Henri arrived last, impeccable as always in his East Coast money suit. He took his seat across from me without making eye contact.
“Let’s begin,” Orion said. “Ares?”
Ares pulled up a presentation on the wall screen. Security camera feeds, technical diagrams, and lines of code I didn’t understand.
“The security breach the day of the fire was more extensive than we initially thought.” His voice was clinical, detached. Nothing like the man who’d growled filthy promises in my earhours ago. “The camera feeds from the executive floor have been split and duplicated. Someone’s been sending footage to an external server.”
My stomach dropped.
“For how long?” Orion asked.
“At least three weeks. Possibly longer.” Ares clicked to another screen showing network traffic. “The server traces to a shell company with offshore connections. Professional operation, not amateur hour.”
“What footage?” Leo asked carefully.
“Everything. Executive suites. Private elevator. Restricted access areas.” Ares met each of our eyes in turn. “They’ve been watching all of us.”
The implications hit me like ice water. Every private moment?
Henri hadn’t said a word. I watched him tracking the presentation, his face smooth and unreadable. He finally spoke. “What about financial implications? Insurance liability if this gets out?”
Everyone turned toward him.
“That’s your concern?” Leo asked. “Not who’s behind this, or why?”
“I’m the CFO. Financial implications are literally my job.” Henri’s voice was cool. “We need to consider exposure if clients learn their stays were surveilled.”
“I don’t think that’s our biggest problem,” Orion said dismissively. “Ares, what else?”
Ares clicked through more screens. “The sophistication level suggests this isn’t corporate espionage. It’s comprehensive intelligence gathering. Someone wants to know everything about our…operations.”
Henri’s expression flickered. Just for a second. Something that might have been disgust or calculation before smoothingback to neutral. “And you’ve reviewed all footage?” he asked. “Including private areas?”
“We’re in the process,” Ares said carefully.
My stomach twisted. The private elevator where Orion had held my hand. The hallway where Ares had kissed me against the wall last night. The rooftop with Leo. The jet was private. But what about?—
Henri glanced at Orion. “We’ll need to brief the board. Can you prepare a summary of potential financial and legal exposure?”
“Of course.”
Henri stood. “If there’s nothing else, I have quarterly reports to review.”
He left without looking at any of us.
The door clicked shut.
Silence stretched for five seconds.
“Did Henri seem weird to anyone else?” Leo asked. “He barely reacted to learning our entire security system is compromised.”
Orion shook his head. “He asked about insurance. Not about who or why or how to stop them.”
Ares pulled up something on his tablet. “Henri’s been making financial decisions lately that don’t align with our strategic goals. Small things. Vendor changes. Budget reallocations. Nothing obvious, but?—”
“But he’s the CFO,” Leo finished. “He has access to everything.”
“Maybe he shouldn’t,” Ares said. “Something is off with him. We don’t need another financial surprise like what happened six months ago.”
