Page 150 of Matteo

My jaw tightens. “But she’s not even in the country.”

“I know.” He pauses again. “That’s why I didn’t want to jump to conclusions. It could be a spoof. A mirror. Someone using her access. She logged in today.”

“I know. We both brought our laptops along, needing to keep an …”

Needing to keep an eye on the systems.

I wipe my hand over my face, wanting to wash away the grime of what I've just understood. “Are you saying Elizabeth is behind all the security issues we’ve been having?”

I think back to the past, when they started. Elizabeth wasn’t even here then.

“I’m saying the activity keeps resolving back to her credentials,” Alex says carefully. “Could someone be spoofing her access? Maybe. Could somebody be mirroring her authentication path? Possibly. But right now, if I had to point the finger at someone, she’s the strongest lead we’ve got.”

“When did this start?” I ask.

“Weeks ago,” he says. “But the pattern’s clearer now.”

Weeks ago. Around the time she came to me and told me it was an inside job. “Have you told anyone else?”

“No,” Alex replies immediately. “I thought you’d want to handle it personally.”

Every muscle in my body tightens and all I want to do is wash my hands and walk away. The ironic thing is that Alex has no idea that we’re here, at Vlad’s wedding, and that Vlad and Elizabeth are good friends. That we’ve all spent the day together.

And yet, it’s too much of a coincidence.

“Send me everything.” I usually check in a few times through the day to make sure everything is running smoothly back at the office.

Turns out everything has gone to shit.

Elizabeth investigating the security breach is the biggest joke of all. I start to wonder if the elevator glitching, and us getting trapped in it, was in some way orchestrated by her.

That's too much of a stretch. I can't believe she'd do something like that. But what if Vlad is involved somehow? What if Elizabeth has been protecting him this whole time?

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

The timing is too convenient. The secrets. The omissions. The lies by omission. Everything keeps circling back to the same people.

I can't wrap my head around it.

That I fell for it.

Elizabeth and I getting together?

I shake my head, unable to comprehend what seems to be a logical conclusion. What would she gain out of causing technical issues at Knight Enterprises? It makes no sense whatsoever. Maybe Vlad has something to gain?

Something in my gut tells me she wouldn't do this.

But my gut has been wrong before.

Elizabeth wouldn’t do this but Vlad might. Maybe he has a hold on her that I don't yet understand. Or maybe I'm refusing to see what's right in front of me because I've fallen for her.

I don't know which is worse. The fact that Elizabeth has been deceiving me, or that someone wants me to believe this about her.

I tell Alex I have to go, and I tell him to be vigilant. Then I sit in the lobby, drinking whiskey at midnight while zooming in on my phone to examine the documents Alex has sent me. I have no desire to go back upstairs just yet.

Elizabeth doesn't come looking for me either. After my third glass, I reluctantly return to our room and I pray that she's asleep.

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