Dropping it is not an option.
Adrian's voice, usually a calm baritone, held an edge of steel. His demand hung heavy in the air, a sudden, jarring chord in the symphony of her triumph. His eyes, usually sharp and clear, were clouded, almost opaque, with an unsettling, unreadable emotion.
Callie felt the air leave her lungs in a silent gasp. She clutched the printouts of Elias Vance's damning corporate espionage tighter.
“Drop it, Callie,” he repeated, his gaze unwavering. “Immediately.”
Disbelief warred with a simmering anger. “Adrian, I have the evidence,” she finally managed, her voice a strained whisper. “Vance sold Project Chimera to OmniCorp. He betrayed us five years ago. This isn’t a suspicion, it’s a fact.”
He paced to the window, his back to her, shoulders rigid. “I understand what you found.”
“Understand?” Callie scoffed, a bitter laugh escaping her lips. “You sound like you’re minimizing a catastrophic breach. This isn’t a minor infraction. This is why Thorne Industries almost crumbled!”
Turning, Adrian’s expression was a mask. His jaw was clenched, a muscle twitching near his temple. “I said drop it. It’s handled.”
“Handled?” She watched him, confusion twisting into sharp suspicion. “How can it be handled when the man responsible is walking free and you’re ordering me to ignore definitive proof?”
Adrian ran a hand through his perfectly coiffed hair, a rare sign of his agitation. “There are... complexities. Other factors at play.”
“Complexities?” Callie pressed, stepping closer. “What complexities outweigh corporate sabotage and a multi-million-dollar loss?”
His eyes met hers, and for a fleeting moment, she saw something akin to pain. “Vance… he was a friend. From a long time ago.”
Her jaw went slack. “A friend? That’s your explanation? Friendship protects a traitor?”
“It’s more than that.” Adrian turned away again, staring out at the city skyline, a distant, unapproachable figure. “He was young. Made a mistake. A big one, yes. But I handled it. Personally.”
“Handled it how? By letting him walk free to potentially do it again? By letting Thorne Industries suffer for years?” Her voice rose with each question, indignation burning through her.
He shook his head, a gesture of dismissal. “It’s in the past. It stays in the past. We move forward.”
“No, Adrian,” Callie retorted, her voice gaining strength. “We don’t ‘move forward’ by burying the truth. We learn from it. We hold people accountable.”
His stance hardened, his gaze chilling her. “This is a direct order, Callie. Pursue this, and you’ll find yourself out of a job.”
Fear, cold and sharp, pierced through her bravado. Adrian had never threatened her before. This wasn’t about company policy. This was personal.
His shield around Vance wasn't about loyalty to a former employee who made a