Chapter 5: Hitting a Wall Talia POV

I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Watching Nate get hauled out by security yesterday left a bad taste in my mouth. He wasn’t the type to leak code—too quiet, too careful. But those logs? They had his name all over them. It didn’t add up, and I wasn’t buying it. So, that morning, I got to ZenithTech early, before the office filled up. The place was quiet, just the hum of computers and the faint buzz of lights. I liked it like this—gave me space to think.

I sat at my desk, cracking my knuckles, and logged into the system. If Nate was set up, the internal logs would show it—someone messing with his access, timestamps that didn’t match. I’d pulled logs before; it was easy for IT. But when I tried to open the admin panel, a red error popped up: “Access Denied.” I frowned and typed faster, trying my backup credentials. Same thing. Someone had locked me out.

“What the hell?” I muttered, leaning closer to the screen. I wasn’t some newbie—I had clearance for this stuff. I ran a quick check on the permissions. My name was still there, but the settings had been changed overnight. Locked tight by someone higher up. My stomach sank. This wasn’t random. Someone didn’t want me digging.

I glanced around the empty office, the glass walls reflecting my screen’s glow. Then I heard footsteps—heavy, sharp, like heels on tile. Harper walked in, earlier than she ever showed up. She didn’t see me at first, just headed straight for her office, her coat still on. I ducked my head, pretending to type, but I watched her through the glass. She sat down, pulled something from her pocket—a USB drive, small and black—and plugged it into her computer. She didn’t look rushed or sneaky, just calm, like it was nothing.

My mind raced. Harper had been around the night Nate and Liam worked late. Now she was here, with a USB, right after I got blocked? I didn’t trust her—never had. She acted like she owned the place, and with her dad as CFO, she pretty much did. I needed to see what was on that drive.

Later, during a team meeting, I got my chance. Harper stood at the front, talking about the breach like it was old news. She held that same USB in her hand, clicking it against the table while she spoke. “We’re cooperating with the feds,” she said, her voice smooth. “No need to panic.” But her eyes flicked to me for a second, sharp and cold, like she knew I was watching. I kept my face blank, but my gut twisted. She was in this—deep.

Nate POV

I hadn’t slept. After that text—“This isn’t just about you. Walk away”—my head wouldn’t shut off. I’d paced my apartment all night, the words spinning in my mind. Not just about me? Then who? Liam? Someone else? I didn’t know what it meant, but it felt like a threat, and it kept me up, staring at my phone, waiting for something worse.

By morning, I was a mess. My hands shook as I made coffee, spilling half of it on the counter. Suspended without pay, federal investigation hanging over me—I couldn’t just sit here. I needed someone to tell me I wasn’t crazy, that this wasn’t my fault. I grabbed my phone and scrolled through my ZenithTech contacts. Jake, from design—he’d always been cool with me. I called him.

It rang twice, then went to voicemail. “Hey, Jake, it’s Nate. I just… I need to talk. Call me back, okay?” I hung up, my chest tight. Maybe he was busy. I tried Priya next—she sat near me, always shared her snacks. Straight to voicemail too. “Priya, it’s Nate. I’m freaking out here. Can you call me?”

Nothing. I tried two more people—Mark from QA, then Sara from marketing. Same thing. No answers, no texts back. I threw my phone on the couch, my breathing fast. They weren’t just busy. They wouldn’t talk to me. Word had spread, and now I was poison. No one wanted to touch this.

I sank onto the floor, my back against the wall. My whole life was at ZenithTech—my job, my friends, Liam—and it was slipping away. I’d been so stupid, thinking I could hide how I felt about him. That email, even deleted, had started this somehow. I could feel it. And Liam—his “I’ll try to help” kept replaying, weak and useless. He didn’t believe me, not really. That hurt worse than the silence from everyone else.

I stared at the ceiling, my eyes burning. I was alone, and whoever set me up was winning. Harper’s face flashed in my head—her watching me yesterday, calm and cold. She knew something. I just didn’t know how to prove it.

Talia POV

Back at the office, I kept my head down, but my mind was racing. Harper had left after the meeting, that USB still in her hand. She was spending too much time here lately—long hours, late nights. It wasn’t normal for her. I needed those logs, but with my access gone, I was stuck. I couldn’t shake the feeling she’d locked me out herself.

I was about to call it a day when my email pinged. Not my work one—my personal account, the one I barely used. I opened it, and my breath caught. No subject, no name, just a sender address full of random letters and numbers. Encrypted, probably. The message was short: “You’re looking in the wrong place.”

I stared at it, my pulse picking up. Who sent this? How’d they know I was looking at all? The office felt too quiet now, the glass walls too open. Someone was watching me, and I had no idea who.