Chapter 84 The Second Spy

Chapter 84 The Second Spy
Bella's POV

The moment I said it, Ethan's expression hardened, his shoulders tensing visibly.

"Absolutely not," he said immediately. "I'm not putting you in that kind of danger…. I won't allow it. You've already been through more than enough troubles already."

"Let's at least hear what she's planning first," Lyra cut in, holding up a hand to calm the room, her voice steady despite the tension crackling visibly between us all. "We don't even know the full details yet."

Everyone turned to look at me, waiting, the silence stretching just long enough to make my nerves flutter.

I took a deep breath, already knowing this plan wasn't going to sit well with any of them, but there was no gentler way to say it.

"I'll go to Benjamin," I said. "Tell him I've quit the organization. That I've thought everything over and I want to be on his side after all, that Ethan pushed me too far this time and I'm tired of being controlled by him."

"And if he doesn't believe you?" Naomi asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Then I'll pull out my gun," I said calmly, "and threaten to kill myself in front of him."

The room fell into stunned silence.

Ethan's jaw dropped slightly, disbelief written across his face, his eyes searching mine like he was hoping I would suddenly admit it was a joke. Lyra's eyebrows shot up. Naomi looked at me like I had lost my mind entirely, her mouth hanging open slightly.

"That's the plan?" Naomi asked, incredulous, glancing between me and the others as if hoping someone would explain this all more clearly than I just had.

Instead of answering her directly, I flicked my eyes toward the closed door, holding the gesture just long enough for everyone to notice, careful not to make it too obvious in case whoever was outside was watching closely.

Understanding rippled through the room instantly. Ethan's posture shifted, his expression sharpening with alertness, all traces of his earlier objection forgotten. Lyra and Paige exchanged a quick, silent glance, both of them clearly reaching the same conclusion at the exact same moment.

Someone was listening.

Which meant Kim wasn't the only spy hiding within these walls after all.

A slow, mischievous smile tugged at my lips. If someone was eavesdropping right now, I intended to give them exactly the kind of performance they'd want to report back, something juicy enough to convince my father I was genuinely furious with Ethan.

I raised my voice sharply. "Stop blaming me for your incompetence, Ethan! You lost two hundred recruits, and somehow this is my fault? Is that really what you think of me?"

Lyra, Naomi, and Paige stayed completely silent, understanding the need to disappear from whatever the spy might be listening for, backing quietly toward the far corner of the room where they'd be less likely to be heard.

Ethan blinked at me for half a second, clearly caught off guard by the sudden shift in energy. Then, just as quickly, he caught on, his own performance snapping into place seamlessly.

"How am I supposed to trust you?" he shot back, his voice booming through the room. "How do I know you're not working with your father this entire time, feeding him information just like everyone else seems to be doing lately? You show up out of nowhere, after three years and suddenly everything falls apart around us."

I clapped my hands together sharply, the sound cracking through the air like a slap, timed perfectly to make it seem real from outside the door.

Ethan staggered back half a step, playing the part perfectly, his hand flying up to touch his own cheek like it actually stung from the impact.

"Get out!" he yelled, pointing toward the door with dramatic fury, his voice echoing off the walls of the office. "I don't want to see your face in my organization again!"

I threw my hands up in mock frustration, storming toward the door with heavy footsteps, making sure my exit sounded exactly as dramatic as our fight had been.

"Fine!" I shouted back. "I'm leaving! Don't come crawling to me when everything falls apart around you, Ethan!"

I yanked the door open and stepped out into the hallway, letting it slam shut behind me with satisfying force, the sound echoing sharply down the corridor.

My heart was racing, adrenaline mixing with the thrill of the act we had just performed. I scanned the corridor quickly, my eyes sweeping over every doorway, every shadow, searching for any sign of movement out of place.

Then I spotted him.

A figure moving quickly down the far end of the hallway, trying to appear casual despite the hurried pace of his steps, his eyes darting nervously toward every door he passed.

I recognized him instantly…One of our technicians, a quiet man who mostly kept to the server rooms and rarely interacted with anyone outside his department, someone I had barely exchanged more than a few words with over the years.

I watched him disappear around the corner, his shoulders tense, his stride just a little too fast to be innocent, the way someone walks when they're trying very hard not to look suspicious and failing completely at it.

There he was…

I leaned against the wall for a moment, letting a slow smile spread across my face. Two spies uncovered in one night…My father's network ran deeper than I had expected, but at least now we had names to work with, actual faces instead of vague suspicions.

I pulled out my phone, my fingers moving quickly across the screen, still buzzing with the adrenaline of the confrontation.

I typed out a quick message to Ethan, letting him know exactly who our second spy was, careful to keep the details brief in case anyone else happened to glance at my screen while passing by in the corridor.

Before hitting send, I glanced back down the hallway one more time, making sure the technician was truly gone and not doubling back to check if anyone had noticed him lurking near Ethan's door.

Satisfied that the coast was clear, I pressed send and slipped the phone back into my pocket, already turning my mind toward the next step of my plan..the fake defection I would need to carry out soon.

If Kim and this technician were both feeding information back to my father, there was a real possibility more moles existed within the organization. We couldn't afford to assume these two were the only ones.

Every wall now felt like it had ears, every trusted face a potential threat, and every conversation a risk we couldn't fully control anymore.

But at least now, we had a place to start, a thread to begin pulling until the whole thing unraveled.