Part 12 –
The gala was four days away.
The tension in the Wolfe Enterprises offices had shifted from electric to volatile. No one could afford a single mistake. Lila was everywhere at once—coordinating deliveries, fielding press requests, checking the light placement against mock-ups.
But the moment she stepped out of the elevator that morning, she felt it.
A shift.
Eyes flicking toward her. Conversations paused mid-sentence. The receptionist didn't greet her like usual. Even her closest intern, Maya, seemed unusually quiet.
She spotted two senior execs in the hallway whispering behind their phones.
She wasn't imagining it.
The energy wasn't stressed.
It was tainted.
And then she saw the email.
Subject: URGENT – Internal HR Matter
To: Lila Hart
From: HR Department
Body:
You are requested to report to Human Resources on the 16th floor at 10:15 AM today for a formal review regarding your professional conduct.
This meeting is confidential and required.
Failure to attend will result in escalation to executive oversight.
Thank you.
– Wolfe Enterprises HR
Lila read it twice.
Then a third time.
Formal review? Professional conduct?
Her hands were steady, but her stomach dropped.
This wasn't a coincidence.
Someone had found out.
Or worse—someone wanted to make it an issue.
16th Floor – Human Resources
The glass office was too white. Too quiet. Too sterile.
Lila sat across from two HR managers she barely recognized. One spoke calmly while the other took notes with clinical efficiency.
"There have been concerns raised about inappropriate boundaries between you and a senior executive. Specifically, Mr. Ethan Wolfe."
Lila didn't blink. "From whom?"
"I'm afraid we can't disclose the source."
She crossed her legs and lifted her chin. "Then I can't comment on anonymous rumors."
The woman continued, voice still composed. "We have received photographic evidence suggesting a personal relationship between you and Mr. Wolfe, captured on company premises."
Lila's pulse froze.
Photographic evidence?
The rooftop.
Someone saw them.
She met the woman's eyes. "So if two consenting adults share a moment outside of working hours, that's now against company policy?"
"Not necessarily. However, when one of those adults is the CEO, it raises questions of favoritism, leverage, and conflict of interest. We're here to protect both you and the company."
There it was.
Leverage.
The idea that she had used Ethan.
That her position was earned not by her talent, but by her body.
She inhaled slowly. "Is Mr. Wolfe being questioned as well?"
The note-taking woman said flatly, "Mr. Wolfe has not responded to HR inquiries at this time."
Lila's breath caught.
He knew.
And he wasn't protecting her.
Hours Later – Lila's Apartment
The second she got home, she closed her door, kicked off her heels, and collapsed on the couch. Her phone buzzed nonstop—calls from staff, vendors, her anxious intern.
She ignored them all.
Everything she'd built was now in jeopardy.
And the man she'd risked her heart for?
Silent.
Was this his way of protecting her?
Or abandoning her?
Tears threatened, but she blinked them back. She wouldn't cry. Not now. Not yet.
But then…
Her phone buzzed again.
Ethan Wolfe – 1 New Message.
"Come to the penthouse. Now. I'll explain everything."
Wolfe Penthouse – One Hour Later
Lila stood at the glass doors, heart hammering. When Ethan opened the door, he looked… off. Unshaven. Tie loosened. Shirt rumpled. Sleepless shadows under his eyes.
He let her in wordlessly.
The view behind him stretched out across the city—but she only saw him.
"You knew," she said. "About HR."
"I did."
"And you didn't say anything?"
"I needed time to handle it. Quietly."
Her jaw tightened. "Time? You let me walk into that ambush alone, Ethan."
His face flickered with guilt. "I was trying to protect you—"
"By letting them humiliate me? Make it look like I used you to get ahead?"
He stepped closer, desperate now. "There's more to this than HR. Someone planted those photos, Lila. They were sent anonymously to the board, to the press—"
She froze. "The press?"
He nodded. "Someone's trying to take me down. And now they're using you to do it."
Lila backed away slowly, everything sinking in.
"So what does that make me? A liability? Or a shield?"
"You're not—"
She cut him off, voice trembling. "Because right now, I don't feel like a woman you care about. I feel like a target."
Ethan's jaw clenched. His voice dropped. "I do care. More than I ever should. And that's exactly why you're in danger."
"Then why don't you fight for me?" she demanded. "Why do you keep letting other people decide what this is?"
He reached for her hand, gripping it tightly. "Because if I fight back the wrong way, they won't just go after you."
His voice cracked.
"They'll destroy you."
Back at Wolfe Enterprises…
In a private office, a man sat behind a desk, watching the leaked photos of Ethan and Lila on a tablet.
He tapped a finger on the screen, smiling coldly.
"This is only the beginning."