Why hadn’t she thought of that? Gianna wondered, the realization clicking slowly, painfully into place as a thin line of logic finally connected the dots in her mind.
But then, her naïve mind hadn’t considered it before, hadn’t made allowance for the possibility that her job at the Becketts—that her possible win at the convention—was making so people deeply uncomfortable, even threatened.
Yet, who could it be?
The question lingered like a bruise she kept pressing. She asked Athena this question, going ahead to vocally make a list of the people she had clashed with since she started at the Becketts.
"But Es is Noah’s sister. And as much as she has a loud mouth, she couldn’t possibly be behind that. And Sabrina? Puhleese... where would she even get the connection to that notorious gang?" Gianna scoffed lightly.
Athena could understand her friend’s skepticism, truly. But in her little life—short, dangerous, and painfully educational—she had realized one brutal truth: no one could be underestimated in the grand sche of things.
No one.
People could do desperate things when they were cornered, when pride, envy, or fear pressed too tightly against their throats, when winning beca a matter of survival rather than ambition.
"What about your uncle?" Athena asked carefully. "Considering he has a debt of sixty million dollars to pay you? He could have done it out of spite. You know... considering you had refused to help him too."
Gianna bit down on her lower lip, as she contemplated the suggestion. "I don’t know, Athena. I really can’t see him towing that route."
Her voice lowered. "Is he that depraved—to watch n rape his brother’s daughter?" Her face twisted slightly. "Doesn’t that sound far-fetched?"
It did sound far-fetched. But Athena had seen n do worse. Much worse.
"So people get off on that, Gianna," she said quietly. "Rape, I an. The more forbidden or nastier, the better."
Gianna’s face twisted fully now, disgust flooding her features, confusion threading through it like poison. Her stomach turned. "Still..." She shook her head slowly. "I don’t think he is that far gone in his wickedness."
Athena sighed softly. As much as her friend was against her uncle and his family, there seed to be a line she refused to believe he could cross. And that ant only one thing—evidence. Proof.
Evidence that her uncle was depraved... or evidence that he was not.
As far as Athena was concerned, she would be tracking and checking everyone—including Es and Noah Newman—until the truth surfaced.
"It’s alright," Athena said at last. "But you have to take extra caution on your designs. Extra security." She studied Gianna closely. "Have you submitted designs for the convention already?"
Gianna nodded slowly, her mind already calculating, tracing paths and possibilities. "I gave so to Daphne, the assistant director... then other copies are in my laptop and in my..."
She paused abruptly, eyes lifting to Athena, mouth parting slightly. "In my car!"
She shot up to her feet. "My car... it’s back in the company’s garage!"
Athena only shook her head, a small, knowing smile curving her lips. "Don’t have to worry. Everything is in that cupboard over there..." She pointed casually to the cupboard in question.
Gianna glanced from Athena to the cupboard, disbelief warring with hope, before hurrying over to confirm. She was crying again when she saw it—her laptop, printed copies of her designs, her phone—everything intact, untouched.
"Athena..."
Athena waved her off imdiately. "Don’t go about thanking again. This is my duty."
But Gianna ran forward anyway and pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you so much!"
When she disengaged, she seed lighter, more alive. "You know I’ve been protective over my designs since that incident in my second year at design school..."
Athena nodded sagely, rembering vividly the devastation of that theft, the way Gianna had nearly broken.
"I even have double locks for my office back at the Becketts. But—" Gianna raised a hand, signaling Athena to wait, then hurried back to the cupboard and grabbed her phone.
Ignoring the many missed calls, her heart thudding, she dialed Daphne. "Hey, Daph—"
"Gianna!"
Gianna frowned, pulling the phone slightly away from her ear as Daphne’s voice nearly shouted through the line. She put it on loudspeaker, eting Athena’s gaze in confusion.
"How are you feeling? Doctor Athena called to take permission for you, said you were sick? How are you doing? I told you... you should have taken it easy with work..."
Gianna sighed. "I am fine, Daphne. Thanks for your concern." A brief pause. "I’m actually calling to check in with my designs, tell you to maintain security about it—"
"So you have been inford then?"
Gianna’s frown deepened. "Inford about what?"
She heard shuffling feet, then a sigh, and suddenly her heart began to race. What was happening? Didn’t sothing happen to her designs?
"Well, your office was broken into last night."
Gianna t Athena’s gaze. So it was about the convention. Soone didn’t want her there. Soone wanted her dead for it.
"Gianna, are you there?"
"Yes..." She cleared her throat. "I’m here."
"CCTV captured the fellow—well, his back. He successfully managed to avoid the caras, except the one on the second hallway. But as I said, only his back was captured. Don’t worry, we are working on catching this person."
"Can you send the footage?" The question slipped out before Gianna could stop it. "Do you have it close by?"
She was surprised at herself—but she didn’t take it back.
"Uh... okay. I can get the tech team to send it to you now." A pause. "Were any of your designs there? Yours and Vance’s?"
"No," Gianna said, gratitude flooding her chest. She had, for so reason, been leaving her hard copies at ho lately. What remained in the office were only minor sketches—nothing substantial.
"Oh, thank God. You don’t have to worry about the ones you submitted. They’re safe."
Another pause. "Don’t worry, Gianna. We’ll find the culprit behind this."
"Daph... any idea how the person got in?"
"No. That’s what’s surprising. We don’t know—including the security guard on patrol."
When the call ended, Gianna began to pace, her movents restless, charged, while Athena remained seated, watching her carefully, her own mind racing.
"Soone doesn’t want at the convention, Athena..."
Athena shrugged lightly. "Well, you’re going to be. And you’ll win it, Gianna. That will make them careless."
Gianna stopped pacing and nodded slowly. "You’re right."
Her phone dinged. She forwarded the video to Athena imdiately. "I don’t know if it will help Spider... but sothing is better than nothing."
She sent her contract too. "For your lawyer."
They wanted her gone?
Oh, they wouldn’t see her coming.
She was going to win them out of existence.
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