Chapter 101
Seraphine's POV
A short while later, Brielle followed me. Her face was a mask of resentment, her eyes fixed on me with undisguised hatred. I ignored her completely, leading the meeting to finalize the core strategy for the bid.
Soren took the proposal. "Should I keep this, or…"
Brielle's head snapped up. She pretended to look away, but her ears were clearly straining to hear.
A small smile played on my lips. "I have to step out this afternoon. Just leave the proposal on my desk."
With that, I left for the legal department. When I returned, the file was gone, just as I had expected.
I picked up my desk phone and called Soren. "Check if Brielle is in the project department."
A moment later, he reported back. "She's not here. It looks like she left."
My eyes turned to ice. "Alright, I understand." Of course. Brielle wouldn't be Brielle if she didn't cause trouble. But I was curious. What exactly did she plan to do with the stolen proposal?
I sat down, unhurried, and pulled out my phone, tapping a gray icon. A city map instantly appeared on the screen, a blinking red dot moving from the vicinity of the Whitaker Group towards the city center. It was the micro-tracker I had hidden in the file. I was about to see who she was so eager to deliver this to.
The red dot pulsed, moving quickly. From the route, it was clear she had taken a taxi. I waited patiently, watching as the dot traveled towards a luxury apartment building in the most affluent part of the city center. A heavy feeling settled in my stomach. I knew where the Powell family lived, and it wasn't here. The place Brielle was going wasn't Quinlan's residence. It looked more like…
A sense of dread washed over me. I almost didn't want to look. But the red dot confirmed my fears. It stopped at a location I couldn't bear to accept.
It was Octavius's private residence.
For a moment, I was completely stunned. A mist clouded my vision. The red dot remained stationary, right inside his home. I couldn't sit still any longer. I shot to my feet, my eyes glued to the screen, desperately hoping it was just a trick of the light.
The pain in my arm flared up again, but it was nothing compared to the agony in my heart.
Octavius? Was it really him? Did he have Brielle steal my proposal? Why else would she be at his home?
Then it hit me. Quinlan. She was his girlfriend now. He had accepted her confession. He had been so cold, so distant, when he saw me injured for his sake. And now, for Quinlan, he was competing against me, standing on the opposite side.
But he knew. He knew how much I hated Brielle. How could he team up with her to steal my proposal? He had seen her with that scumbag Mitchell at my engagement party. He had watched me fight them, tooth and nail. He knew she had tried to sell me to that fat pig Gage for a million dollars, to ruin my reputation in Skyview City. He knew everything. He knew exactly what kind of person she was. And yet, for Quinlan, he had joined forces with her.
How could he do this?
The pain in my chest intensified. I felt cold, breathless. The Octavius who had been willing to die for me in my past life was now my enemy.
My fingers, cold as ice, tightened around my phone. It rang again. It was Soren.
I squeezed my eyes shut and answered.
"Ms. Whitaker, did you track her? Where did Brielle take the file?"
I bit my lip, forcing the words out after a long pause. "No. The tracker's signal was weak. I lost her halfway. She might have discovered it."
Soren sounded disappointed. "How could that happen? The signal just cut out? We have no idea where she took the file."
I couldn't tell him the truth. Not yet. If word got out that our true opponent wasn't Quinlan or Brielle, but the far more formidable Octavius, the entire team's morale would shatter. It would be a devastating blow.
And I had to admit, a tiny, foolish part of me still clung to a sliver of hope. Maybe Brielle had done this on purpose. Maybe she had found the tracker, or maybe Quinlan just happened to be with Octavius when she went to meet them. But no matter how I tried to rationalize it, the sting of betrayal was undeniable. Brielle would never have found the tracker. She had no idea I possessed such skills. It was clear she had gone to see Octavius, or perhaps both of them.
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. "Soren, don't tell anyone about this. Just pretend you accidentally lost the core proposal. We'll tell everyone that we're redoing it, but that there won't be any major changes."
Soren paused, confused. "So, we have no counter-plan?"
I smiled grimly. "We do. We just can't reveal it yet. I'm going to pull an all-nighter and prepare a second proposal. That will be our real bid."
I had known from the start that with Brielle involved, this project would never go smoothly. She was bound to leak the core information. That's why the entire meeting had been a smokescreen, a carefully crafted deception to mislead her. And, as expected, the fool had fallen for it, believing she had stolen our core strategy to deliver to my rivals.
I collected myself. "No one is to know about this besides you. You're going to help me tonight. We'll do it together."
Soren sighed on the other end of the line. "This is a mess. We have to fight off the Powell Group and watch our backs for Brielle. She's your own family. How could she…" He trailed off, unable to continue.
"That's enough," I said. "I'm hanging up."
A few minutes later, Soren arrived with a thick stack of files.
I gestured to my desk. "I've already ordered food and coffee for you. I'm sorry to have to ask this of you tonight."
He looked at me, his eyes full of sympathy. "Ms. Whitaker, you don't have to be so formal with me. I've made up my mind to follow you, no matter what." He stood up straight. "And I know I haven't made the wrong choice. Following you, I'm sure I'll go further than I would with anyone else."
I smiled, touched. "You're the only one I can trust right now. Don't worry. Stick with me, and I'll win this project."
"Alright!" he said, his face breaking into a grin. "Then I'll be waiting for that promotion and raise."