Chapter 3 Hidden Agendas

Dominic stared at the message on his phone, the chill of late afternoon creeping through the office windows. "Meet me in the parking garage. 7 PM. Alone." The blunt simplicity left no room for doubt-this was a lead, and possibly a trap.

He glanced around the nearly empty office floor. The usual buzz had faded, replaced by the quiet hum of air conditioning and distant footsteps. No one else seemed aware of the invisible game unfolding just beneath their noses.

Dominic's mind raced. Could this be the mole? Or someone playing both sides? Either way, he had no choice but to see it through.

He slipped his phone into his pocket and resumed tidying his desk, masking the adrenaline prickling beneath his skin. Each minute stretched longer than the last until finally, the clock struck 6:45 PM.

From across the room, Elena caught his eye. She was packing her bag, the same guarded look she always wore. Dominic debated whether to warn her or call for backup but decided against it. His cover couldn't be blown-not yet.

He left the building through a side exit, navigating the maze of the parking garage. The fluorescent lights flickered overhead, casting long shadows between rows of sleek company cars and delivery trucks.

At exactly 7 PM, a figure stepped out from behind a pillar-a man in a dark jacket, his face obscured by a low cap.

"Nick Davis?" the man asked, voice low.

Dominic nodded.

"Follow me," the man said, motioning toward a secluded corner deeper in the garage.

They moved quickly, the echo of their footsteps swallowed by the cavernous space. Dominic's heart thudded in his chest, every instinct alert.

Once out of sight of cameras, Dominic demanded, "Who are you?"

The man paused, then pulled back his hood, revealing a familiar face. "It's Derek," he said quietly-the IT guy Raj had warned him about.

Dominic's breath caught. Derek was the last person he expected to meet here-and definitely the last who would come forward.

"I don't have much time," Derek said, glancing nervously over his shoulder. "I'm the leak."

Dominic's eyes narrowed. "Why? And what do you want from me?"

Derek swallowed hard. "It's not what you think. I didn't do it for money. I'm trying to expose something worse-someone higher up. They're using the company's resources for their own gain, funneling contracts to outside vendors, sabotaging projects. I've been gathering evidence, but I can't do it alone."

A flicker of hope sparked inside Dominic. This could be the breakthrough he needed.

"Why come to me?" he asked.

Derek hesitated, then nodded toward the building. "Because you're the only one who can stop it. You just have to prove it."

Dominic weighed his options. Trusting Derek was risky, but ignoring a lead this crucial wasn't an option. He nodded slowly.

"Alright. Show me what you've got."

Back in a quiet corner of the office, Derek pulled out a flash drive and plugged it into Dominic's laptop. Files, emails, encrypted communications scrolled across the screen-contracts awarded to ghost companies, financial records showing suspicious transfers, internal memos warning about leaks.

Dominic's pulse quickened. The evidence was damning.

But one name kept appearing-Marissa.

His mind flashed back to her polished smile, the sharp digs in meetings, the way she manipulated those around her.

Could she be the mastermind?

Suddenly, everything clicked into place. The leaks, the infighting, the timing of the company-wide ethics seminar-it was all part of a larger scheme to destabilize VanceTech from within.

Dominic sat back, the weight of betrayal settling heavily on his shoulders. He was fighting a war inside his own walls.

"Thank you, Derek," he said quietly. "You just made a dangerous enemy."

Derek nodded grimly. "I know. Be careful. They have eyes everywhere."

Dominic agreed. As Derek slipped away into the night, Dominic felt the first real surge of determination since he'd started this undercover mission.

Late nights had become his new normal. The office lights dimmed one by one as the usual buzz of VanceTech slowed to a faint hum, but Dominic stayed. Wearing his intern hoodie and blending into the shadows, he slipped silently from department to department, observing, listening, and piecing together the puzzle threatening to dismantle everything he had built.

By day, he was Nick Davis, the unassuming intern-sometimes overlooked, sometimes underestimated. But by night, he was a man desperate to uncover a truth buried beneath layers of corporate deception.

His investigation was grim. The more Dominic dug, the more tangled the web became. Sabotage wasn't the work of a rogue employee or disgruntled middle manager. It was far worse. Someone high up-someone with access to critical info and power to influence key decisions-was orchestrating the chaos. A mole hiding in plain sight, poisoning the company from the inside out.

Each new piece of information was another strike against VanceTech's façade of order. Projects stalled mysteriously. Budgets ballooned or vanished overnight. Strategic meetings leaked to competitors. The company was riddled with rot.

Yet the source eluded him. Whoever it was had the skills and connections to cover their tracks with remarkable precision.

Dominic's nights stretched longer, exhaustion clawing at his senses. But he couldn't stop-not until he found the traitor.

Meanwhile, Elena's keen eyes and sharper instincts weren't blind to Nick Davis's peculiarities. At first, she chalked it up to a nervous intern trying to keep up, but subtle moments soon caught her attention. Nick knew far too much about coding to be a beginner. He debated the merits of software architectures with senior engineers and even corrected a calculation on a complex algorithm without hesitation. Once, during a casual lunch conversation, he offered insights into recent merger talks that only a handful of executives would know.

It was unnerving.

Who was this guy?

Elena had always trusted her gut, and now it screamed caution. She began watching Nick more closely, cataloging his behaviors and interactions like a puzzle she couldn't yet solve.

One rainy Thursday evening, the office was nearly empty when Elena stayed late to finish scheduling for the upcoming product launch. The rain tapped rhythmically against the windows, and the quiet of the building made every sound echo.

She glanced up just as Nick passed her desk. He looked tired but focused, intensity burning behind his eyes. Their eyes met briefly, and she felt a flutter she wasn't prepared for. She quickly looked away, chastising herself.

Over the following days, Elena found herself stealing glances at Nick when she thought he wasn't looking. Something about him drew her attention beyond professional curiosity. She tried to ignore it, to focus on work, but the feeling lingered-like a low hum beneath the noise of office life.

Dominic sensed it too. Every time Elena caught his eye, a subtle tension sparked between them. Her sharp wit and fearless demeanor challenged him in ways no one else had in years. But the truth-the real truth-was a dangerous secret. If she learned who he really was, what he was doing here, everything could fall apart.

He had to keep his distance. For now.