Raphael's POV

The boardroom doors closed with a quiet click. The noise from the main office disappeared. It was just me, the long table, and the big screen on the wall.

I walked to the front. Jacket off. Sleeves rolled up. No time to sit and act fancy.

The screen lit up. Red lines everywhere on the graphs. Timelines squeezed tight. My team was already waiting: Jackson on my right with his tablet, Elena tapping her pen fast, Marcus from legal looking serious with his tight tie.

"Tell me," I said.

Elena spoke first. "The launch date is getting shorter. Blaise Corps just added more time to their patent for data protection. It looks almost the same as our main code. If they win, we lose months in court. Maybe lose customers too."

I leaned on the table. My hands pressed hard on the glass. "How similar?"

"Very close," Marcus said. "We can fight it, but it will take time and money we need for the launch."

Everyone went quiet. Oraion was not just a company to me. It was everything. I grew up with nothing. Foster homes. No parents. No one to trust. I learned to build my own safety. Code was my way out. I made Oraion big because I never wanted anyone to take it from me again.

"What can we do?" I asked.

Jackson answered. "We speed up our test version. Show investors we are ahead. And we watch their public news and filings. If they are rushing something, we can be ready."

I nodded. "Good. Elena, make the code stronger. Marcus, prepare our side of the story. Jackson, keep an eye on their announcements. No tricks. Just stay ahead."

They agreed. The meeting ended. People left.

Jackson stayed behind. "You okay, Rafe? You look like you didn't sleep."

I gave a small smile. "Late night."

He raised one eyebrow. "The good kind?"

"Maybe."

He laughed quietly. "Just don't let it mess up the launch. We need you here."

"I'm here."

He left. The door closed.

I sat alone. My head hurt a little.

My mind kept going back to her.

Liana.

This morning at the coffee shop was different from what I expected. I got there early. Hands sweaty. I ordered her caramel latte because I remembered she said she liked sweet things. When she walked in, grey sweater, hair loose and curly, red lipstick, I forgot how to talk for a second.

She teased me. Her foot touched mine under the table. I felt hot in my face. I'm not usually shy. I talk to big investors and fix hard problems every day. But with her? Yeah. Shy.

She said, "You think you can handle me over three courses?"

I wanted to pull her close over that table right there. Show her how much I could handle. But I didn't. I stayed gentle. I wanted her to feel safe with me.

I took out my phone. Sent the dinner message: "8 p.m. Le Gavroche. Wear whatever makes you feel strong."

Then another: "Can't wait."

I put the phone away. I tried to focus on work again.

The patent file from Blaise was still open. I read it quickly. Something felt strange. The words were rushed. Like someone wrote it fast.

My desk phone rang. "Mr. Blackthorne? Your 10 a.m. with investors is ready."

"Coming."

The meeting went long. Numbers. Plans. Questions. I answered everything calmly and clearly. That's what people expect from me.

But my phone kept buzzing in my pocket.

I ignored it.

It buzzed again.

And again.

When the meeting ended at 11:15, I checked.

Three missed calls. Unknown number.

One voicemail.

I played it in my office with the door closed.

A man's voice. Calm but serious. "Mr. Blackthorne, this is Marcus from legal. We just got a strange email from an outside source. It claims someone inside Oraion is leaking small pieces of our code to a competitor. No proof yet, just a tip. They want us to check our own team. Call me back."

My stomach dropped.

Leaking code?

We had strong security. No one inside would do that.

I called Marcus back.

He answered quickly.

"Rafe. The email came from a fake address. But it had one detail that worried me-a timestamp from last night, 2:47 a.m. Said someone accessed our test server at that time."

I frowned. "We have logs. Did we see anything?"

"Nothing unusual. But the tip said to look closer at external connections. It feels like someone is trying to start trouble for us."

I rubbed my face. "Send me the email. I'll look at it myself."

"Already in your inbox."

I hung up. I opened my laptop.

The email was short. No sender name. Just words:

Someone in Blaise Corps is trying to ruin you. Look at the 2:47 a.m. access. You'll see.*

Attached: a fake-looking screenshot of our server logs.

I stared at it.

The time was real, 2:47 a.m, but the access was from an old test account we shut down months ago. Harmless. Probably someone playing games.

But why send it now?

Why today?

My phone buzzed again.

Text from Liana.

"Can't make dinner. Something came up. Sorry."

No more words.

No explanation.

Just sorry.

I stared at the message.

My chest felt tight.

She sounded different. She sounded distant.

Was she okay?

Was this connected?

I looked at the clock.

11:30.

I had a full day ahead, more meetings, codes to reviews, investor calls.

But all I could think about was her face this morning. The way she smiled when I got shy. The way her fingers brushed mine.

I typed back quickly.

"Is everything okay? If you need anything, I'm here."

