A cold knot tightened in Ares’s gut. The decrypted log pulsed on the screen, a glaring accusation. 'Phoenix.' An insider, operating within his most trusted circle, feeding intel to the very forces trying to dismantle his empire. Elara’s breath hitched beside him. Her gaze remained fixed on the codename, a silent understanding passing between them. Her past, her framing, it all made a horrifying kind of sense now. She was a pawn, a convenient scapegoat in a much larger game. “We need a trap,” Elara stated, her voice a low murmur, barely audible above the hum of the servers. Her eyes, usually so guarded, held a fierce resolve. Slowly, Ares nodded. A direct confrontation was impossible. The mole, Phoenix, was too deeply embedded, too cautious. Any sudden move would send them underground, making them even harder to find. “Misinformation,” Ares decided. His jaw tightened. “A fabricated plan, leaked to a select few. We watch who bites, who reacts, who tries to confirm.” Carefully, they began to outline the parameters. The bait had to be enticing, something significant enough to warrant immediate attention from an enemy, but also plausible within Ares’s ongoing operations. “A new acquisition,” Elara suggested. “Something high-stakes, but not yet public. A rival company, perhaps, that would disrupt their current schemes.” Ares considered this. It was perfect. His company was constantly in motion, mergers and acquisitions a regular occurrence. A clandestine takeover wouldn't raise immediate alarms as a red herring. They settled on a fictitious target: 'Horizon Dynamics,' a minor player in sustainable energy with a supposed groundbreaking, unreleased patent. The false narrative would claim Ares was initiating a hostile takeover, planning to relocate Horizon’s critical R&D data to a new, supposedly ‘untraceable’ server farm in the desolate Veridian Sector. “The Veridian Sector,” Ares mused, picturing the remote, underdeveloped region. “No one would question the need for secrecy there.” Elara pulled up a blank document, ready to log their observations. “Who are your primary targets?” she asked, her pen hovering. Ares listed them: Rhys, his head of security, unwavering for years. Marcus Thorne, his meticulous CFO. Dr. Lena Petrova, the brilliant head of R&D. And Sofia Ramirez, his sharp chief legal counsel. “These are the people with access,” Ares stated, a cold certainty in his tone. “The ones who touch sensitive projects. The ones who *should* know better.” His strategy involved individual, seemingly casual conversations. He wouldn’t announce the plan in a formal meeting. Instead, he would drop the 'Horizon Dynamics' acquisition as a confidential aside, a burden shared only with his closest advisors. First up was Marcus Thorne. Ares called him into his office under the pretense of reviewing the quarterly budget. After a brief discussion of numbers, Ares leaned back, a manufactured sigh escaping his lips. “Marcus,” he began, lowering his voice slightly. “I need your input on something… highly sensitive. We’re moving on Horizon Dynamics. Aggressive, hostile. I need you to quietly prepare for an accelerated asset transfer. We’ll be relocating their data servers to a new facility in the Veridian Sector within the next two weeks.” Marcus, ever the professional, furrowed his brow. He asked detailed questions about projected costs, potential legal challenges, and the timeline. His concerns were practical, his focus entirely on the financial implications. No red flags. Next, Dr. Lena Petrova. Ares met her in the secure R&D lab, discussing a new AI prototype. He casually steered the conversation. “Lena, on another note,” he said, feigning a moment of indecision. “We’re making a play for Horizon Dynamics. Their patent could be a game-changer for us. I’ll need your team on standby to integrate their data, especially what’s coming from their Veridian Sector facility. It’s a rush job.” Lena’s analytical mind immediately started dissecting the logistical nightmare. She pointed out potential integration issues, data migration hurdles, and bandwidth requirements. Her worries were purely technical. Her focus was on the engineering challenge, not the source or secrecy of the information. Another clear. Sofia Ramirez followed. Her reaction was predictable. Legal warnings, potential regulatory pitfalls, the need for airtight contracts. Her questions revolved around the legality and ethics of a hostile takeover. She was cautious, thorough, and entirely focused on protecting Ares’s interests within the letter of the law. Three down. No anomalies. A flicker of doubt, a whisper that perhaps Phoenix wasn’t among his inner circle, tried to surface. Ares crushed it instantly. Phoenix *was* there. The log proved it. Finally, Rhys. Ares summoned his head of security to his office. Rhys entered, his posture rigid, his expression unreadable as always. He was a rock, an unyielding pillar of loyalty for years. Ares gestured to the chair opposite his desk. “Rhys, a moment of your time. I’m initiating a new acquisition. Horizon Dynamics. It’s an aggressive, covert move. We’ll be securing their assets, particularly their data, and transferring it to a highly secure, remote server farm in the Veridian Sector.” Ares watched him closely, every micro-expression. Rhys remained impassive for a beat, processing the information. His eyes, sharp and assessing, met Ares’s. “Horizon Dynamics, sir,” Rhys repeated, a subtle shift in his tone. “That’s an aggressive move, indeed. We’ll need to re-evaluate our security protocols for the transfer of data from the *Orion Group* servers. Their architecture is notoriously complex, especially given the current vulnerabilities we identified last month.” Ares felt a cold jolt. His mind reeled. *Orion Group*. That was the *real*, top-secret acquisition Ares had been meticulously planning for months, a project known only to him and a handful of *unrelated* external consultants. Rhys had just linked the fake 'Horizon Dynamics' plan, which should have been entirely new information, to the *actual* company Ares was targeting, even mentioning specific, critical details about its server vulnerabilities. Ares maintained his poker face, nodding slowly. “Indeed, Rhys. Orion Group’s architecture is… challenging. Good catch. Ensure those protocols are top-tier.” Rhys simply nodded, his face betraying nothing, and moved on to discuss security logistics for the *fake* Horizon Dynamics transfer, now seemingly factoring in the complexities of the *real* Orion Group. The conversation continued, but for Ares, the world had tilted. The inconsistency was glaring. Rhys shouldn't have known about Orion Group in this context. He definitely shouldn't have conflated it with Horizon Dynamics. Ares dismissed Rhys shortly after. He watched his security chief walk out, a man he had trusted implicitly for years. The door clicked shut, leaving Ares alone in the silent office. Phoenix had a name. And it was Rhys.

Testing the Loyalty