I couldn’t take it anymore.
The silence.
The confusion.
The endless questions running through my head.
Everything that had happened in the last few minutes felt unreal.
I was sitting in a car with two of my bosses, a man who was unconscious beside me, and no explanation about what was happening.
My breathing became uneven.
“What the hell is going on?” My voice came out sharper than I intended.
Both Julian and Damian looked at me.
“Who is this guy?” I pointed toward the unconscious man.
“Where are we going?” My questions came faster.
“And why did you kidnap him?” The moment the words left my mouth, I realized how serious the situation sounded.
But at that moment, I didn’t care.
I needed answers.
I needed to know what I had just been dragged into.
My chest felt tight.
My breathing became faster.
I hated feeling this helpless.
Suddenly, Julian’s expression changed.
The usual teasing smile disappeared.
“Meave.” His voice was softer this time.
“Calm down.” Calm down?
Did he really think I could just calm down?
Before I could argue, he reached toward the side compartment and handed me a bottle of water.
“Drink this.” I stared at the bottle in his hand.
Then at him.
“Do you seriously think water is going to fix this?” My voice sounded frustrated, but underneath it was fear.
Finally, Julian seemed to realize that his attempt at calming me down with a bottle of water wasn’t going to work.
He sighed softly and handed it to me anyway.
“This guy is Eugene.” The moment that name left his mouth…
Everything inside me went still.
Eugene.
I knew that name.
My mind immediately went back to the meeting.
Julian sitting confidently in his chair.
The way he had explained his investigation.
Eugene Madlock.
The man connected to the people responsible for the leaked information.
The person Julian said he was going to meet on Saturday.
And today…
Was Saturday.
My eyes moved toward the unconscious man beside me.
This was him.
This was the person we had been searching for.
He leaned back against the seat.
“Look, I didn’t intend to kidnap him.” I raised my eyebrows slightly.
That was definitely not how it looked.
“I just wanted to ask him some questions peacefully.” Julian glanced at Damian before continuing.
“But as soon as he saw me, he panicked and started running.” “Because obviously he was hiding from us.” Damian interrupted from the driver’s seat, his voice calm but firm.
I looked toward him.
Unlike Julian, Damian didn’t seem surprised by anything happening.
He looked like this was just another situation he had handled before.
Julian nodded.
“Exactly.” He looked back at me.
“He wasn’t expecting me to find him.
The moment he recognized me, he ran.” He shrugged slightly.
“And then, to our luck, he collided with you.” My eyes widened.
“Luck?” I repeated the word.
Julian gave a small smile.
“Yes, technically.” I stared at him.
Only Julian could call a situation where someone was knocked unconscious and I was dragged into a secret investigation luck.
“But you hit him.” The moment I said it, Julian’s expression became slightly awkward.
“I didn’t exactly plan that.” Damian gave him a look through the rearview mirror.
“You punched him.” Julian sighed.
“Okay, when you say it like that, it sounds worse.” “You two do this often?” The question escaped before I could stop myself.
Neither answered immediately.
And that silence itself was an answer.
My grip tightened around the water bottle.
there was still so much I didn’t understand.
I didn’t even realize when the car stopped.
My mind was still trapped in everything that had happened.
By the time I finally looked outside the window, we were already standing in front of a large house.
For a moment, I just stared.
It wasn’t just a house.
It was a massive, elegant property with tall gates, perfectly maintained gardens, and warm lights glowing from inside.
I watched as Damian and Julian got out of the car.
together, they carefully carried Eugene between them and walked toward the entrance.
I remained seated.
I don’t know why.
Maybe because my mind needed a few more seconds to process everything.
Maybe because stepping outside meant accepting that this strange night was actually happening.
After a few minutes, I finally opened the car door and stepped out.
“Where are we?” I didn’t ask specifically to either of them.
I wasn’t even sure who I wanted the answer from.
But as usual, Julian replied.
“My house.” I looked at him.
His house.
So this was where Julian lived.
But why were we here?
What was going to happen to Eugene?
How much did they already know?
Questions kept forming in my mind.
But before I could ask even one of them, Julian and Damian reached the front door.
They pressed the doorbell.
I followed behind slowly.
And then…
The door opened.
My eyes widened.
Because standing there was another familiar face.
Adrian.
For a second, none of us moved.
His eyes immediately fell on Julian and Damian.
Then…
They shifted toward me.
The surprise on his face was impossible to miss.
“Meave?” My name left his lips quietly.
Julian and Damian didn’t wait for our confusion to settle.
They immediately carried Eugene inside.
Adrian stepped aside to let them pass, but his eyes remained on me.
There were questions in them.
A lot of them.
And honestly…
I had just as many.
I watched as Damian and Julian carried Eugene further inside.
