, Liam. And if I find any

of desperation in them, a silent plea. But Ava' s heart was now shielded by ice. She turned her back on him, facing the window and t

The soft click of the office door closing was the loudest sou

lood cells through the city's veins. Then, her phone buzzed. It was a m

lance to Zenith's Nexus Tower." The article was accompanied by sleek, polished renderings. It was

g to publicly humiliate her, to break her. Ava picked up her phone, her knuckles