e Herr

on, a part of me screaming to delete everything, to burn it all down. But professionalism, a stubborn part of my core, held me ba

followed by a system crash. My carefully organized files, my metic

ist on the desk. This couldn't b

aging me. He wanted to ensure I left nothing behind, not even a clean record. He wanted me to fail, spectac

he damage was done. Panic clawed at my throat. Without the proper transfer, it would l

ed? The entire network just crashed! No one can access anything!" She soun

tightening my jaw. "You s

nnocence. "I just got here! I wanted to check on the files for the

nts before, flickered back to life. On it, the complete, intact folder for my m

was too perfect. Too convenient. Axel must have given her a backdoor, a special access, and then orc

ticed ease. "Oh, good! It looks like my system is back online. I guess I can start re

stomach. This wasn't just a proje

roject from Data Catastrophe!" The headlines screamed her name. They hailed her as a genius, a prodigy, the saving grace of the Horn

in that office anymore. I grabbed my bag, my heart pou

ne buzzed with an alert: Axel Horne and Bryn Nolan, arm in arm, entering a gala event. The picture show

the files anymore. It wasn't about th

e. "Axel, darling, thank you for believing in me," Bryn cooe

s voice, husky and intimate, replied. "You

g on the rough edge. The tears, held back for so long, finally spilled. He was showering her with t

h pain. "A narcissistic, manipulative monster." The man who had vow

ngertips, tracing the lines of my palms. Now, he used those same hands to ha

ance, across the crowd. A chilling smile spread across his face. Not a genu

know your place, Elouise," he mouthed, the words silent but clear, a brutal

ith Bryn, leaving me broken and bleeding on the cold pavement. The doors

reams-all gone. There was nothing left but a burning, agonizing emptiness. He had

s that remained were sharp. And they would cut him deeper than he could ever imagine. I would not just le