They had barely uncovered another piece of the puzzle before someone had made another move.Norman broke the silence.”How many times has this happened?” Dorian looked at him.
“Too many.” “And you still haven’t found who’s doing it?” The question carried no accusation, but Dorian heard the concern beneath it.”No.” Norman exhaled slowly.
“Dorian, you can’t keep chasing someone you can’t see.” Brielle’s expression tightened.
“We’re not chasing blindly.” Norman looked at her.
“Then what do you call this?” “We’re trying to understand what we’re dealing with.” “And while you’re trying to understand it, someone is moving through your company’s systems.” His words made the atmosphere heavier.Dorian’s gaze hardened.
“I know.” Norman fell silent.He had known Dorian long enough to recognize that expression.
Dorian had built Wolfe Enterprises himself over the past five years, turning it from an ambitious idea into a company that had become far more successful than many people expected.
He had fought for every stage of its growth, and now someone was quietly attacking the very foundation he had spent years building.
“I know how much this company means to you,” Norman said more quietly.
“That’s why I’m worried.” Dorian looked away for a moment.
“I’ll handle it.” “I know you will.
But handling something doesn’t mean you have to pretend it isn’t getting worse.” Brielle glanced between them.There was a strange weight behind Norman’s words.
He wasn’t merely concerned about a business problem.
He was worried about what would happen to Dorian if Wolfe Enterprises collapsed.Brielle looked at the folder in her hands.”We’re not going to let it collapse.” Norman’s eyes moved to her.”You sound very certain.” “I’m not.” Her honesty caught him off guard.Brielle continued, “I’m just not willing to assume we’ve lost when we haven’t finished looking.” Norman studied her for a moment.”I’ll admit something,” he said.
“When I first heard that Dorian had brought you into this, I wasn’t sure what to think.” Brielle raised an eyebrow.”Why?” “Because you’re new here.
You barely know the company, the employees or the way things operate.” “I don’t.” “But somehow you’ve noticed things that were sitting in front of people who should have noticed them first.” Brielle gave a small shrug.
“I just pay attention.” Dorian glanced at her.He couldn’t help the faint sense of admiration that surfaced.She never seemed interested in proving herself.
She simply noticed things and followed them until they made sense.And somehow, that had become difficult for him not to notice too.He quickly looked away.
Brielle was still practically a stranger.
He had saved her only days ago, and yet she had somehow become involved in a crisis that had nothing to do with her before she entered his life.He didn’t understand why he had begun paying so much attention to her.He certainly wasn’t going to question it now.
“There is something we need to figure out,” Brielle said.
She placed the mysterious message on the car.You are looking in the wrong place.
Norman stared at it.”What do you think it means?” “That depends on who sent it.” Dorian looked at the message.”You think they’re trying to mislead us?” “Possibly.” Norman frowned.
“Then why leave a message at all?” Brielle considered that.”Because they want us to think we’re being misled.” Dorian looked at her.
She continued, “If someone really wanted us to stop investigating something, they wouldn’t necessarily tell us directly.
They might make us doubt the trail instead.” Norman folded his arms.”So you’re saying this could be a trap.” “Or a warning.” “From the same person who’s interfering with the company?” “I don’t know.” Brielle hated saying those words.She had become accustomed to finding patterns, but this investigation seemed determined to stay one step ahead of her.Dorian looked down at the folder.”Then we go back to the beginning.” Brielle turned toward him.”The beginning?” “The first connection between Wolfe Enterprises and that old company.” Norman nodded slowly.
“If that connection exists, the original agreement should still be somewhere.” “Exactly,” Dorian said.
Brielle flipped through the documents again.”But where?” Dorian thought for a moment.”Legal archives.” Brielle shook her head.”We can’t.” “Why?” “Because if someone inside the company is watching our movements, they’ll know the moment we request those records.” Dorian’s expression darkened.She was right.Again.Before either of them could speak, Dorian’s phone vibrated.
He checked it.
His expression immediately changed.
“What is it?” Brielle asked.
He turned the screen toward her.
A message had appeared.
The records you are looking for were removed this morning.
Brielle’s eyes widened slightly.
Norman stared at the screen.
“How would anyone know which records you’re looking for?” Dorian didn’t answer.
Brielle slowly took a step back.
“They knew.” “Or they guessed,” Norman said.
Brielle shook her head.
“No.
We’ve never said anything about the original records.” Dorian’s jaw tightened.
Which meant someone was watching more closely than they had realized.
The frustration that had been building inside Brielle finally surfaced.
“We’re always late.” Dorian looked at her.
“We find something, and it’s gone.
We follow a lead, and someone already knows.
We try to protect the evidence, and somehow they still get to it.” She stared at the folder.
“What if we can’t stop them?” The question was quieter than the others.
Dorian looked at her for a moment.
“You can.” Brielle turned toward him.
He corrected himself almost immediately.
“We can.” Something in his voice made her pause.
He wasn’t saying it because he had a solution.
He was saying it because he refused to accept another possibility.
Brielle looked away.
“I don’t want to be the reason you lose everything.” Dorian’s expression softened.
“You aren’t.” “You don’t know that.” “I do.” His answer came without hesitation.
Brielle stared at him for a moment, then looked down.
Norman quietly watched the exchange but said nothing.
Dorian himself seemed unaware of how quickly he had responded.
He only knew that the thought of Brielle blaming herself for what was happening bothered him.
She hadn’t created this problem.
She had simply walked into it.
And somehow, he had begun to feel responsible for making sure she walked out of it safely.
“We need to go,” Norman said eventually.
“Standing here isn’t going to give us the answers.” They gathered the documents and began moving toward the car.
Brielle stopped before getting inside.
“Dorian.” He turned.
She held up the mysterious message.
“If they wanted us to believe we’re looking in the wrong place…” She looked at the folder.
“…then maybe they’re afraid we’re actually looking in the right place.” Dorian’s eyes narrowed.
Norman stared at them.
For the first time that evening, the three of them understood the possibility.
The message might not have been telling them to abandon the old company.
It might have been the first sign that they had finally gotten close enough to frighten someone.
And if that was true, then the person behind the scheme was no longer simply watching them.They were beginning to react.