Liam's POVAs we drove into the garage I saw the focus in Sarah’s eyes. She was ready. We took the elevator up and headed straight for the server room.The room as usual was full of lights and ACs to cool off the systems. It was cool, clean and full of energy. Technicians stood around screens, looking tired and upset from their battle with the virus. Mr. Mark, the head tech, saw me and quickly came over. He looked both glad and worn out.“Mr Carter, thank goodness you’re here,” he said. “We’re making progress, but it’s going slow.”“This is Sarah,” I said while pointing to my friend. “She’s going to help fix the problem.”Mark glanced at Sarah at first. “Can you fix it?” He asked.“I wouldn’t be here if I couldn’t,” Sarah said with a smile. “Where’s the main server?”Mark led us to a big screen that was showing a bunch of messy codes. Sarah pulled out her laptop, plugged it in and started typing fast. Everyone in the room went quiet while watching her work.After a few minutes, Sarah

Ryan's POVThe cheap rubber basketball hit the clean landscape wallpaper of my office wall. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. My feet were up on the desk and I stared at the ceiling mindlessly. The sound of the ball hitting the wall helped me stay calm while my mind felt like a total mess.Liam Carter.Just hearing his name made me feel sick. Liam “Rags to riches” Carter. His life was like a movie. One day he was just a skinny college kid. The next he was rich and running Carter Enterprises like he was born to do it. And here I was stuck at Blackwood Corp, doing nothing important and pretending to care about business reports.I bounced the ball harder with my anger rising. My dad had big dreams of me taking over the company one day. But I didn’t want to run anything. I wanted to be free, to travel the world and maybe try taking pictures. Anything, but looking at boring files and going to long meetings.Thwack.The door slowly opened, and Marie, my always-scared secretary, stood there holding

Liam's POVThe last paper landed on my desk softly. I was done. Finally, I leaned back in my chair and it creaked as if in protest too. Carter Enterprises was doing well—better than ever—even with the problems we’d had lately. I looked at the clock. Almost 10 PM. Most of the staff had gone home long ago.I stood up, grabbed my coat and walked toward the exit. When I passed Anna’s desk, I stopped. She was still there leaning over her computer, her face lit up by the screen.“Anna?” I said surprised. “Why are you still here? Everyone else is gone.”She jumped and turned around quickly. “Mr. Carter! I… I didn’t hear you coming. Just finishing some work.” Her voice sounded a little nervous.“This late? You shouldn’t work so much. Go home and get some rest. You’ve worked hard.” I kept my voice soft. I was worried. Anna had always been loyal and great at her job. I trusted her more than she probably knew.She paused then gave a small smile. “Thank you, Mr. Carter. I mean that. I just wan

Liam's POVThe clock in the lobby of Carter Enterprises ticked loudly. Tick… tock…. It was 5:58 PM. Just two more minutes until the office closed. Two more minutes before I could start my plan.I watched Anna. She stood very straight while pushing the last few folders into her cabinet. When she closed the drawer the loud sound echoed in the large space. She looked very tired and sad. Her eyes were red like she hadn’t slept in days and had cried a lot. Something was clearly wrong. Why was Anna so upset? What was going on with her?She never mentioned the episode from last night and I stayed quiet too.The janitor walked by with his cleaning cart and gave me a tired nod. Usually, I was one of the first people to leave work, except on a few occasions. He always smiled and asked if I needed anything. But tonight I had decided to stay late. I needed to know the truth.I focused on some documents on my tablet, just to look busy even though I felt nervous.. Was I doing the right thing? Was

Liam's POVIt felt like the world exploded. The sudden bursts of automatic gunfire boomed all around Hans and me. Blackwood’s men, trigger-happy idiots, were letting loose a torrent of lead. We scrambled for cover behind a stack of crates with the wooden splinters flying as bullets chewed into the surrounding structure.“Damn it!” I hissed, pressing myself tighter against the cold wood. “What now?”Hans didn't answer. We waited with the silence interrupted only by the relentless pinging of bullets nearby. It felt like an eternity. Then a voice cut through the gunfire, sharp and commanding.“Cease fire, you idiots! Cease fire!”It was Ryan. Ryan's voice was clear and unmistakable.The firing seized and died down, replaced by the ragged breathing of… well probably everyone. I could hear Ryan lashing out his men, his voice laced with fury.“What the hell do you think you're doing?! I gave no order to fire! What is wrong with you?!”I risked a peek over the top of the crate. I could see f