Chapter 18 The Explosion
Stefan's POV-
I tightened my fingers on the steering wheel, my knuckles white.
The cracks in the fractured glass of the windshield were a vivid reminder of the ambush from behind that had almost taken me out.
The taillights on the black SUV had disappeared into the Seryne night, and my pulse hammered, while my mind raced. I muttered a curse, not only at the hired muscle who’d taken a shot at me but at, well, me. I’d rushed to Clawford Corporation on instinct, compelled by a nagging need to protect Valenticia after Carter’s call about her strange login.
That alert had put me in danger.
Stefan Myles is a man who never acted without a master plan.
I pictured her defiance at the gala.
She was a liability.
Back at New Dream Corporation, I burst into my office, Carter was already there, his tablet lit up with data. “The SUV isn’t registered,” he said, his voice clipped. “No plates, no trace. Probably mercenaries, paid to send a message.” His eyes flickered to mine when he noticed my jaw was clenched. “You’re certain this is about Ms. Clawford?”
“It’s her,” I said, pacing. “She’s digging into Gregor’s mess and someone doesn’t want her to.” I didn’t say anything more but the thought of her in danger twisted something inside of me, a feeling I hadn’t allowed myself to entertain since … No. I buried the memory, of my father’s betrayal, that glassy smile when he’d cashed in our family’s first merger to fill his own pockets. Trust was a luxury I couldn’t afford not then, and not now.
I sank into my seat and rubbed my temples. “What else do we have?”
Carter tapped his tablet. “Gideon’s standing by for a virtual call. He has something on Nexus Ventures.”
I nodded, and Carter connected Gideon. The hacker’s face filled the screen, his gaunt body bent over a laptop in a familiar darkened environment. “Nexus Ventures is a gold mine,” Gideon said in a low voice. “It’s the same shell Valenticia’s chasing—millions funneled to offshore accounts, connected to Gregor’s secret project. But here’s the catchy part, there’s a larger force. Nexus isn’t just Gregor’s. Someone’s supporting him, someone with real influence.”
My jaw tightened. “The silent partner.” I’d suspected Gregor was not acting alone, but this was the confirmation. Whoever this was, they could screw up my land deal with the Clawford, the one I’d bet New Dream’s supremacy on. “Any names?”
“Not yet,” Gideon said. “ But Valenticia is on the same trail. She’s got into Clawford’s servers and has pulled the Nexus data. The girl’s got guts.”
“She has a death wish,” I muttered. Her gala speech raced through my head, the way she’d addressed Gregor. She was bold, and it was going to get her killed. I leaned forward. “Hack Clawford’s servers. And I want everything on Gregor’s project. Files, emails, anything that indicates this partner.’
Gideon hesitated. “Their firewall is toply secured. Somebody’s covering their tracks, and they’re good. I will try, but it will take time.”
“Do it,” I told him, my voice final. Gideon nodded and signed off, leaving me with Carter’s arched eyebrow.
“You risk a lot,” Carter said. “If Clawford tracks the hack to us, it’s going to blow the land deal.”
“It’s already in jeopardy,” I retorted. “Gregor is playing both sides, and Valenticia is stirring the pot. If we don’t get in front of this, we lose everything.” I did not say the other reason was the illogical impulse to protect her, to prevent her from walking into a snare. It made no sense, and I hated that.
My father came back to my memory again. The merger that had formed New Dream was supposed to be our legacy, but he had sold critical assets to a competitor, pocketing the profits and leaving me to clean up the mess. I was twenty-three, angry for power, and his betrayal showed me one thing, that alliances were traps. New Dream was built alone and without trust because I trusted no one. But here I was, caught in Valenticia’s web.
I recalled how I had yanked her into my car and her torn dress and her eyes, wide with fear but unbroken. She was a fighter, and that stirred something in me, something I didn’t want to give a name.
My phone pinged and pulled me back to reality.
A news alert, a Gas leak at Clawford Corporation, and staff evacuated. My heart lurched. I knew Valenticia was there from Carter’s last update. I snatched up my coat, ignoring Carter’s protest. “Stay here,” I told him. “Keep Gideon on task.” I was already out of the door before he could argue, my car speeding toward Clawford’s headquarters.
When I arrived the scene was chaotic — flashing lights, fire trucks, and employees gathered in the parking lot. Paramedics rolled out an unconscious man, and my breath seized, except it wasn’t her. I looked around the crowd for her silver hair.
She wasn’t there.
The gas leak story felt off. Too convenient, too timed with her snooping. Sabotage, I was sure of it. Gregor, or his partner, was delivering a warning.
I left New Dream with a whirlwind in my head. I went to the server room, a fortified bunker with humming machines, and I studied Gideon’s latest data. He’d broken a piece of Clawford’s system, snagging a coded email from Gregor to an unidentified recipient. The subject line was empty, the text, chilling: Neutralize the heiress. Gregor wasn’t just plotting, he was aiming for Valenticia himself. I grasped the edge of the table, my mind running. She was in deeper than I’d realized, and I was running out of time to reel her in.
I paced around the server room. Gideon’s warning about the firewall nagged at me. Someone was covering Gregor’s tracks, someone with resources. The silent partner was everything but each lead went nowhere. I was reminded of Valenticia, standing her ground at the gala, her voice steady, challenging him.
Carter rushed in, his face white. “Security alert. The server room cameras saw an intruder.” My heart raced, as I spun to the monitors.
A hooded figure flashed on the screen, fast and purposeful, as it dropped a small device on a server rack.
My stomach dropped.
Immediately, the screen went black, followed by a booming noise.