The doors of Nova's office swung open with a creak as she stepped inside,
Drawers were ripped open, Papers scattered everywhere, the Cabinets were forced open, Her breath seized painfully in her chest as she slowly moved through the wreck in her office.
It was supposed to have been a "routine inspection", this was a line her assistant delivered with shaky lips, but this wasn't routine at all, this was a message for her.
Her hands trembled as she reached for a photo frame that was now cracked on the floor, The glass sliced her finger, but she barely flinched.
She had been warned, she had already gotten wind of the accusations, the legal threats, and the investors that were pulling back.
Her phone vibrated, it was a single text from Victor,
They're moving against you faster than we thought, Call me, Alicia's behind it, it is not Dominic.
Nova stared at the screen expressionless,
Alicia?
Her could not accept it, For weeks, every loss and betrayal had led her to one conclusion, Dominic, The man who ruined her once, The very man she'd sworn to destroy.
But deep inside her, something twisted and questioned,
Could Victor be right?
.
A few hours later, the boardroom was buzzing with murmurs as Nova stepped in, her expression remained blank despite the chaos focused towards around her, The board members looked with unease,
And then Alicia walked in,
Uninvited and Unapologetic
Her heels clicked across the floor as she sat beside Dominic at the head of the table.
"I apologize for the interruption," Alicia said smoothly, giving off a hint of triumph, "but given recent developments, I thought it was time we all spoke openly."
Nova's heart started pounding,
Dominic's face because dull, but he couldn't say anything, Alicia pulled out a folder and slid it across the table, "Our family has just become the second-largest shareholder," she announced, "Effective immediately."
The room became filled with murmurs,
Alicia smiled faintly, "And Dominic," she added in a tone only he and Nova could really understand, "you know what I need from you."
Nova's skin turned pale,
Something was wrong here, something deeper than she had ever imagined,
And for the first time, her fury wavered,
This wasn't just a game of revenge anymore, This was war.
.
The soft buzz of the city did nothing to quiet the storm that was in Nova's chest, She sat in the wreck of her office, with glass still on the floor, her hands were trembling despite the courage she tried to summon.
Her phone buzzed, Victor's name popped on the screen,
"Tell me you have something," she whispered as soon as she answered,
"I do," Victor said urgently, "I've been digging, and It's not Dominic, It's Alicia, Every leak and every move, it all traces back to her, She's the one pulling all of the strings."
Nova's breath hitched, "You're wrong, It has to be him."
"She just made herself the second-largest shareholder," Victor pressed, "She's not doing this for him, She's doing this to the both of you."
Nova swallowed hard, "Even if you're right, he let it happen, He stood there and let her destroy me."
Victor's commented calmly, "Or maybe he's trapped."
She didn't want to hear it, she did not want to believe it, Yet somewhere deep inside or her, the doubt of it all was spreading, she recalled the look on Dominic's face at the board meeting, he looked haunted, angry, and cornered, it did not looked like triumph, It looked like fear.
And that terrified her a lot more than her own downfall,
"I'm going to end him," she murmured with a shaky voice "This time for real."
Victor was silent for a second, "Nova, listen to me, Something bigger is coming, I heard whispers of federal agencies, legal action… They're circling you Nova, I don't think this is just about business anymore."
The blood drained from her face immediately, she started to look pale.
.
Across town, Dominic barely heard Alicia's voice as she walked into his office,
"You're unusually quiet," she said softly,
He didn't look up at her, "Get out." He said firmly,
Alicia gave a wry scoff, she was unbothered, She dropped a slim folder on his desk, "I warned you, All you had to do was play along."
Inside the folder we're photographs, transactions, and old secrets, all were Enough to destroy him,
"I own the board now," she murmured, "And unless you want your name to be buried alongside hers, you'll fall in line."
He gritted his teeth and clenched his hands into fists, "You won't get away with this."
But Alicia only smiled,
"Watch me."
.
Back in her apartment, Nova dropped to the floor, her pulse was racing,
She wasn't just fighting for her company anymore,
For the first time ever, she realized that she wasn't the only target,
And somewhere out beyond the windows, the sirens of the city grew louder.
.
The wind blew softly against the glass as Nova sat in her apartment, the city glowing like fireflies beneath her, She felt Numb, As if her entire life was hollowed out, leaving nothing but echoes.
She rested her hands on her lap, she was still shaking from the call with Victor, His words were stuck in her head, They're circling you.
She exhaled deeply, She had thought that she could control this, That she could bend the pieces back into place, but it was bigger now, Alicia had made sure of that.
Her phone buzzed again,
It was a message from Victor,
I have something, Something Luke gave to me, It could change everything.
She blinked, she tried to catch her breath, Luke, The quiet tech genius who had disappeared from the company's ranks several months earlier.
She didn't it much thought then, she was too consumed by the battles and wars in front of her, But now, his name felt like a spark in the dark.
What is it? she typed back,
Victor's reply came seconds later,
It's proof, Real proof, Not just against Alicia... but everything, But it's very risky, You need to be careful.
She swallowed hard, her heart beat her with a jagged rhythm in her ears, She didn't ask for any details, just not yet, Not when her mind was already spinning fast.
.
Somewhere else, Alicia stood by the window of her father's penthouse suite, the city lights washed over her face with relief, She sipped from her glass as her phone lit up next to her,
A single text containing just Two words,
It's done,
Her smile widened,
The pieces were falling exactly how she wanted them to fall, Nova's downfall was no longer a matter of business, It was now a legal matter, it was now a Federal matter, And Dominic, Dominic was too bound by her threats to do anything about it,
Soon enough, what Victor found out or what Nova suspected wouldn't matter at all,
By the time they pieced it all together, it would already be too late.
.
Back at her apartment, Nova's phone lit up once more,
This time, it was from an unknown number,
Be ready, They're coming for you,
Her heart skipped a beat, and her breath had been caught in her throat,
She pushed herself to stand up, with panic rushing through her veins,
It wasn't a question of if anymore,
It was now a matter of when,
And somewhere deep inside, she realized, that she had already been pushed too far.