Chapter 2 UNMASKING SHADOWS

The conference room on the twelfth floor of Kursh Organization was a masterpiece of minimalist sleek black chairs, a long glass table, and floor to ceiling windows that showcased the city skyline. The sun had barely risen, but the room was already filled with tension.

Lucia arrived early, clutching her notepad and tablet, her heart beating faster than usual. She wasn't nervous about the task itself; she was used to taking notes in meetings but there was something about this meeting that felt... different.

Brian Bethel was already seated at the head of the table, his fingers steepled beneath his chin, gaze unreadable. He didn't acknowledge her presence, but his eyes flickered briefly in her direction. A subtle, silent recognition. It was enough to send a ripple down her spine.

Lucia took her seat at the corner, out of direct view but close enough to hear and observe.

One by one, the executives filed in each dress to impress, their faces masks of professionalism. The atmosphere grew heavier with each arrival. Everyone knew that meetings chaired by Brian weren't just updates, they were tests. Of loyalty,Of competence,Of control.

Brian finally spoke, his voice as smooth and cold as steel. "We'll begin."

Lucia's pen moved quickly, capturing every word, every shift in tone, every subtle glance exchanged between the higher ups. The topic today was an upcoming merger with a smaller tech company but beneath the polished words, there was friction.

Mr Graham , Head of Finance, looked uncomfortable. "With all due respect, sir, the numbers from their last quarter aren't adding up. There's a red flag"

Brian's gaze snapped to him. "Then find a way to turn that red flag green. Or I'll find someone else who can."

A heavy silence followed. Lucia's pen paused. That's going in the minutes, alright.

But something else caught her eye: a document , different from the rest, placed in front of Brian. It had no label. No identifying marks. Just a black seal.

He didn't open it. But every now and then, his fingers tapped against it, as if reminding himself it was there.

Lucia couldn't stop looking at it.

The meeting ended just before noon. The executives left in pairs, murmuring quietly. Lucia stood to leave too, but Brian's voice stopped her cold.

"Lucia. Stay."

Her hand tightened around her tablet.

He waited until the room was empty, then rose slowly from his seat. The mysterious folder was now in his hand.

He walked toward her, his footsteps quiet but deliberate. When he stopped in front of her, she could feel the force of his presence again like the air around him was somehow thicker.

"I'll need these notes sent to my private email," he said. "Within the hour."

"Yes, sir," Lucia replied. Her eyes flicked briefly to the folder.

He noticed. Of course he did.

His lips curved not into a smile, but something more dangerous. "Curious?"

She froze. "No, sir."

"You should be." He stepped closer, lowering his voice just enough to stir the air between them. "Curiosity is how people learn. And how they get destroyed."

Lucia's breath caught.

He looked at her for a moment longer, then turned, heading toward the door. But just as he reached it, he paused.

"And Lucia," he added, without turning, "don't stay in this building too late tonight."

The door closed behind him.

Lucia didn't leave early.

She stayed to finish compiling the meeting notes, distracted and unsettled. The room was empty now, quiet but not peaceful. The kind of silence that made the hairs on her arms rise.

A shadow passed by the frosted glass near her office. She looked up, startled. But there was no one there.

Don't stay too late.

Brian's warning echoed in her mind.

She was just about to shut down her laptop when she noticed something tucked beneath her tablet. A folder.

Her stomach dropped.

It wasn't hers. She hadn't placed anything there. Her hand trembled slightly as she reached for it.

There was no label. No name. Just a black seal identical to the one Brian had during the meeting.

Lucia's hand hovered over the folder for a long moment. The black seal stared back at her, almost mocking her hesitation. She couldn't shake the feeling that this was wrong, that she shouldn't be snooping. But her curiosity gnawed at her, stronger than any caution she could muster.

With a slow, deliberate motion, she broke the seal.

Inside was a stack of papers, a few pages thick. But it wasn't the number of pages that made her heart race, it was the title on the top page.

