Chapter 13: Instinct

My eyes struggled to adjust to the blinding white light. I tried to move my hand to shield some of it, but my wrist was restrained. As my vision cleared, I realized I was sitting across from Mr. Chen at a cold, metallic desk. My hands were bound tightly, and panic began to settle in.

"Mr. Chen?" My voice wavered. What the hell was going on?

"I do apologize that you’ve been caught up in this," he said, casually placing a knife on the table in front of me, its blade glinting under the light.

"Wrapped up in what?" I asked groggily, my head still swimming.

"Don’t play games with me." His voice hardened as he stood, his dark eyes narrowing. "I want to know everything about the spyware C-Tech is developing."

"I honestly don’t know what you're talking about," I said, my voice shaky but sincere.

"Who is developing the software? Who are the lead engineers?" His voice grew more demanding as he leaned in closer, towering over me.

"I’ve only been there for a week," I blurted out. "I swear, I don’