Sent.

No answer.

I put the phone down.

I tried to focus.

But the strange email sat open on my screen.

And Liana's text sat unanswered.

Something felt wrong.

Very wrong.

I stood up.

Grabbed my coat.

I needed air.

Or answers.

As I walked to the elevator, my assistant called out.

"Mr. Blackthorne! You have an urgent call on line one. It's from an outside security firm. They say they found unusual activity in our test server last night. They want to speak to you right away."

Liana's POV

The elevator doors slid open with a soft ding that echoed too loud in my head.

I stepped out onto my floor, heading towards Graham's office, the carpet muffling my heels.

The air smelled like stale coffee and printer toner, it was familiar, but today it felt thick, like breathing through a mask. Heads turned as I passed cubicles. Whispers followed, low and buzzing like flies around rot.

I blamed myself for this walk.

If I hadn't said yes to Raphael's coffee this morning. If I hadn't let his shy smile and gentle kiss pull me away from my plan. If I'd stuck to the script from my first life, with my head down, no distractions, no changes, I wouldn't be here now, marching to Graham's office like a lamb heading to the slaughter house.

I cannot afford to be distracted, I keep forgetting things.

I'd known it since the bar night. That first forgotten detail about the leaked files. Then the guard's name. Lucy's eye color during prison visits. Small pieces at first. But they added up. Each time I did something different, skipped drinks with Lucy, built the shadow protocol, a memory from the past life vanished. Poof. Gone like smoke.

But I hadn't stopped. Couldn't stop. Survival meant change. And change meant losing the very truths I needed to win.

Graham's door was cracked open. Voices inside.

Low. Angry.

I paused outside, hand on the knob. My phone buzzed in my pocket, probably Raphael again, I ignored it. Distractions later.

I pushed the door open.

Graham stood behind his desk, arms crossed, pot belly straining his shirt like always. His thin smile didn't reach his eyes. But he wasn't alone.

Lucy sat in the chair across from him. Bleached blonde hair is perfect. Blue eyes-wait, were they blue? I blinked. The color felt wrong now. Faded.

She turned when I entered. Her smile was too sweet. Too fast.

"Liana," Graham said. "Good. We were just talking about you."

I closed the door behind me. Leaned against it casual-like, even though my knees felt weak.

"Really? I'm flattered."

Lucy stood up. "We're worried about you."

We.

Like they were a team.

Graham nodded. "The overnight login from your home IP. 2:47 a.m. Files pulled. Sensitive ones. You know the rules about remote access after hours."

I crossed my arms. "I was asleep at 2:47. Dreaming about spreadsheets, probably."

He didn't laugh. "The logs don't lie."

Logs.

The word hit like a slap. In my first life, logs framed me. Fake ones. Clean. Too clean.

I looked at Lucy. She shifted her weight, eyes flicking to Graham for a second. Just a blink.

Something clicked.

Lucy.

In my first life, I'd trusted her. Let her bring me food, flowers, and questions. I have never confronted her. I stayed quiet. I let the friendship blind me.

But now? I was changing that.

I stepped forward. Voice low. Sarcastic. Flirty in that crazy way that made people nervous.

"Worried about me, Luce? That's sweet. Like how you were worried when you leaked those docs last time?"

Her face went pale. "What?"

Graham stiffened. "Bennett-"

I ignored him. Pushed closer to Lucy. "You. Always close. Always watching. The food. The flowers. The questions. You think I don't see it now?"

She laughed, high, forced. "What the hell are you going on about?"

But her eyes said differently. Fear. Guilt.

I leaned in. Whispered like we were sharing a secret. "I know what you did. What you're doing. And this time, I'm not going quietly."

Change.

The word echoed in my head.

This was a change. Big one. In my first life, I never accused her. Never stood up like this.

Pain hit fast.

My ears started ringing first. It was a high-pitched whine like a kettle boiling over. Then the room blurred, the edges soft, colors bleeding like wet paint. My vision tunneled. Graham's face stretched weird. Lucy's smile twisted.

What's happening?

No. Not now.

I grabbed the desk edge. Knees buckled.

"Liana?" Lucy's voice far away.

Everything spun. Blurry. Ringing louder.

I tried to speak. "You... traitor..."

I hit the floor. Hard.

The last thing I saw was Lucy bending over me. Was she smiling? She doesn't look worried. She looks more satisfied.

And Graham's voice, faint.

"Call the ambulance, she's passing out."

The door opened. I heard footsteps. And then darkness swallowed me whole.

But the ringing stopped.

And the cliff dropped away.

Liana's POV

The hospital room was too bright and too quiet.

White ceiling. White walls. White sheets that smelled like bleach and nothing else. The IV line in my arm dripped slowly and steady, like it was counting down to something bad.

My head throbbed, like someone had packed my skull with wet cotton and kept pressing harder.

