Chapter 2 Two

"Welcome to Blackstone Tech, Mr. Graves."

Lila Hart's tone was polite, but her smile didn't reach her eyes. She was Adrian's assistant, sharp, composed, the kind of woman who seemed to notice everything and trust nothing. Her heels clicked across the marble floor as she led Noah through the glass corridors of the security wing.

"Your office is down here," she said, handing him a tablet. "You'll have access to all main surveillance feeds, door logs, and encrypted data lines. Mr. Blackstone wanted you to have complete clearance."

Noah raised a brow. "Complete clearance?"

She nodded. "Yes. Unusual, I know. Even the last head of security didn't have that."

Noah frowned. "Why give me that much access?"

Lila's lips curved faintly. "Mr. Blackstone must trust you."

He almost laughed at that. Trust wasn't the word for what existed between them. Whatever Adrian was planning, it wasn't trust. It was a game.

Noah stepped into his new office, small, minimalist, but with multiple screens displaying different parts of the building. He placed his bag down and exhaled. It had been years since he'd felt this kind of quiet tension under his skin, the same feeling that came before a storm.

As he adjusted one of the monitors, his reflection caught on the glass, older now, harder. The years in the army had carved new lines into his face. He wasn't that hopeful college boy anymore. But a part of him still remembered Adrian's laughter, the warmth of his touch, and the night they'd promised to build a future together.

That future had turned into ashes.

A knock on the door broke his thoughts. Lila leaned in. "Mr. Blackstone wants to see you in the conference room. Board meeting in five minutes."

Noah grabbed his badge and followed her.

The conference room was massive, overlooking the city. Adrian sat at the head of the long table, his suit immaculate, his posture perfect. Around him sat the board members, powerful, polished, and whispering among themselves.

When Noah entered, all eyes turned toward him. Adrian didn't look up immediately, just tapped something on his tablet before finally saying, "Graves. Take a seat."

Noah sat at the end of the table, aware of the curious glances.

Adrian began the meeting smoothly, his tone commanding. "Reports show an attempted breach in our system last night. Someone tried to access the main server through an internal port."

The room went silent.

"Internal?" one of the directors asked. "You mean an employee?"

Adrian's jaw tightened. "That's what we're determining. The attempt failed, but whoever it was knew exactly what to target." His gaze flicked toward Noah. "Security logs show the breach originated from your access point, Graves."

Noah froze. "What?"

Every head turned toward him.

"That's impossible," he said, keeping his voice steady. "I wasn't even in the system last night."

Adrian leaned back, eyes sharp. "Then how do you explain the timestamp?"

"I can't ... yet. But if you give me access to the raw data, I can find out who used my credentials."

Adrian stood, walking slowly toward him. The tension in the room thickened. "You expect me to believe someone already hacked our new head of security on his first day?"

Noah met his gaze. "Yes. Because that's exactly what happened."

For a long moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Adrian smiled faintly. "You've always been good with excuses, Noah."

Something inside Noah snapped. "You think I came back here to sabotage you?"

Adrian's eyes glinted with quiet anger. "I think history has a way of repeating itself."

The board members shifted uncomfortably. Adrian's tone was calm, but the accusation in his words burned. Noah clenched his fists under the table, forcing himself to breathe.

"Give me twelve hours," he said finally. "If I can't prove it wasn't me, I'll resign."

Adrian studied him for a long moment, then nodded once. "Twelve hours. That's generous."

The meeting ended.

Noah walked out without looking back. He could feel eyes following him, suspicion, judgment, whispers. The same way they'd looked at his brother all those years ago.

Back in his office, he sat in front of the monitors and began scanning the access logs. The breach had used his login at exactly 11:23 p.m. , long after he'd gone home. The IP trace bounced through multiple layers, but there was something familiar in the pattern, a method only a few Blackstone engineers used years ago.

He frowned. Whoever did this wanted him to take the blame. It was too deliberate.

As he searched deeper, a small alert appeared on his screen: Unauthorized access detected, sector 5B, server room.

His pulse quickened. Someone was there right now.

He grabbed his ID and rushed down the hall. The server room was dimly lit, rows of machines humming softly. He moved silently, every step calculated, his instincts from the army kicking in.

Then he heard it, a faint click.

He turned quickly and caught a figure in a hoodie crouched near one of the panels.

"Hey!" Noah barked.

The person bolted. Noah chased them down the corridor, heart pounding. They darted into the maintenance wing and disappeared through a side door. When he got there, the door was still swinging, but the hallway beyond was empty.

He cursed under his breath and returned to the server room. The panel was open, wires exposed, small device attached to one of the data lines. He carefully removed it and slipped it into a sealed bag.

When he returned upstairs, Lila was waiting. "Mr. Blackstone wants to see you again," she said, her eyes scanning the bag in his hand.

Noah walked into Adrian's office without knocking this time.

Adrian looked up from his computer, brow raised. "You're fast."

"I found this," Noah said, placing the device on the desk. "Someone planted it in the server room."

Adrian glanced at it. "And you expect me to believe this proves your innocence?"

"It proves someone's trying to make me look guilty," Noah shot back.

Adrian rose from his chair, stepping closer. "You always have an answer, don't you? Just like your brother."

Noah's fists tightened. "Don't compare me to him."

"Why not?" Adrian's voice was quiet but sharp. "He swore he was innocent too."

"He was innocent," Noah said, his voice rising. "You never even let him explain!"

Adrian's expression didn't change, but something flickered in his eyes, pain, maybe. "Explain what? That the files magically leaked themselves?"

Noah took a step forward. "You don't want the truth, Adrian. You just want someone to blame."

For a moment, silence filled the room. The only sound was the faint hum of the city below.

Adrian looked at him, really looked at him, and something inside both of them shifted. The years of hate, love, and confusion tangled in one quiet, heavy stare.

"You shouldn't have come back," Adrian murmured finally.

Noah's voice was low. "Maybe I came back because I never stopped wondering what really happened."

Adrian's jaw tightened. "Careful, Noah. Curiosity killed your brother."

The words cut deep.

Noah turned toward the door, his pulse racing, but just before leaving, he said quietly, "Or maybe it's what's going to save you."

He walked out, leaving Adrian standing in the dim light, expression unreadable.

For a long moment, Adrian said nothing. Then he looked down at the device Noah had brought and picked it up. His fingers brushed the surface, and his eyes widened.

There, etched faintly into the metal, was a symbol.

A symbol he hadn't seen since the night his father died.

His hand trembled slightly as he whispered,

"...It can't be."