I stood frozen, phone still pressed to my ear as tears streamed down my face. Tina’s gentle touch on my shoulder brought me back to reality.
"Kendra, did he hang up?" she asked softly.
I nodded, unable to speak as the tears continued to flow.
Tina's expression hardened. "We can’t just sit here and do nothing. We need to find out how that story got out."
"I don’t know," I whispered, wiping my tears.
"Think, Kendra. Who else has access to your laptop?" Tina pressed.
"No one," I shook my head. "It’s password-protected. Only I have the password."
Tina narrowed her eyes. "Someone must have gotten access. That article was finished too professionally for it to have been hacked randomly. It had to be someone in your office."
I sighed. "You’re right. I need to talk to Thompson."
We walked to my department together, whispers trailing us as I headed straight for Thompson’s office. My colleagues’ eyes followed me, and I nearly collided with Anne and Peter as they exited the office.
"Hey, Kendra, what’s wrong?" Peter asked, his face full of concern.
Anne snickered. "Looks like someone’s in trouble."
I ignored her, pushing past them toward Thompson's door.
Tina was already grilling my colleagues, making threats we both knew she had no way of keeping.
I knocked on Thompson's door.
"Come in."
I took a deep breath before stepping inside.
“Kendra! Just the person I wanted to see. Congratulations on the story—it’s a hit.”
"Who sent you the news, sir?" I asked, keeping my voice steady.
Thompson’s face shifted from excitement to confusion. "Is this a joke?"
His expression grew serious as he saw my swollen eyes. "Miss Ryan, what’s going on?"
"Please, just answer the question," I pressed, uncaring if I sounded rude.
The worst he could do was fire me, but losing my job was nothing compared to losing Antonio. I'd step on all the toes I had to as long as I cleared things up with Antonio. Even if he didn't want to be with me anymore, I couldn't let him believe I betrayed him.
Thompson furrowed his brow. "I received it from your official work email late last night. I assumed you sent it."
"I didn’t." I held his gaze, my voice firm.
He shrugged. "Well, you’ve been working on that story for months, and now it’s finally out. What’s the issue?"
I clenched my fists, struggling to keep my anger in check. "It matters to me. I didn’t want that article published."
"Well, it’s done now." Thompson's tone was dismissive.
I turned and left without another word. Whoever sent that story wasn’t him—but it was one of two people. Peter knew my password, and Anne... she was desperate enough.
Tina followed me closely. "Any luck?"
