Alex leaned back in her chair, her eyes locked on the ceiling of her bedroom, a hollow ache blooming behind her temples. The file from Stewart’s EXO lay open beside her, its damning lines no longer feeling like victory, but a trap. Every revelation she’d uncovered now pulsed with cruel irony. Because she couldn’t use any of it—not unless she was prepared to ruin her own family in the process.
Her father, Luca Steel, had built his empire with relentless precision. He was harsh, sometimes even unforgiving—but never corrupt. She was sure of that. But the company wasn’t just his anymore. It was hers too. And right now, she held in her hands the kind of proof that could expose Zade Hale and everything the Hales had buried beneath polished charm and corporate gloss.
And yet, using it would mean exposing Stewart’s EXO… a partner of Steel Enterprises. That meant scandal. Backlash. A domino collapse that could destroy everything the Steels had worked for. It didn’t matter that Luca probably didn’t know—his name would still be dragged through the same mud as the Hales.
She sat up and stared at the file again.
Useless.
Even worse than useless.
Because now, thanks to Gale’s sleazy theatrics, she’d signed her name to a contract she barely understood. One favor—whenever he wanted. Just one. But she’d seen men like Gale before. Opportunistic. Patient. He’d wait until it cost her everything.
Her phone buzzed on the nightstand. Arthur.
She answered, her voice low. “I can’t use the file,” she said flatly. “We’re tied to them. Stewart’s EXO is one of our secondary partners. Six-month deal. If I move against them, I burn our company down with theirs.”
Silence. Then Arthur’s sigh scratched through the line. “That’s disappointing… but not shocking.”
“I also signed something,” she muttered. “A contract. Gale pulled a favor clause on me. I owe him now.”
Another pause.
“Alex,” Arthur said, voice tight, “this is exactly what I warned you about.”
“I know,” she said, teeth clenched. “I know.”
But he didn’t chastise her further. He just exhaled slowly. “We’re not done yet. Look at the company records. The Hales and Stewart’s… maybe there’s an overlap. A smaller player. Someone who works with both, but isn’t as protected.”
Alex nodded, though the exhaustion weighed on her bones like lead. “Alright. I’ll dig through the names tomorrow.”
“Tonight,” Arthur corrected. “They’re not going to stop.”
She hung up and changed into jeans and a hoodie, grabbed her keys, and drove to the Steel building in silence. By now, the entire floor was empty. Just her, the hum of the hallway lights, and the whirring of her thoughts.
The familiarity of her office gave her no comfort tonight. Everything felt darker. Thinner. Like the walls themselves were listening.
She flicked on the lights and dropped her bag on the floor, rolled up her sleeves, and got to work. For hours, she flipped through digital partner logs, cross-referencing names, filtering supplier chains, highlighting financial gaps, comparing quarterly mergers—until the screen blurred and her fingers ached.
At some point, she stood to stretch and walked to the shelf by the wall. A row of thick industrial manuals sat untouched at the top. She reached up to pull one down—but her fingers grazed something else. Something cold. Smooth. Out of place.
She pulled it free and froze.
A camera.
Tiny. Black. Hidden behind the books.
Alex stared into the lens, her pulse pounding. The silence in the room deepened. She turned the object in her hand—wired, discreet, definitely active. Her heart thudded—not from panic, but fury.
She didn’t need to guess who put it there.
She held the camera up, square to her face.
“Zade,” she said aloud, her voice sharp and steady, “is that you?”
No answer, of course. But she knew.
With a single motion, she hurled the camera to the floor and slammed her heel into it. The crack echoed. Shattered metal and plastic split apart like bone under pressure.
Thirty seconds later, her phone buzzed again.
Zade: “rude.”
Alex rolled her eyes, fingers flying across the screen.
Alex: “Meet me in an hour. Same place.”
The response came fast.
Zade: “See you soon.”
***
She arrived first.
The café was dark, half-empty, tucked between two closed boutiques. Same corner booth. Same table. But this time, there was no thrill. No dread. Just cold, simmering anger buried under layers of disappointment.
Zade entered like a storm with no wind—still, calm, and dangerous. He slid into the booth across from her, watching her like he always did. Calculating. She didn’t waste time.
“I’m not going to yell,” she said flatly. “I’m not even surprised. Just tell me—why the hell was there a camera in my office?”
Zade rested his elbows on the table. “To keep you safe.”
She blinked. “Excuse me?”
“I knew you were digging into places that would bite back,” he said. “I needed to know if someone else was watching you.”
“That’s rich,” she snapped. “Coming from the man doing exactly that.”
Zade didn’t flinch. “You were getting reckless.”
“So you thought violating my privacy was the answer?”
He shrugged slightly. “It worked.”
Alex inhaled through her nose. “You want to gaslight me into thanking you?”
“No,” he said calmly. “I want to make a deal.”
She scoffed. “Of course you do.”
“You stop digging into me. Into my family. I stop interfering in your life. No more cameras. No more games. Peace.”
Alex tilted her head. “You admit you were playing games then?”
He didn’t smile. “No. But I admit I’m done pretending this is going to end well for either of us.”
She went quiet for a long moment. The weight of his offer sat between them, sharp and ugly. A truce.
“Why now?” she asked.
“Because I care more than I should,” Zade said. “And I know you’ll never stop unless I give you a reason to.”
She laughed once. Bitter. “Peace. That’s your offer?”
He nodded. “It’s the only way we both walk away intact.”
Alex stared at him, her chest tight. War meant risk. War meant destruction. War meant hurting Luca. And she couldn’t do that.
“Fine,” she said. “Deal.”
Zade’s jaw twitched slightly. He extended a hand across the table, but she didn’t take it. Instead, she stood.
She walked past him without looking back, out into the night.
And as the wind brushed her face, she knew one thing for sure.
Zade Hale didn’t need to know she had no intention of keeping her word.