Chapter 3

Mara panicked.

The photograph remained open on her phone, and suddenly the room felt too small. She stared at the younger woman staring back at her, recognizing the face beneath the years, the lies, and the carefully built identity.

She had seen that photograph before, but never like this. Someone had taken it from a part of her life Mara Ellis was never supposed to remember, let alone find waiting on her phone.

Her fingers tightened around the device as she looked at the name attached to the photograph. It was the name she had buried years ago, the name she had stopped answering to long before she became Mara Ellis.

“No,” she whispered, pressing her lips together as her pulse raced. “That name is dead.”

The words sounded weak in the silence, and she hated that they did. Whoever had sent the photograph knew exactly what they were showing her, and worse, they knew what the name meant.

She immediately traced the message, checking everything she could access from her phone. The sender had left nothing behind. No useful number. No location. No clue that could lead her back to whoever had contacted her.

“Come on,” she muttered, her fingers moving quickly across the screen. “Give me something.”

Nothing appeared.

Mara stared at the empty information, her breathing becoming steadier only because she forced it to. Someone had reached into her buried past, and she had no idea how deep their knowledge went.

Before she could continue searching, her phone vibrated again. This time, it was an internal message from Vale International informing her that Adrian wanted to see her in his private office immediately.

Mara slipped the phone into her pocket, forcing herself to stand straight. Whatever fear had taken hold of her, she could not allow Adrian to see it. Not when she had entered his company with an entirely different purpose.

She reached his private office and found Adrian behind his desk, his expression serious. He gestured toward the chair opposite him, and Mara sat while watching him carefully.

“I need your help with something sensitive,” Adrian said, keeping his voice low as he folded his hands on the desk. “Confidential information has been stolen from Vale International.”

Mara kept her expression neutral, although her stomach tightened. “Stolen information?”

Adrian's gaze remained fixed on her as he continued. “Someone inside the company has been selling sensitive data.”

Mara forced herself to breathe normally. The irony almost made her laugh. She had walked into Vale International intending to steal confidential files herself, and now Adrian wanted her to find the person doing exactly that.

“You want me to identify the traitor?” she asked, carefully keeping surprise from her voice.

Adrian leaned back slightly, studying her. “I want you to help me determine who is responsible.”

Mara lowered her gaze briefly, pretending to consider the request while her thoughts moved rapidly. She was supposed to be investigating Vale International for someone else, not helping Adrian uncover someone stealing from him.

“I understand,” she said, lifting her eyes to his again. “I'll look into it.”

Adrian watched her for another moment before giving a quiet nod. “Good. Keep it confidential.”

Mara left his office with the weight of the assignment pressing against the secret already burning inside her. She had been given access to an investigation that might lead her closer to the very files she intended to steal.

As she worked through the information available to her, something unexpected caught her attention. The stolen data connected to a financial company that had once belonged to her late parents.

Mara stopped reading. For years, she had believed her parents' deaths were an accident. There had never been another explanation she could hold onto, so she had accepted the version of events she had been given.

Now she stared at the information again, unable to make herself look away.

“Why is their company connected to this?” she asked quietly, her voice barely carrying through the empty office.

Her hand moved toward the database, following the information deeper than she should have gone. Questions she had buried with her parents began forcing their way back into her mind.

Their deaths had been an accident. That was what she had always believed.

But if their company was connected to stolen information inside Vale International, Mara could no longer be certain that the story she had lived with was the truth.

She accessed a restricted database, searching for more information about the connection. The screen filled with confidential records, and Mara leaned closer, determined to understand what she was seeing before anyone noticed.

Then she heard the door. Mara turned sharply. Adrian stood there.

His eyes moved from her face to the restricted database glowing on the screen. He said nothing at first, and that silence was worse than anger.

“You shouldn't be accessing this,” Adrian said, his voice quiet as he stepped farther into the office.

Mara rose slowly from the chair, her mind racing for an explanation that would not expose everything she had hidden. “I was investigating the stolen information.”

Adrian's expression remained unreadable. He walked toward the door without taking his eyes off her, then reached behind him and locked it. The click of the lock sounded far too loud. Mara's breath caught.

Adrian turned back toward her, his attention fixed completely on her now. There was no anger in his face, but there was something far more dangerous.

“You came here for something. Tell me what it is.” Mara realized her final con had already failed.