Of course. Her arrival, her manipulation, sudden interest in my life—she’s not here to observe. I stare at the code until the screen’s glow begins to burn behind my eyes.
I could confront her and alert Mikhail. Ishouldshut down her access entirely.
But none of those would give me the righteous confirmation I want.
I press the tip of my tongue to the roof of my mouth as another idea strikes me. I feed the compromised channels a breadcrumb. A false report suggesting Harper is investigating discrepancies in internal communications.
If Inessa is connected to Anton, or anyone else, she’ll pass it on.
If she isn’t, no harm done.
But when she stops by my office that afternoon, her behavior shifts with unnerving fluidity. She seems warmer, more attuned to the details of my day.
Her voice is softer, the laugh sultrier than ever. She leans in as if sharing confidences, whispering suggestions meant to sound helpful.
“Some of the staff are uncertain about Harper’s position,” she murmurs. “It may help if responsibilities are more clearly defined.”
I look at her.Aha.
I know exactly why this woman is here, the quiet mission woven into every word of hers.
She is here to separate us, to tear us down from the inside out while Anton laughs.
And she thinks she’s succeeding.
Little does she know that Harper is not my weakness; she’s what drives me. She’s my anchor. You come for her? I won’t bow down like a whining dog.
I’ll tear your throat out with my bare teeth.
The poison Inessa plants spreads with insidious speed. There are more whispered comments and strange looks now than there were when Harper and I got married abruptly. Staff glances at Harper with an uncertainty they never had before.
I know the question hanging on their tongues before they even whisper it to each other:Does she belong here?
Harper notices, of course. She feels shifts in a room the way most people sense temperature changes. She looks at me across the hallway, eyes narrowing in confusion at the people suddenly cautious around her.
It doesn’t take a genius to know that she blames me for it. She doesn’t know it yet, but her intuition is rarely ever wrong, and that I know too well.
She walks to the elevator, shoulders squared against the tension, chin raised out of pure defiance.
Inessa thinks she’s weaving a net around me, but this little spider doesn’t know how badly stuck she’ll be getting in her own trap.
You won’t know what hit you until it does.
Chapter 12 - Harper
Inessa Markova steps into my world the way a cold front rolls over warm water. She carries herself with a softness that feels like velvet hiding a blade’s edge.
Everyone notices her before she speaks; they can’t help it. Her smile is polished, her stride precise, her perfume the kind that lingers even after she’s disappeared around a hallway corner.
The air cools by degrees when she enters a room. She introduces herself with palms exposed, voice dipped in charm.
“I’ve heard so much about you, Harper,” she purrs, as if we’re old friends reunited in some elegant tragedy. “You’re brilliant. A mind like yours keeps empires alive.”
I try not to let my spine stiffen.It was Mrs. Ignatov in front of Damian, and now it’s “Harper”?
Her compliments slide too easily, delivered always when someone else is within earshot, always with the faintest tilt of curiosity behind her eyes, like she’s taking measurements of me and my reactions.
Rivalry bites at the edges of her smile, but its source is a cipher.
