The Virelle Lounge.
Inside the VIP room, Sienna sat comfortably on the velvet couch, one leg crossed over the other, a glass of sparkling drink resting loosely in her hand.
Across from her, Mia leaned back with a relieved sigh. At the sa ti, Ava calmly picked at a plate of calamari with a relaxed face, as if the chaos from earlier today had never happened.
And then there was Riley, sitting like a king in the middle of it all, looking far too relaxed for soone who had just saved two careers.
Sienna narrowed her eyes at him.
"Really, Riley?" Sienna said, her tone laced with disbelief and irritation. "Are you trying to torture with your secrecy? Tell , tell us what evidence you gave the HR Manager?"
"Absolutely, I will tell... But not now," Riley replied without hesitation, lifting his glass with a grin that clearly showed he had no sha.
Mia was speechless. She sighed deeply before saying, "Mr. Davis, please have rcy on us. If you don’t start talking, we might lose our money in the ergency room from stress."
Ava didn’t even bother to look up from her plate. "Riley," she said calmly, chewing, "speak now, or you will be disbanded from our gang."
Riley nearly choked on his drink.
"Gang?" he repeated, coughing slightly as he set the glass down. "Since when are we a gang? And why do I feel like I’m the only one not inford about this promotion?"
"You’re not promoted," Sienna replied dryly. "You’re on probation."
That earned a soft laugh from Mia, while Ava nodded as if it made perfect sense.
Riley placed a hand over his chest as though deeply wounded. "I risked my life, my job, and possibly my handso face, and this is how I’m treated?"
"Yes," all three won answered at once.
For a brief mont, silence filled the room before Riley let out a defeated sigh and leaned back against the couch.
"Fine, fine... I’ll talk," he muttered, though his expression still carried a hint of mischief. "But don’t expect sothing too dramatic. I’m not a movie hero."
"Well, you already act like one," Sienna shot back.
Riley ignored her and began, "After we found out about the incident, I had a bad feeling. Sothing didn’t sit right. So..." He paused, scratching the back of his head casually. "I installed a small CCTV cara near Mia’s desk."
That sentence alone was enough to make all three won freeze.
"You did what?" Mia’s voice rose in shock, her eyes widening as if she had just discovered he was secretly a spy.
Riley raised both hands in defense. "Relax! It’s not illegal if it’s for justice... probably."
"That doesn’t sound convincing," Ava muttered.
"But it worked," Riley continued quickly. "Well... partially. I did catch Anna placing a docunt on Mia’s desk."
Sienna leaned forward imdiately, her curiosity spiking. "Then that’s it! That’s the evidence, right?"
Riley shook his head, his expression turning slightly serious.
"Unfortunately, no. That’s the problem. The footage wasn’t clear enough. I could see her placing sothing, but I couldn’t prove what docunt it was."
The excitent in the room dimd slightly.
"So... that wasn’t what you showed the HR Manager?" Sienna asked, her brows knitting together.
Riley didn’t answer right away. Instead, he stared at his glass for a mont, as if replaying sothing in his mind.
"Well..." he finally said slowly, "soone sent sothing."
That imdiately caught their attention again.
"Soone?" Ava repeated, now fully interested.
Riley nodded.
"I have no idea who. Completely anonymous. This anonymous person sent an email. I tried to trace the sender, but it’s a dead end, as if the email ca out of nowhere. No na, no trace, nothing. Just an email with several attachnts of a complete set of evidence."
Mia gasped softly, her hand flying to her mouth. "Complete evidence? Like... everything?"
"Everything," Riley confird. "Email logs, original files, tistamps... even proof that the docunts were tampered with. And a few CCTV clips when Anna gives you the real docunt. And when soone uses your computer to erase the email..."
The room fell silent.
Sienna’s fingers tightened slightly around her glass. Her mind began to race, connecting pieces that didn’t quite fit together.
"How could that person know your email? And how could they access our CCTV footage?!" she asked slowly.
"Yes," Riley replied. "But I tried to trace it. Nothing. It’s like it ca from nowhere. The only thing written in the ssage was..." He paused, then smirked faintly. "’Good luck.’"
A strange silence settled over the room again.
Mia looked stunned.
Ava frowned slightly, deep in thought.
And Sienna...
Sienna felt sothing else entirely. A quiet, lingering suspicion that brushed against her thoughts but refused to fully form. ’Who would help us like that? Why?’
Riley suddenly clapped his hands together, breaking the heavy mood.
"Alright, girls! Enough thinking. Whoever that mysterious hero is, we should thank them by enjoying life properly."
He raised his glass high. "Tonight, we celebrate survival! Food, drinks, and zero stress. And—" he added proudly, "I’ll cover the bill."
No one moved.
Not a single glass was raised.
Riley frowned, confused, then looked around. "Wow, tough crowd." He shrugged and started cutting into his T-bone steak instead. "Fine. I’ll celebrate alone. More food for ."
Ava finally let out a small chuckle and leaned back. "You don’t have to pay, Riley. Let handle it tonight."
Riley imdiately shook his head. "No way, Ava. I picked this place. The bill will be terrifying. I refuse to let you regret your life choices."
Ava raised an eyebrow, amused. "Do you think I’m poorer than you?"
Riley froze for a second, then sighed. "No. Unfortunately, you are the richest among us. But still...not tonight. Save it for next ti."
Ava stared at him for a mont before finally nodding. "Fine. But next ti, I’m not asking."
"Deal," Riley replied, satisfied.
While they continued their playful argunt, Sienna quietly leaned back against the couch. The noise around her faded slightly as she reached for her phone, almost absentmindedly.
The screen lit up, and a new ssage appeared there.
Her breath caught the mont she read the na.
Her heart began to beat faster, louder, as if trying to draw all her attention to those simple words.
"Hi, long ti no talk to you. How’s your day?" From: Zach
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