I blinked at the ceiling tiles. One had a brown water stain shaped like a sad face.

I tried to sit up. Then the room tilted.

A nurse came in, her steps quick,she had tired eyes, with a clipboard in hand.

"Easy now. You hit your head when you fainted. Concussion. We're keeping you overnight."

I touched the bandage on my forehead. Small. Sticky.

"What time is it?"

"Almost 8 p.m. Your colleagues said you collapsed in the office. Graham McFadden called the ambulance."

Graham.

Lucy.

The meeting.

I closed my eyes and tried to pull it back.

I remembered walking in. Graham behind his desk. Lucy in the chair. Her smile is too sweet.

I remembered opening my mouth.

"You. Always close. Always watching. The food. The flowers. The questions. You think I don't see it now?"

I remembered her face going pale.

Then ringing.

High-pitched. Loud. Like a kettle screaming inside my ears.

The room blurred. Colors bled. Graham's face stretched. Lucy's smile twisted.

Then black.

I opened my eyes again. The monitor beeped slowly and steadily.

I needed to know. What do I do from here?

Right now. I focused on one memory from the first life. The day I got my promotion. Andrew Kane's email. Subject line:

Congratulations – Senior Data Analyst. I waited for the words to appear in my mind.

I pushed harder.

The cake Lucy brought. Chocolate. My name in white icing.

I tried remembering the prison.

The ceiling stains.

One thousand, two hundred and twenty-three.

The number came... then slipped away like water through fingers.

Panic rose fast.

I tried the poison.

The taste in my mouth. Metallic. Oily.

I remembered the burn.

But the guard who brought the tray?

His face.

Blank.

His name.

Nothing.

His voice when he slid the tray through the slot.

Gone.

My breath came short. Fast. It wasn't random.

It was every single change.

Wait!

Every time I did something different from the first life, skipped drinks with Lucy, built hidden scripts, went for coffee with Raphael, accused her today, a piece of the past life vanished.

The memories I needed to survive.

The clues.The faces.The truth. They were being erased. One decision at a time. I stared at the IV drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

How many were left?

How many changes could I afford before I forgot why I came back?

Before I forgot the poison. Before I forgot the betrayal. Before I forgot... me?

A sob caught in my throat.

I swallowed it down.

I picked up my phone and cancelled the dinner plans I had with Raphael. It's definitely not the time for that.

Suddenly, the door opened quietly, tentative movements moving towards me.

I turned my head.

Lucy.

She looked worried.

Eyes wide. Blonde hair is a little messy. Hands twisting together like she didn't know what to do with them.

"Liana..."

She stepped closer. Stopped at the foot of the bed.

"Are you ok? I brought your stuffs. Graham told everyone you fainted. I... I was so scared."

Her voice cracked. She looked like she might cry.

I stared at her.

The same Lucy who brought me coffee. Who laughed with me in the break room. Who visited me in prison.

The same Lucy who smiled when I fell.I tried to speak.

My throat felt dry.

"You came."

"Of course I came." She moved to the side of the bed. Her hand hovered over mine, hers slightly shaking, then settled lightly. "You're my best friend. I couldn't just stay away."

Best friend.

The words hurt.

Because I remembered something else.

In the first life, she never looked this worried.

She looked satisfied.

I pulled my hand away slowly.

She flinched like I'd slapped her.

"Liana... What's wrong? Talk to me."

I looked at her.

Really looked.The way her eyes flicked to the door.The way her fingers kept twisting her ring.

The way she kept glancing at the monitor like she was waiting for something.

And suddenly it hit me, harder than the fall.

I'd accused her today.

In the first life, Nothing like that happened.

I stayed quiet. Trusted her. Let the friendship blind me.

This time I spoke

And the ringing started.

I stared at her.

"You're worried," I said. Voice flat. "That's nice."

She swallowed. "Of course I'm worried. You collapsed right in front of me."

I let out a short bitter laughter.

"Yeah. Right in front of you."

Her face changed.

Just for a second.

The worry cracked.

Something colder showed underneath.

Then it was gone.

She reached for my hand again.

"Let me help you. Whatever's going on, we can fix it."

I pulled back. "No."

She froze. I leaned forward despite the pain.

"I remember now. Not everything. But enough."

Her eyes widened.

"Liana-"

The monitor beeped faster.

My vision blurred again-not from the concussion.

From the weight of it all.

Every decision I changed took something.

And this one, accusing her, took the last piece I needed.

The memory of how she smiled when she visited me in prison. It was getting blurry

I stared at her.

"You're not worried about me," I whispered.

Her face went white.

The door opened behind her. And heavy footsteps followed. What now?

A woman in a suit walked in. She looked at Lucy, then at me.

"Ms. Bennett. I'd need to speak with you. Alone."