Chapter 3

Emboldened by Julian's backing, Chloe’s smug grin became uncontainable.

She clicked to the third slide.

This one was a screenshot of the company's internal server logs.

It showed that over the past year, my administrative credentials had been used to log into the executive directory forty-seven times.

And not to look up standard employee files, but to access high-level trade secrets:

The original capitalization tables and founder equity agreements.

The confidential ratchet and valuation clauses Julian signed with our angel investors.

And the registration paperwork for an undisclosed offshore shell company.

Documents that had zero connection to human resources.

"Serena, why has an HR Director repeatedly accessed confidential CEO-level files?"

"Even our Chief Financial Officer doesn't have the clearance to view these. What exactly were you planning to do?"

A heavy silence swept through the digital room.

The live chat froze for a second.

Then it erupted with absolute fury.

"Serena accessed secret executive files forty-seven times?!"

"Why the hell does HR need to look at investor agreements?!"

"No wonder our turnover has been crazy lately! She's probably selling corporate secrets to our competitors!"

"Julian gave her everything, and she betrays the company like this? What a snake!"

"Call the police! This is corporate espionage!"

I looked at the slide, my mind racing at light speed.

One thing was absolutely certain: I had never seen those files in my life.

I had never searched for equity agreements or investor terms. Those documents were completely outside my clearance level as HR Director.

My account only had access to payroll, personnel files, and attendance. It was technically impossible for me to open CEO-level documents.

Unless someone gave my account a hidden backdoor.

I turned around and stared Chloe down.

"Your entire accusation rests on these forty-seven login records?"

Chloe nodded, beaming with triumph.

"Server logs don't lie. Your user ID, your password. Who else could it possibly be?"

I let out a cold laugh.

"My desk is on the fifth floor. But every single one of those forty-seven logins originated from an IP address on the seventh floor."

Her smile faltered slightly. She clearly hadn't expected me to hit back with technical details.

"What seventh floor? The log only shows the internal corporate network, not the physical floor..."

"The user interface doesn't show it," I interrupted coldly, "but the IT backend logs every detail."

"Every single login is tied to a terminal MAC address, which maps directly to a physical port in this building. The network subnet on the seventh floor is completely distinct from the fifth floor."

I pulled out my phone and pulled up an external cybersecurity audit report.

"To all our colleagues watching: I noticed abnormal activity on my account last year. When our internal IT claimed everything was normal, I hired an independent cybersecurity firm to investigate."

"Their findings were crystal clear: all forty-seven logins came from a specific terminal on the seventh floor. And on the seventh floor, there are only two offices: Julian's and his assistant's."

I shifted my piercing gaze directly to Julian.

"Julian, care to explain to everyone why my account was accessed forty-seven times from your private floor over the past year?"

Julian's smug expression instantly vanished, replaced by an ugly scowl.

Chloe panicked, her voice speeding up in desperation.

"Stop trying to deflect, Serena! The logs are right there! It doesn't matter what floor it came from, it’s still your account and your password! Why would an HR Director snoop into CEO files unless you're up to no good?!"

I looked at her flustered face and let out a soft, amused laugh.

"Chloe, you just asked me three questions. Now, it's my turn to answer."