Rafael went to his study. He could not keep the issue out of his head, and it played cricket with his thoughts. He just couldn't shake off that nagging hollow at the bottom of his stomach that kept telling him he ought to be worried about something. Lunch only reaffirmed to him that Liam was definitely not the guy involved, and that asked more questions than it answered.He dialed Ethan's number and waited for it to be answered."Ethan, we should probably talk," he declared when his nephew picked up. "I went on a lunch date today with Bernice and Liam, and… well, I don't really think it is all that clear.""What are you saying?" Ethan's voice was taut, a little too keen. "Picked up on something fishy?""No," Rafael admitted, frowning. "Liam gave me no leads to Bernice. Well, in fact, he is convinced that somebody from his own staff thought about this."A pause on the other end, then Ethan spoke again; this time, he was more careful. "Maybe Bernice is being very, very careful. You kn
Her heart raced when her eyes met Rafael's, which were obviously made of ire and disbelief. The accusations, though, had seemed real by that time to her; she hardly felt like breathing, but she had to keep cool. This wasn't about her; she was doing this to prove her intentions to him."Rafael, please," Bernice pleaded and took a step closer, though it felt like miles of distance stretched between them. "That man isn't who you think he is."His expression turned to wrought steel as he folded his arms. "So who would that be, Bernice? And why are you having secret meetings with him?"She took a deep breath, wondering how to phrase it best. "He is a private investigator," she said with her voice already shaking. "I hired him to do a search regarding someone important; who is connected to you."Rafael frowned at this, puzzled: "Someone connected with me? Bernice, this is getting to be insane. Because if this was all about me, you should have just gone out there, out in the open, not met wi
Bernice and Rafael sat and stared at the plain, brown, very brittle envelope that Madam Alice seemed to push at both of them. So tense seemed the room, with this subconscious accusation leveled at the Hidden in the room, by the covered bird of prey. Bernice watched him as he ripped open the envelope. Her heart was pounding as though one would watch some bird of prey. A small black flash drive dropped onto the desk."Wait, what's that supposed to be?" Bernice's voice quivered, big eyes boring straight into Rafael like they held an equally desperate amount of urgency expressed by her face. She knew Rafael was already on to her, and whatever was on the drive could literally make or break her."I don't know." Rafael grumbled and got down to retrieve the flash drive. He held it in front of him like he expected the thing to talk in his hand. "But we're about to find out."He plugged in the drive to his laptop, and they both crowded around the screen as it flickered to life. The seconds se
The next morning, Rafael headed into his office with a razor-sharp look. The video was hauntingly poisoned, but he looked so cool, as if nothing was happening, while anger boiled inside him. He did not lose any time and called Gabriel's number."Gabriel, come to my office now," mandated Rafael with a cold-cutting tone in his voice.That had been instinctual on Gabriel's part, but there hadn't been a flashing open hotline for questions as the call ended. He paced a good full-length of his office, the thoughts seemingly galloping every which way as the sting of betrayal stung, and he was going to get to the bottom of this.It was moments before the door to the office was closed and Gabriel was in the room. "Rafael, what's wrong? You sounded urgent."Rafael didn't answer right away. Instead, he gestured to the other chair, motioning for him to be seated, and then turned to get his phone off the desk. Even while he completed the call, his fingers drummed on the surface."Angela, come to m
Rafael's phone buzzed; he picked it up to the receiver. He really hoped that it was the news he had been waiting for. On the other end, it was Gabriel's voice, very calm but for the thrum of his urgency."Rafael, we've got something. You need to come to the IT room right away."Without hesitation, Rafael was out of the office and on his way toward the IT department. His heart was racing as he pushed open the door before him, anxious and a little impatient. There, he met Gabriel, flanked by some specialists in IT at some monitors, somber."What do you have?" Rafael demanded sharply in his query. "Who was it?"Gabriel cast a glance across the team before he stepped to the front. "We found out who the hacker is. His name is Ryan, a young guy with a reputation who's really good. Not exactly a balloon name, but good enough to pull this one off." Rafael scrunched up his face as his mind revved up. "Ryan? I don't know any Ryan. How did he get in?"One of the IT guys, a thin man with glasse
His shoes clicked onto the marble floor as he stormed down the hall. He knew he had to move quickly but above all, immaculately. Rafael was all about precision and power and one wrong move, one single delay in deciding, would seal Ethan's doom. Stopping in front of his secretary's door, he took a deep breath then pushed it open."Close the door," he ordered in a low, but firm voice.His secretary is a young girl, barely out of her teens, and her name is Claire. She looked up from her desk, pale-faced, and said, "Is something wrong, Mr. Ethan?"Ethan pinned his cold eyes on her. "Yes, Claire. Something is wrong."She gulped audibly. "I.I don't understand."It was incredibly ladened in Ethan's voice, "I am serious, Claire? You couldn't do a simple job right."Claire's eyes widened with fear, "M-Mr. Ethan, I swear to God I-""Save it," cut Ethan in the middle and took a step closer to her. "I think Rafeal knows everything. The hacking, the meeting with Ryan, all of it, and you've put me
Rafael stood in the sterile hall of the police station, his jaw clenched as he watched the police escort Ryan into an interrogation room. Tension buzzed in the air and pressed heavily upon his shoulders. He had Gabriel right next to him, his arms crossed and fists over his biceps, with sharp, blue eyes taking in everything that was happening in front of them. Meanwhile, Ethan remained rather composed; Rafael knew how much alarm the man had by the way his hands flexed every now and then."Ready for this?" he heard Gabriel ask in the quietest voice.Rafael only nodded. "Let's hear him out."They entered the small room; the door slammed noisily behind them. Ryan was seated at a metallic table, his wrists cuffed but his head held defiantly high. There was one officer who leaned against the door while the other positioned himself to start the interrogation.Ethan sat opposite to Ryan, his face unreadable, while Rafael remained standing, his eyes narrowing as he watched both men.Detective
Rafael sat in an office; the only silence in the room was tangible as he stared into the screen in front of him. By his side stood Gabriel, his arms folded across his chest, his face unreadable. The audio that had just played in his ears replayed itself in Rafael's head: Ryan and Ethan's secretary Claire discussing their plan for hacking and how they could frame Ethan should things go awry.This isn't what I expected," Rafael cut through the heavy silence.Gabriel nodded, eyes fixed into the screen. "Definitely not, it just made things a bit more complicated. If that recording is indeed genuine, it lets Ethan clear his name-at least to an extent. Still, something doesn't quite feel right here.Rafael leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. "I know; it's almost too neat, too convenient. They were so quick to pin the blame on Ethan, and now suddenly this evidence cleared him? My mind tells me there's more to this, that something's not quite right in what's being said.Meanwhile,