Now You Want Me? Too Late

The next day...

Vivian walked into Elena’s office with a smug smile plastered across her face.

"Good morning, Elena."

Elena looked up from the documents on her desk. Before she could return the greeting, Vivian pressed her fingers dramatically against her lips.

"Oops." She let out a mocking little laugh. "I almost forgot. I shouldn’t wish you a good morning yet. Who knows what will happen in the meeting?"

Her smile widened. "Maybe you’ll be fired today."

Elena stared at her for a moment, stunned by the woman’s confidence.

"Why are you so certain I’ll be fired?" she asked calmly. "I did nothing wrong. I already proved my innocence during the previous meeting. I didn’t leak the project files. Someone else did."

Elena had no idea about the encrypted emails Vivian had shown Elias.

"So whoever has leaked the confidential files should be scared. Today, the traitor will be exposed."

Vivian laughed mockingly. "Oh, please. Stop pretending to be innocent."

She stepped closer to the desk.

"You have no idea what I have against you. I’ve already submitted the evidence to Elias. And believe me, that evidence is more than enough to expose your dirty game."

Elena frowned. Confusion flashed across her face. "What evidence?"

Elias hadn’t mentioned anything to her.

Vivian noticed her reaction and felt a thrill of satisfaction.

"You’ll find out soon enough," she said. "The board will never tolerate what you’ve done. They’ll throw you out of the company. And Elias won’t be able to save you this time."

Her smile turned cruel. "You are finished, Elena."

"That’s enough," Elena snapped. "Stop talking nonsense. I don’t know what evidence you claim to have, but I know the truth. I’m innocent. I haven’t betrayed Elias or this company."

"Oh, please..." Vivian waved her hand dismissively. "Stop repeating that you are innocent. It’s getting frustrating."

She leaned forward at the desk.

"Take my advice. Admit your mistake in the meeting and beg for forgiveness. Maybe the board will pity you."

Her eyes gleamed with malicious satisfaction. "Maybe they won’t send you to prison."

Elena’s hands curled into tight fists against the desk. She was rapidly losing her patience.

"Get out," she hissed.

The smile vanished from Vivian’s face.

"What?"

"I don’t have time to listen to your nonsense." Elena pointed toward the door. "Leave. Right now."

Vivian’s face flushed with humiliation.

"You..."

She raised a trembling finger toward Elena.

"You really enjoy pretending to be high and mighty, don’t you? Fine. Just wait. I want to see how proud you’ll look when you are kicked out of this office."

She sneered. "Will you still be able to act so confident then?"

Elena’s gaze remained unwavering.

"I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, Vivian. But let me tell you something."

She leaned back in her chair.

"A cloud of lies can cover the truth for a while. But it can never bury it. Sooner or later, the truth will find a way to reveal itself."

Her voice was calm, almost chilling.

"Just wait an hour. You will see the result yourself."

Vivian’s teeth ground together. "Yes. Everyone will see the result. And I can’t wait to watch the guards drag you out of this office."

She spun around and stormed out.

The moment Vivian disappeared, the confidence drained from Elena’s face. Her brows knitted together as uneasiness crept into her heart.

"She sounded so confident..."

She stared at the closed door.

"What evidence did she give Elias? And why hasn’t he told me anything about it?"

While she was still confused, Elias was already preparing to expose the traitor. He sat behind his desk, his expression cold and unreadable as he watched the video recording.

Marcus stood beside his desk.

"When I saw this footage, I couldn’t believe it," he explained. "It was Miss Vivian. She sneaked into Madam Elena’s office that night. She was the one who accessed the confidential files."

He shook his head with disbelief. "She had been pretending to be innocent all this time."

Elias remained silent.

Marcus continued, "And during the previous meeting, she was the one who directed everyone’s attention toward Madam Elena. She deliberately made everyone suspicious of her."

His voice turned firmer. "It’s obvious now. She wanted to frame Madam Elena."

Elias didn’t respond. His eyes remained fixed on the screen as the recording replayed.

He wasn’t surprised that Vivian had leaked the information. He had already suspected that the Sterlings were behind this.

But there was something else in the footage that bothered him. He paused the recording.

"Where did you get this?" he asked.

Marcus suddenly stopped breathing for a moment. His throat tightened. He didn’t want to lie to Elias, but he had promised Evelyn that he wouldn’t reveal her involvement.

He forced a nervous smile.

"I already told you, sir. I managed to recover the backup footage."

"Backup footage?"

Elias slowly lifted his eyes from the laptop. His gaze became razor-sharp.

"Are you sure?"

Marcus’s knees nearly buckled under that piercing stare.

"Yes, sir..." His voice lacked confidence. "It’s the backup footage."

"Stop lying..." Elias slammed his palm against the desk.

Marcus flinched violently.

"Look at the recording." Elias pointed toward the screen. "It clearly shows the inside of Elena’s office. But there are no surveillance cameras inside any of the executives’ offices. So tell me..."

His voice grew colder. "How could backup surveillance footage possibly show what happened inside Elena’s office?"

Marcus’s face drained of color. His lie had been exposed.

Fear curled through him like icy fingers, tightening around his chest. His palms grew damp, his breathing turned shallow, and his heart pounded so violently that he was certain Elias could hear it.

"Now tell me the truth," Elias demanded fiercely.

Marcus lowered his head. "I’m sorry, sir. Please don’t be angry with me."

"Speak."

Marcus immediately began explaining.

"Actually... the backup footage had already been deleted. My team and I tried everything, but we couldn’t restore it."

He swallowed nervously.

"Then I received a call from Miss Evelyn."

At the mention of his sister’s name, Elias’s eyes narrowed.

"Evelyn? What does she have to do with this?"

"I was shocked too," Marcus admitted. "She gave me the footage."

He hurried to explain. "I asked her where she got it, but she refused to tell me. She only told me to give the USB to you."

"Evelyn..." Elias muttered her name through clenched teeth. Relief and worry collided inside him.

A few days earlier, Evelyn had been hospitalized with a ligament injury in her ankle. She had told him she had fallen accidentally while inspecting her new office.

At the time, he had not suspected her. But now, he wasn’t so sure.

A disturbing thought surfaced.

’She might have been injured while following Vivian.’

A new question immediately surfaced. ’But why? Why was Evelyn following Vivian in the first place?’

Before he could think further, there was a knock on the door.

The door opened, and Owen stepped inside.

Owen looked exhausted. His eyes were puffy from lack of sleep, his hair was disheveled, and his shirt was partially untucked.

His usually composed appearance was nowhere to be seen.

Marcus stared at him in surprise. He had never seen Owen look so worn out.

"What happened to you?" The question escaped Marcus before he could stop himself. "You look like you survived a storm."

Owen didn’t reply to him. His eyes remained fixed on Elias.

"I have something important to tell you."

The grimness in his voice immediately changed the atmosphere in the room.

Elias signaled Marcus to leave.

Marcus didn’t need to be told twice. He quietly walked out and closed the door behind him.

Elias turned toward Owen. "What happened?"

Owen took a deep breath. "The hacker... He is dead."

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