The office of Veloria, once vibrant with energy and laughter, now hummed with an unsettling silence. The win they had achieved the exponential rise of their edu-tech platform was supposed to be the beginning of a golden era. Instead, invisible tensions gnawed at the seams of the team, threatening to tear them apart from within.
Naya sat alone in the conference room, scrolling through user metrics on her laptop, pretending to be absorbed in the data. In truth, her mind was elsewhere replaying conversations, small slights, and unresolved grievances she had buried for too long. Across the glass walls, she could see Aruna and Reza discussing something animatedly. Their laughter, once comforting, now felt like an exclusion she could no longer ignore.
The door creaked open slightly.
Vincent stepped in, carrying two cups of coffee. He placed one silently next to Naya without a word.
"You looked like you needed it," he said casually, sliding into the chair beside her.
"Thanks," Naya replied, her voice thin.
For a moment, neither spoke. The air between them was thick, like the weight of a thousand unsaid words pressing down.
"They're moving fast," Vincent said eventually, gesturing towards Aruna and Reza with a slight nod. "Making decisions before the rest of us even catch up."
Naya stiffened but said nothing.
"It's funny," Vincent continued in a low voice, almost conspiratorial. "Success changes people. Sometimes it makes them forget who helped them get there."
Naya set down her coffee, untouched. She knew Vincent was playing a dangerous game planting seeds of doubt, but the bitter truth was, part of her agreed. She had felt sidelined lately, reduced to an afterthought when once she had been in the core of every major decision.
"Maybe I'm overthinking it," Vincent added with a shrug, standing up. "But you deserve better, Naya. Just... don't let loyalty blind you."
He left without another word, leaving Naya alone with a storm swirling inside her.
Across the hall, Aruna and Reza wrapped up their discussion.
Aruna's eyes flickered toward the conference room, catching a glimpse of Naya's tense posture through the glass. She frowned.
"She's been distant lately," Aruna said quietly.
Reza nodded. "I noticed. I thought maybe she just needed space after all the pressure."
"Maybe," Aruna said, unconvinced. "Or maybe something's wrong."
They exchanged a look, heavy with concern.
"We should talk to her," Reza suggested.
Aruna hesitated. "Soon. I just... I don't want to push her further away."
As they turned to leave, Reza's phone buzzed. He glanced at the message a tip-off from one of their investor contacts. His face paled slightly.
"What is it?" Aruna asked.
Reza showed her the screen.
Anonymous tip: "Veloria is being targeted. An old enemy isn't done yet. Stay alert."
Aruna felt a chill creep down her spine.
"Giselle," she whispered.
It had to be her. No one else had the motive or the ruthlessness to strike when Veloria was most vulnerable.
Meanwhile, in an upscale hotel lounge across town, Giselle stirred her espresso slowly, eyes cold and calculating. Across from her sat a figure cloaked in the shadows of the booth, face obscured, but presence unmistakably powerful.
"Are you certain this will work?" the figure asked.
Giselle smiled thinly.
"They're already breaking from within. All we have to do is give the final push."
"And if they resist?"
Her smile widened into something feral.
"Then we crush them."
The figure nodded once, sliding a thick envelope across the table.
Inside: confidential documents, legal traps, and weaponized insider information.
"Consider it done," Giselle said, her voice a blade honed to kill.
Back at Veloria, night fell, but the office lights remained on.
Aruna, Reza, and Naya found themselves working late again a forced normalcy masking deeper fractures.
Aruna approached Naya cautiously. "Hey, do you have a minute?"
Naya didn't look up. "Busy."
Aruna hesitated, heart sinking. This wasn't the Naya she knew the fierce, loyal partner who had once stayed up nights building Veloria's foundation brick by brick.
Reza glanced between them, sensing the deepening chasm but powerless to bridge it.
"We just wanted to say," Aruna tried again, "we appreciate you. Everything you've done."
For a fleeting second, Naya's expression softened. But then she caught sight of Vincent walking by, giving her a slight nod a reminder of the unspoken doubts festering inside her.
"Thanks," Naya said curtly, gathering her things. "But appreciation doesn't change anything."
She left the room, her footsteps echoing against the hollow walls.
Aruna slumped into a chair, burying her face in her hands.
Reza stood silently by the window, watching the night thicken outside.
Somewhere out there, Giselle was moving her pieces across the board.
And inside Veloria, the cracks were widening silent, but deadly.