Chapter 21: Red and Resolve
Anna’s POV
After explaining for what felt like the hundredth time that I had nothing to do with Sean beyond professional admiration and that I’d let him and his team join the Phoenix Project solely because of his talent my mother and grandmother finally believed me.
I told them again about Sean’s past: a top student forced by circumstance to work at the Olympus Club. This time, something shifted. Sympathy flickered in their eyes. My mother even wept.
The next day, Sean called with an update.
"The person who stole the data has been identified," he said, his voice taut. "But he’s gone."
We gathered in the conference room. I sat at the head of the table, posture calm by design, though a storm brewed beneath my surface. Sean stood beside the screen, swiping through surveillance footage.
"We’ve identified him as John Fisher a graduate student who worked under Mr. Torres," Sean announced, pausing on a frame showing the young man slipping a flash drive into his pocket. "He vanished the day after the breach."
Trevor Torres, our chief engineer, looked hollow like the guilt had been eating him alive.
"Ms. Shaw," he said, voice low and heavy. "I’m so sorry. I misjudged him and brought this mess into the company."
Before I could respond, an all-too-familiar sneer echoed across the room.
"So your student steals company data, and you think a weak apology absolves you? How do we know you weren’t both involved?"
I looked up sharply. "What are you doing here?"