~~ Sinveer POV ~~
Something is wrong.
And it's not the obvious kind—not the gunfire or betrayal or cash gone missing. No, this kind of wrong is quiet. Slow. It doesn't shout. It whispers.
And I've learned to listen to whispers. It started two days ago. After Serena De Luna's tech expert draw my notice to the abnormality. Then the position of folders on my desk started shifting by a fraction. But I don't do fractions. I do precision.
Then came the system logs. A small discrepancy—someone accessing internal files that weren't tied to an active task order. The path wasn't flagged as high-risk, but the file it connected to was marked Omega.
Top-tier movement logs. Only three people should have even known it existed, was being tempered with.
I checked the names, of those who had logged in and those who had full assess to it, none of them matched, the algorithm of when it was last logged into.
And that confirms my suspicion. There's a spy amongst us, my blood ran cold.
So I decided to call for a meeting. I sat at the head of a narrow war table in the east wing—just four of us. Marek. Captain Rigo. Captain Enzo. My inner circle. Trusted. Vetted.
"We've had a minor breach," I say. "Digital files and some basic information, nothing more than the obvious. Whoever did it was careful and strategic."
"What was accessed?" Rigo asks.
I study him. Rigo's slick but never sloppy, he's always five seconds from trying to outsmart the room.
"An Omega manifest rotations," I answer. "North Sea. Six weeks ahead."
Marek stiffens. "That's not small."
"No. It's not." Enzo shifts in his seat. "You think it's one of us?"
I let the silence stretch. "I think someone wants us to think it's one of us."
" A spy." Marek spits out.
"Boss do you've an idea of who it might be?" Rigo ask.
" No. But this's why I've brought it to your awareness, so you should be on the lookout."
" Yes sir."
And just like that, the seed is planted.
Suspicion doesn't need water. It need questions asked.
And I've just given them both.
Hours later,as I was returning to my office, Liach presence caught my attention. She was on her desk typing, perfect as ever. Pale blouse. Glossed lips. Not a hair out of place. She doesn't look up when I pass. But I can feel her eyes on my back staring into my soul.
Little Wolf why do you keep staring?
"Miss Liach, is there something you need? I asked her, our eyes locked as I turned to face her.
"No Sir." She said avoiding my gaze, shifting her eyes back to her work.
Later that evening, news of plans being leaked and failed contract because of confidential information exposed, causing tension to spill into everything.
Marek and Rigo argue over access control policies.
Enzo pulls me aside to question whether Marek has been getting sloppy.
I didn't stop them from arguing, I want them to because chaos is truth serum, it sharpens your instinct and make you stay on you feets
And if someone inside my circle is leaking, the cracks will expose them.
~Liach POV Switch – Earlier That Morning~
He's watching.
More than usual.
His energy is off—tight, focused, like a coiled wire. But he doesn't ask anything directly. He's letting the suspicion brew in the room around him.
Because I've already made my next move for a while now. I watched his captains during meetings. Rigo never trusts anyone. Enzo, a big problem. And Marek? He's loyal, but exhausting.
I don't need to frame anyone. I just need to tilt the table.
So I plant the seed.
A printed document, unshredded, slipped into Marek's confidential bin—a list of offshore accounts routed under Rigo's initials.
A casual remark to Enzo about Marek working late with "restricted files."
A flash drive I borrow from Rigo's desk—only to return it later, wiped and empty, leaking some confidential informations. Small things. Barely noticeable. But enough to turn questions into doubt.
By the time they start fighting, Sinveer will look everywhere.
Everywhere but me.
~~BACK TO SINVEER – LATER THAT NIGHT~~
The tension is reaching its peak.
I pour a drink in my office, lights low, the city glowing beyond the glass. My mind runs over every detail. Every file. Every face.
And one face keeps surfacing.
LIACH.
It's not that I don't think she could be the one.
It's that I don't believe it too much.
And that's what makes me nervous.
She's been perfect since the day she walked in here. Unnaturally perfect. Unshakable. And too Precise.
I run my hand over my jaw.
I could pull her in. Question her. Press out of her if I want to.
I risk exposing myself to the one person I haven't caught or decided what to do with yet.
The one who was on my arm some nights ago, dressed in red, looking like war and sin.
I should stop thinking about her. But I can't.
~~THE NEXT DAY~~
Everything explodes.
Rigo storms into Marek's office accusing him of manipulation. Marek throws it back in his face, demanding to know why Rigo's name is tied to off-shore laundering logs.
Enzo throws fuel on the fire, saying someone's been inside restricted drives.
I watch it all unfold from the hall, arms crossed, and silent.
Liach walks past me with a coffee tray.
She doesn't look at the chaos. But she smiles at me.
And for a second… I wonder if she lit the match and she's now enjoying herself.
Later, I call her in.
"Close the door."
She does.
"Sir, Is it always like this?" she asks calmly, taking a seat across from me.
"Like what?"
"Men arguing over territory while the real threats move in silence."
She says it like a joke.
But it landed like a warning.
"You've been paying attention," I murmur.
"I'm your assistant. That's what I'm paid for Mr De Luna."
I study her for a long moment. Her posture is perfect. Legs crossed, hands resting on her lap, spine straight. Not a single crack in sight.
But still... There was something missing.
So I asked her.
"Do you ever lie, Liach?"
She tilted her head to the side. " Professionally? Or personally?
" Both."
She smiles. And said "I lie all the time."
That honesty is more dangerous than any denial.
I lean forward. "If I ever find out you're playing me, there won't be warnings."
But her smile doesn't fade.
"I wouldn't expect any." she said.
Mhm... You know no normal assistant will be this direct with their Boss right, Ms. Liach Brain. I said but not out loud.
"Anything else Boss."
"No. You can leave now "
*
I caught Liach on the security feed, leaving the estate late at night. She walks through the lobby with the same grace she always has—but something in her posture has shifted. A little too casual. A little too sure for a normal person. And I can't stop watching. Because the deeper I dig… The more I know the real threat isn't outside my circle.
It's already inside.
Smiling.