Chapter 26: Inside the Company

Darkness had already descended upon the city when I left the office. The sickly glow of the streetlights spilled onto the glass panes, scattering into fragmented reflections. All day long, the words “Kate Winselet” had haunted me, clinging to my mind like a spreading ink stain I could never wash away. As I walked, it felt as though my very steps were weighed down by those invisible letters.

I told myself I had to act—tear apart the veil before it tightened any further. Otherwise, I would lose my mind.

My apartment was unnervingly silent when I returned. I turned on my personal laptop—the one device I had always kept apart from work, a fragile refuge of safety. The cold blue light from the screen illuminated my weary, hollow face in the mirror. I looked pale, drained, as though every ounce of strength had been siphoned away.

My fingers moved swiftly, instinctively. I accessed the mail system, tracing the IP address of that strange message. With every keystroke, my heart pounded harder—half in dread, half in anticipation.

A result appeared—then vanished instantly. The trail was buried beneath layers of encryption. I bit my lip until I tasted blood. This wasn’t a prank. Someone had deliberately erased the path, as if they knew I would come searching.

With trembling hands, I dialed Daniel, head of IT. His voice came through the speaker, rough and hesitant:

“Ms. Elysa, I’m not sure we should dig too deep. This address… it leads back to an internal server, but it’s rerouted through several cloaked ports. There’s a chance… it’s inside the company.”

Inside the company.

The words struck me like a blade of ice. I ended the call, my mind in turmoil. Faces I saw every day suddenly turned foreign. Which of them could be behind this?

And like a shadow crawling back into the light, I remembered Kael. The last time I saw him was three months ago, in a quiet café on the city’s edge. His gaze had been dark, impenetrable, as though it could pierce straight through my defenses. When he left, he had murmured: “Soon, Elysa, everything you know will betray you.” I had dismissed it as intimidation then. But now, the words echoed in my head, merging with that single initial—K—at the end of the emails and messages.

…

Two days later, I slipped into a cocktail dress and walked into the glittering glass lobby of a towering hotel. The reception hall shimmered with chandeliers and crystal, the soft murmur of jazz flowing through the air. To me, it was nothing but a flimsy stage set, a mask stretched over something rotten.

I moved through the sea of familiar faces: partners, investors, close associates. They laughed, raised glasses, shook hands. Yet every smile, every glance now appeared warped, counterfeit, suspicious. I felt like I was trapped inside a play where every actor was hiding a secret.

For a fleeting moment, I sensed eyes on me from above. I tilted my head: a shadow lingered on the mezzanine balcony. Someone was watching. But the figure vanished almost instantly. A chill swept down my spine.

Then my gaze found Victor, the deputy CFO. When I casually dropped the name “Kate Winselet,” his eyes flickered with a jolt—small, but undeniable. A shard of glass glinting in a darkened room.

“You all right, Victor?” I smiled, keeping my tone light, but my eyes probed.

“Y-yeah, of course,” he stammered, too quickly. Then he turned on his heel, disappearing into another group.

Just as I was about to leave, a hand brushed my shoulder. Clara—my trusted colleague, someone I had once treated like a younger sister. “You seem tired. Are you okay?” she asked softly. I forced a smile, assuring her I was fine. But the instant I repeated the name “Kate Winselet,” her eyes flickered with something strange—there and gone in a heartbeat, buried beneath her gentle smile. Ice trickled through my veins.

The words from the email echoed again: “Even with those you trust the most.”

Who could I believe now? Who could I trust?

…

That night, I didn’t drive home straight away. I wandered through rain-drenched streets, headlights smearing across the slick pavement like streaks of blood. The wipers scraped rhythmically, but my pulse raced out of control. Rain hammered against the windshield, blending with the hum of an engine locked behind me. Its headlights clung to my rearview mirror, glaring like an omen.

I turned into a narrow alley, heart pounding, trying to shake the tail. Tires hissed across the wet asphalt, an eerie sound that cut through the storm. But when I looked back—the car was gone. As if it had never existed. Only me, the rain, and the choking sense of being hunted.

When I returned to my apartment, I froze. A white envelope lay on the kitchen counter. No seal, no return address. My hand trembled, slick with sweat, as I tore it open.

Inside—

A photograph.

It showed me, sitting in my office, at the very moment I opened the email from “Kate Winselet.” Grainy, taken from a distance, but clear enough. Someone had been there. Watching. Close.

Beneath the photo was a torn scrap of paper, the ink blurred as if smeared by water or deliberately ripped away. Only fragments remained: “inside… already know… don’t delay…” Then nothing more.

I clenched the picture, fear and fury rising in a suffocating tide.

My phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number:

“Don’t trust anyone. They’re right beside you.

– K.”

That single letter dropped into my chest like ink bleeding into water. Kael.

At that very moment, footsteps echoed faintly in the corridor. Then the elevator chimed on my floor, its bell a sharp ting. I went rigid, straining to listen, breath caught in my throat.

Rage flared in my chest. I slammed the phone onto the table, though my hands continued to tremble. Had he lied? Was he luring me into a trap? Or was he truly trying to shield me from some darker force I hadn’t yet begun to fathom?

I collapsed into the chair, the photo still clutched in my hand, vision darkening at the edges. Questions coiled around me like a spider’s web. But one thing was certain: the net was closing in. Someone—or perhaps several—was playing a dangerous game. And I was the prey.

Beyond the walls, the city roared on, traffic humming like nothing had changed. But to me, all sound faded, leaving only the frantic beating of my own heart. And in the recesses of my mind, Kael Brown’s shadow lingered—unshakable, relentless, like a curse I could never escape.