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I left the office immediately after she stormed out. Home was the only sanctuary where I could process this devastation alone. Damian and Evelyn would have suffocated me with their concern and analysis. For the first time in my adult life, I powered off my phone completely. The doorbell and intercom went unanswered. I needed to sit with this agony and let it burn through me.
She sounded exactly like my mother used to when lecturing me as a child. But I had no intention of discussing Hazel with anyone. When I opened my mouth to protest, Damian dangled a gag and handcuffs in front of my face with a completely serious expression.
Liam’s POV
“What exactly are you suggesting? That someone broke into the executive suite and sent emails from her computer just to frame her? Even though I had restricted access before those emails were transmitted? You can’t be that naive,” I said with bitter
sarcasm.
“Is it really impossible, Liam? This company has been hemorrhaging money for months and we only discovered it recently. Don’t you think it’s equally possible that someone has been embedded in our inner circle for years without detection?” Damian pressed. his point until I was forced to consider it seriously. “Listen, my initial instinct was to blame Hazel too. But when I showed her those emails, what I saw in her eyes was complete bewilderment, not guilt. She was wounded, furious, and devastated, but not guilty of what we accused her of.”
“Your intimidation tactics don’t work on me, young man. You’ve had your time to rage and sulk in solitude. Now you’re going to listen to what we have to say, and you’re going to do it quietly.”
“Liam, there’s one more thing.” Damian added. “I have a contact in the Crestwood Police Department. I asked him to run a complete background check on Hazel so we can know exactly who she really is.”
I sighed in exhaustion. “Fine. Investigate thoroughly and get me definitive proof,” I conceded.
“Son, Damian and I have launched our own investigation. I couldn’t live with myself if
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we destroyed an innocent woman’s life without exploring every possibility. Security cameras were installed today, though the one in Hazel’s office malfunctioned. The footage is being analyzed and our hacker is attempting data recovery. But we’ve also implemented a more direct approach.
Seven years had passed since that night my parents died, since I swore off love after being abandoned. I had built walls around my heart, yet Hazel had somehow slipped through every defense. She hadn’t asked for permission to enter my life. She simply arrived and claimed every corner of my soul. And now I realized she was the serpent who had struck at my most vulnerable moment.
“Did you forget we have spare keys?”
Then light flooded the room and I heard my friend’s familiar voice cutting through the darkness.
The request seemed extreme, but the damage was already done. I simply nodded my agreement.
anca? Evelyn, you’re wasting p I protested.
time. You know how long she’s worked for us,”
“We’re testing every member of the executive board individually, including Owen. We started with Bianca this afternoon. Since Owen was unavailable, we asked her to deliver some documents to Damian’s office. While she was there, we deliberately let slip that we would be auditing last year’s financial records. We already have copies of everything, but if any documents disappear overnight, we’ll know she leaked the information. Allen and his team are conducting the verification as we speak.”
“Damian, everyone in that suite has been with the company for over a decade. Your theory is impossible,” I snapped.
I exhaled heavily, reluctantly processing his words. Nothing about this situation made.
rational sense. Then Evelyn spoke with calm authority.
I had thrown her out of my company and my life. She had betrayed me in the most. despicable way imaginable. Yet why did this emptiness feel worse than the anger? Why had I fallen for a woman who was nothing but smoke and mirrors? How had I been foolish enough to lower every guard and hand her my heart?
I studied her with growing suspicion. “What kind of approach, Evelyn?”
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“If you won’t cooperate willingly, we’ll make you cooperate. But either way, you’re going to hear us out.”
“You don’t get a choice in the matter. Now shut your mouth and listen carefully.” Damian’s tone brooked no argument. “Evelyn and I spent the afternoon analyzing this situation, and we’ve concluded that Hazel leaking information makes absolutely not sense. She was thoroughly vetted by both you and Evelyn before joining the company. The entire auditing strategy was her brainchild. She personally recommended Allen, who has been loyal to my family and yours for decades. He’s beyond reproach. We spoke with him extensively, and he would stake his reputation on Hazel’s innocence. She’s been set up, Liam. We need to give her the benefit of the doubt.”
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“It’s much easier to blame Hazel than admit we’ve been played for fools by someone we trusted implicitly for years, Damian said wearily. “But the reality is that people within this company have been stealing from us systematically. Hazel pointed that out today, and she was absolutely right. We need to investigate properly, man. Open your mind to other possibilities.”
I sat in the darkness of my apartment, unable to face the bed where Hazel and I had shared that incredible night. The memory felt like poison now, knowing it had all been an elaborate deception. The pain of her betrayal consumed me completely.
“No, Liam. I’m suggesting the real traitor is someone else with executive access,” Damian replied with infinite patience.
Reading those emails felt like being crushed under a freight train. The first message might have been explainable, something I could have listened to her defend. But the second email revealed the calculated nature of her seduction. She had planned every touch, every kiss, every moment of supposed intimacy just to manipulate me. The realization left me bleeding inside.
This morning I had been in paradise. Then the hacker’s call shattered everything. When he told us that only Damian, Evelyn, and I should come because he knew where the leak originated, Hazel’s face never crossed my mind. The revelation hit like a physical blow.
“You seriously think I’m going to let you use your bedroom accessories on me?” I asked with disgust.
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Damian settled beside me on the couch while Evelyn positioned herself directly in front of me. I shot them both murderous glares, but Evelyn remained completely
unfazed.
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