They placed him on the sofa with a heavy thud.
Both of them immediately collapsed onto the nearby seats, looking exhausted after everything that had happened.
For a moment, I just stood there.
Taking everything in.
At this point…
I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Alexander appeared from somewhere too.
And as if my thoughts had summoned him— Footsteps came from the staircase.
I looked up.
My eyes widened slightly.
Alexander was walking down the stairs, a tablet held in his hand.
I froze.
So did he.
For a few seconds, we both just stared at each other.
His expression barely changed, but the slight pause in his steps was enough for me to know that he was surprised too.
Of course.
They had planned this.
All of them.
The realization slowly settled in.
This wasn’t just Julian and Damian chasing Eugene.
This was something the entire ESSPU team was involved in.
Alexander continued walking down the stairs, returning to his usual composed expression.
But I couldn’t stop thinking.
How many things happened behind the scenes that I didn’t know about?
Before I could say anything, Adrian was the first one to speak.
“Why did you bring Meave here?” His voice wasn’t angry.
More like concerned.
His eyes moved between Julian and Damian.
“We didn’t bring her.” Damian answered calmly.
“We met her coincidentally.” I looked at Damian.
That was technically true.
But it still felt unreal.
Julian leaned back against the sofa, his exhaustion disappearing slightly as he looked toward me.
“Well, if it wasn’t for Meave, we wouldn’t have been able to catch Eugene.” He gave me a small wink.
“She played a big role.” I blinked.
Me?
A big role?
I wasn’t sure whether to feel proud or worried.
Because all I had done was step into a dark alley at the wrong time.
Adrian looked at me.
Then at Julian.
“You involved her in this?” Julian immediately raised his hands defensively.
“Not intentionally.” “That’s not the point.” Adrian’s expression was more serious now.
And strangely…
It made me realize something.
They weren’t just surprised because I was here.
They were worried because I was here.
Damian sighed.
“Things happened quickly.” Alexander finally reached the bottom of the stairs and looked at everyone.
Then his eyes moved toward Eugene lying unconscious on the sofa.
His expression turned serious.
“We can discuss this later.” His gaze shifted briefly toward me.
A pause.
Then he spoke.
“First, we deal with Eugene.” I nodded slowly.
Damian walked toward the kitchen counter without saying a word.
For a moment, I wondered what he was doing.
Then I saw the glass of water in his hand.
Before I could react, he walked back toward Eugene and poured the entire glass over his face.
The sudden shock immediately woke him up.
Eugene gasped, coughing as he sat up, his hands moving toward his face as he tried to recover from the water.
For a few seconds, he looked completely disoriented.
Then his eyes slowly moved around the room.
One face.
Then another.
And another.
The color drained from his face the moment he realized where he was.
And who was standing in front of him.
He had understood.
He had been caught.
Alexander stepped forward.
The calm expression he usually wore at the office was nowhere to be seen.
There was something colder.
Something much more intimidating.
“Looks like I don’t need to explain why you are here.” His voice was quiet.
But somehow, that made it more frightening.
“So you better start speaking.” Eugene immediately became restless.
“No…
no, I swear.” His words came out hurried.
“I was only asked to deliver the information.” He looked between all of us desperately.
“I didn’t do anything else.” No one responded.
The silence seemed to make him panic even more.
“They took everything from me.” His voice cracked.
“My job…
my house…
my money…” He suddenly lowered his head.
“I have nothing left.” Alexander didn’t move.
His expression remained unreadable.
“Who?” Just one word.
But it carried enough weight to make Eugene look up.
“Who asked you to deliver the information?” “They never showed their face.” Eugene’s voice was shaky as he continued.
“They always communicated through letters.” Everyone remained silent.
Even Julian, who usually couldn’t stay quiet for more than a few seconds, didn’t interrupt him.
“At first…” Eugene swallowed.
“They sent money along with the letters.” His eyes lowered.
“I thought it was a deal.
I thought they needed someone inside the company, and I was just helping them.” A bitter laugh escaped him.
“I was stupid.” No one said anything.
“But after some time…” His hands tightened.
“They stopped treating me like a partner.” His voice became filled with anger.
“They threw me out of the company when they realized I had become a threat.” I frowned.
A threat?
What did he mean?
“They even applied my resignation without my permission.” His voice cracked.
“They stole everything, My savings, My house, My entire life.” The room became heavier with every word.
“I wanted revenge.” Eugene looked up.
“That was the only thing keeping me going.” He took a deep breath.
“So when my ex-girlfriend contacted me…” His expression changed.
“For the first time, I thought maybe I could finally find some clues.” His eyes moved toward Julian.
“But then I realized…” A bitter smile appeared on his face.
“The moment I saw Julian instead of my ex-girlfriend, I knew, I had been tricked.”