The digital clock on the executive floor read 5:18 p.m.
Employees continued working, but an unusual tension hung in the air.
Everyone knew what had happened.
The new employee had lost one of the company’s most confidential reports.
Some felt sorry for Lily.
Others believed she deserved to be dismissed.
Lily ignored the whispers.
She searched every drawer, every shelf, every cabinet.
Nothing.
She refused to cry.
Not here.
Not in front of everyone.
Inside the CEO’s office, Damian stood by the window with his hands in his pockets.
The city lights slowly flickered on as evening settled over the skyline.
A knock interrupted his thoughts.
“Come in.”
His head of security, Marcus Reed, entered carrying a tablet.
“You asked to see me, sir.”
Damian turned.
“I want the security footage from today.”
Marcus nodded.
“Which area?”
“The executive floor.”
“And the archive room.”
Marcus raised an eyebrow.
“Is there a problem?”
Damian’s voice remained calm.
“I want to know whether Miss Carter misplaced the file…”
“…or whether someone made it disappear.”
Meanwhile, Lily returned to the archive room one last time.
She searched every cabinet again.
Still nothing.
She leaned against a shelf and closed her eyes.
“Dad… please help me.”
She remembered her father’s words before he passed away.
“No matter how difficult life becomes, never stop fighting for the truth.”
Lily opened her eyes.
“No.”
She straightened her shoulders.
“I’m not giving up.”
As she turned to leave, she noticed something unusual.
One cabinet door wasn’t fully closed.
It belonged to the Marketing Department.
Curious, she pulled it open.
Her eyes widened.
There, beneath a stack of unrelated files…
…was the missing blue folder.
Her hands trembled as she pulled it out.
“This… this is impossible.”
She hadn’t placed it there.
Someone else had.
Without wasting another second, she hurried toward Damian’s office.
At the same time…
Marcus connected the security system to the large screen in Damian’s office.
The footage began to play.
8:42 a.m.
9:15 a.m.
Lily entered the archive room.
9:17 a.m.
Kevin looked around carefully before walking to Lily’s desk.
Damian narrowed his eyes.
Marcus paused the video.
Kevin opened Lily’s cabinet.
He removed the blue folder.
Then he walked away with it.
A few minutes later, another camera showed him placing the folder inside the Marketing Department’s cabinet.
Damian’s jaw tightened.
“So it wasn’t an accident.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No, sir.”
Damian’s expression turned cold.
“Find Kevin.”
“Immediately.”
Just then, there was a knock.
“Come in.”
Lily stepped inside, slightly out of breath.
“I found it.”
She held up the blue folder.
Damian looked at the file, then at the paused security footage on the screen.
Lily followed his gaze.
Her eyes landed on Kevin’s face.
“What…”
She whispered.
“…he took it.”
Damian nodded once.
“Yes.”
Lily looked shocked.
“I knew I hadn’t lost it.”
“I know.”
Those two words made her chest tighten with relief.
For the first time since joining Wayne Corporation, someone had believed her.
Before either of them could speak again, Marcus returned with Kevin.
The young employee looked terrified.
“You wanted to see me, sir?”
Damian pressed a button.
The security footage played.
Kevin watched himself stealing the file.
His face turned pale.
“I…
I…”
“You what?” Damian asked quietly.
Kevin lowered his head.
“I’m sorry.”
“Sorry isn’t an explanation.”
Kevin remained silent.
Damian’s voice grew colder.
“Who told you to do it?”
Kevin hesitated.
“No one.”
Damian stepped closer.
“You expect me to believe you risked your career for no reason?”
Kevin’s hands shook.
“I…”
Damian’s piercing stare never left him.
Finally, Kevin broke.
“It wasn’t my idea.”
“Whose was it?”
Kevin closed his eyes.
“Miss Sophia Bennett.”
The room fell silent.
Lily stared at him in disbelief.
Sophia? Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Why would she do that?
Damian looked toward Marcus.
“Bring Miss Bennett to my office.”
“Yes, sir.”
Five minutes later, Sophia entered with her usual confidence.
“You wanted to see me, Mr. Wayne?”
Damian didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he pressed play.
Sophia watched the security footage.
Her smile slowly disappeared.
Kevin lowered his head.
“I told them everything.”
Sophia’s face turned white.
She looked at Damian.
“I can explain.”
“Then explain.”
“I was just…”
She searched for the right words.
“…protecting the company.”
“By framing an innocent employee?”
“It wasn’t supposed to go this far.”
Damian’s voice was icy.
“You abused your position.”
She stepped closer.
“Damian…”
His eyes hardened instantly.
“In this office, you will address me as Mr. Wayne.”
Sophia froze.
“I’ve worked beside you for three years.”
“And today you destroyed that trust.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“I was jealous.”
No one spoke.
“I thought she was replacing me.”
Damian’s expression didn’t change.
“Your jealousy is not this company’s problem.”
He looked at Marcus.
“Collect Miss Bennett’s company ID, access card, and office keys.”
Sophia’s eyes widened.
“You…
you’re firing me?”
“You made that decision when you chose dishonesty.”
She looked desperately at Lily.
“Lily… please…”
Lily felt sympathy, but she couldn’t forget what Sophia had done.
Marcus gently escorted Sophia from the office.
She looked back one last time before the doors closed behind her.
The executive floor watched in stunned silence as the woman who had spent three years at Wayne Corporation left carrying only her handbag.
Damian turned to Lily.
“You were right.”
She looked down.
“Thank you for believing me.”
He shook his head.
“I didn’t.”
She looked up.
“I believed the evidence.”
A small smile appeared on Lily’s face.
“I’ll take that.”
For the first time…
A faint smile touched Damian’s lips.
It was brief.
Almost invisible.
But it was there.
And Lily noticed it.
She had just witnessed something most employees thought impossible.
Damian Wayne had smiled.
Even if only for a second.
And somewhere deep beneath the walls he had built around his heart…
A small crack had begun to form.