Chapter 111: The punishment
Riya arrived at the Mirage and made her way to the private room. Inside, Zachary sat on a plush sofa, his posture relaxed, but his eyes sharp as he looked up at her. The phone was pressed to his ear as he spoke in a clipped tone. Without breaking his call, he motioned to the seat beside him, signaling her to sit down.
Riya sat down obediently.
"Yes, forward the details. I’ll go over them later."
Once the call ended, he reached for the wine glass in front of him and took a sip, not bothering to look at her. "Did you get the file?"
Panic surged through her. How could she admit that she had failed?
’I... I couldn’t,’ she wanted to say, but the words lodged in her chest. If she had only had a few more seconds, she might have snapped those photos. But fate had turned against her.
Zachary didn’t need her answer. Her silence told him that she had failed to carry out the task.
With a sudden jolt of anger, he slammed the wine glass onto the table. Red liquid splashed across the surface.
Riya flinched, shrinking back, her face pale and stricken. She kept her eyes down, afraid to meet his furious stare.
"I’m sorry," she blurted. "I did find the file. But just as I was about to take the photos, Zara walked in. I had no choice but to put it back into its place. I didn’t want to get caught."
Zachary didn’t speak. He simply glared at her, his fury simmering.
Riya quivered beneath his icy stare. Terrified of what he might do, she scrambled to shift the blame.