Chapter 25: The Betrayal Nate POV

Talia’s number being disconnected hit me like a punch. I sat on her couch, the burner phone dead in my hand, staring at the “Number Disconnected” message. She’d gone off-grid—left me with a phone and a note about a blue folder—but now she was gone, really gone. My chest felt hollow, my hands shaky. Harper had won—blocked me, chased Talia away, and left me here, alone in this tiny apartment with nowhere to turn.

I hadn’t moved much since last night, just sat there, the TV on mute in the background. My laptop was useless—Harper’s team had it locked—and the burner was my only link, now broken. I kept replaying our fight—Liam walking away, Talia running. Everyone was leaving me, and I didn’t know how to stop it. The news flickered on the screen, some local channel, but I barely watched—until I saw his face.

Liam. On TV, standing at a podium, cameras flashing. My heart stopped, my hand fumbling for the remote to turn up the sound. “Breaking News: ZenithTech Employee Testifies in Data Breach Case,” the ticker read. I leaned forward, my breath short, as his voice came through—calm, steady, not like the Liam I knew.

“I’ve worked closely with Nate Carter,” he said, his eyes on the paper in front of him. “I trusted him. But the evidence—logs, payments—it’s clear he acted alone in leaking proprietary code. I can’t defend what he did.”

I froze, my stomach dropping. Acted alone? Evidence clear? My hands shook as I stared at him—my Liam, the guy I’d stayed up with, laughed with, trusted more than anyone. He kept going, his voice flat. “I had no part in it. I’m cooperating fully with the investigation to protect ZenithTech.”

The reporter cut in—“Liam Ellis, a key witness, distances himself from the accused.” The screen flashed to old photos of us—working late, smiling—and I couldn’t breathe. He’d done it—publicly cut me off, said I was guilty. After everything, he’d turned on me.

I stood up, my legs weak, the remote slipping from my hand. “No,” I said, my voice breaking. “No—he wouldn’t.” But he had. I saw it—his face, his words, tearing us apart on live TV. The room spun, my chest tight. He’d been guilty, torn up when we fought, but this? This was betrayal—cold, final. I couldn’t believe it, but there he was, selling me out.

Liam POV

I stood at that podium, cameras blinding me, my hands sweaty on the paper Graham had given me. Every word I read felt like a knife—cutting Nate, cutting me. “He acted alone… I can’t defend what he did.” Lies, all of it, but I said them anyway, my voice steady even as my insides twisted. I’d fought it for days—Graham’s threats, that folder of my debts, the fake embezzlement rap—but I’d caved. I was here, testifying against Nate, and I hated myself for it.

It started after Graham left the lounge—“Control the narrative, or you’re a victim.” I’d sat there, staring at those papers—my past bets, my begging for cash, that made-up $50,000 theft. He’d ruin me—job gone, reputation trashed. But worse, he’d said Nate was facing jail—real time, years—unless I cooperated. “Denounce him,” he’d said, “and maybe he gets a deal.” I didn’t want to believe it, but the feds were closing in, and I was scared—for him, for me.

I’d agonized—nights awake, replaying our fight, his voice—“You abandoned me.” He was right—I had, blocking him, running from him in the garage. Guilt ate me alive, but Graham’s voice was louder—“He’s done, save yourself.” I’d resisted, told him no, but he kept pushing—calls, meetings, that folder in my face. “Jail for him, nothing for you,” he’d said yesterday. “Last chance.”

So I did it. I met him this morning, took the script, stood here. “I trusted him,” I read, my throat tight. “But the evidence is clear.” Each word hurt—Nate’s face in my head, the way he’d looked at me, broken. I was severing us—publicly, for everyone to see. The cameras clicked, the reporters scribbled, and I kept my face blank, hiding the mess inside.

When I finished—“I’m cooperating fully”—I stepped back, my hands shaking. Graham was in the corner, nodding, his smirk small but real. I’d done what he wanted—saved myself, maybe softened Nate’s fall. But it didn’t feel like saving anything. It felt like betrayal, and I couldn’t take it back.

Nate POV

The news looped Liam’s testimony, his voice echoing in my ears—“He acted alone.” I sank back onto the couch, my hands in my hair, my eyes burning. I couldn’t believe it—he’d sold me out, stood there and lied. After all we’d been through, he’d picked Graham, picked ZenithTech, over me. The footage cut to a reporter: “Ellis’s statement strengthens the case against Carter.” My name—trash now, everywhere.

I grabbed the burner phone, my last piece of anything, wanting to call him, yell at him—something. But he’d blocked me days ago, and now this. My hands shook, the TV droning on—“Carter faces serious charges.” Alone—really alone. Talia gone, Liam gone, just me and Harper’s game.

The burner rang, sharp and loud, jolting me. I stared at it—an unknown number. My heart jumped—maybe Talia, back somehow. I answered fast, my voice rough. “Hello?”

A voice came through—not hers, low and unfamiliar, a guy maybe. “He was your last ally,” it said, slow and cold. “Now you’re really alone.”

The line went dead, my breath stuck. I stared at the phone, my hands cold, the words sinking in.