Kursh Organization Unregistered Assets

Her fingers shook slightly as she skimmed through the document. Words like "offshore accounts," "highly confidential," and "legal gray areas" stood out like warning signs. The kind of words that spoke of risk, the kind of risk that could shatter the company, even Brian's image.

She looked around, feeling the weight of the room press against her. She knew she had to put the folder back. She wasn't supposed to see this. But the deeper she read, the more she realized that she couldn't simply ignore it.

There was mention of Project Nexus, something that wasn't even on her radar. No one had mentioned it in the meeting, yet it seemed central to these unregistered assets.

Lucia's thoughts raced. What is Project Nexus?

The documents were full of legal jargon, but her eyes kept drifting back to the numbers. The figures didn't add up. They didn't match anything the finance team had presented during the meeting that morning.

She leaned back in her chair, her mind swirling with questions. What was Brian involved in? What kind of game was he playing? And why had he left this folder for her to find?

A knock on the door startled her. She quickly shoved the folder back beneath her tablet, hoping she hadn't left any visible signs of her curiosity.

"Lucia?" came a familiar voice: it was Mark, one of the junior associates she'd often worked with on smaller projects. "You're still here?"

She forced a smile, trying to calm the rush of adrenaline still coursing through her veins. "Yeah, just finishing up."

Mark stepped inside, his eyes darting to her desk. "I was just coming to grab some papers from the printer. Looks like you're in the middle of something important." He grinned, his expression light, but there was a faint tension in his posture.

Lucia forced herself to focus. "It's nothing, just meeting notes. Don't mind me."

But Mark's eyes lingered on the side of the desk where the folder had been. Lucia quickly covered it with her arm. She felt a pang of guilt. She wasn't sure why, but something about the way Mark was looking at her now made her feel exposed.

"Right," Mark said, not missing the slight awkwardness in her movement. "Well, the meeting went okay, right? I mean, Brian was pretty intense."

Lucia nodded, a little too quickly. "Yeah, as usual. But we'll manage."

Mark hesitated before speaking again, his voice quieter. "I've heard things, Lucia. About him."

She raised an eyebrow. "About Brian?"

Mark glanced around, making sure the hallway outside was clear. Then he leaned in slightly, his voice barely above a whisper. "Look, I don't know if you know this, but the higher ups are... not just about business. Brian, especially. He has... interests. Interests that go beyond what you see on the surface. You should be careful. I'm just saying."

Lucia frowned. Interests?

Before she could respond, Mark gave a nervous chuckle, as if he realized how ominous his words sounded. "I'm probably overreacting. You've got it under control, right?"

"Right," Lucia replied, though she wasn't sure about anything anymore.

As Mark left the office, she felt her heart race. His warning wasn't just a casual remark. There was something beneath his words, something that tugged at her, urging her to dig deeper.

But before she could ponder it any further, her phone buzzed.

It was a message from Brian.

"Meet me in my office in 10 minutes. I have something for you."

Lucia's stomach dropped. Was it about the folder? Was he somehow aware she'd seen it? She tried to push the rising panic down, but it was no use.

She grabbed her tablet and quickly made her way to his office, her thoughts a tangled mess.

When Lucia arrived at Brian's office, the door was slightly open . She knocked softly, unsure of what to expect. The silence that greeted her only added to her unease.

"You're on time," Brian's voice came from within, sharp and commanding. She entered, the door shutting behind her with a soft click.

Brian was standing by the window, his back to her, his silhouette framed by the light outside. The moment she stepped inside, his gaze flicked over his shoulder, meeting hers.

"Come in," he said, his tone cold but not unwelcoming.

Lucia stepped forward cautiously, glancing at the desk. It was empty, except for the sleek black folder. Her heart skipped again. It was the same one she had found earlier, and yet, this time, it seemed... different. Was it the same folder?

Brian turned to face her fully, his gaze unreadable. "I hope you've been keeping up with your notes, Lucia. The details matter."

She nodded, unsure how to respond, her mind still reeling from the discovery. "Yes, sir. Everything's in order."