CHAPTER 5 — A SMILE CAN BE A WEAPON

Caleb Vance led Elias into a smaller meeting room—one without glass walls, without curious eyes, without witnesses.

Predictable.

People with secrets always preferred enclosed spaces.

Caleb closed the door gently, then turned with a grin that reached his teeth but not his eyes.

“I’ve been meaning to catch up,” he said warmly. “You know… man to man.”

Elias sat calmly. “Then talk.”

Caleb blinked, thrown off by the lack of small talk. “Ah—sure. I just wanted to say I’m glad you’re back. Really.”

Elias smiled politely. “Are you?”

Caleb laughed, the sound too loud for the small room. “Of course! You were always so talented. Honestly, I felt bad when you left.”

Left.

That was the word Caleb had chosen.

Elias filed it away.

“I’m doing my best to adjust again,” Elias said lightly. “It’s been two years.”

“Yeah, about that…” Caleb scratched his cheek awkwardly. “Why did you come back?”

There it was.

The real question.

Elias tilted his head, pretending to think. “I missed the work.”

Caleb nodded, but his eyes didn’t believe it. “Right. Right.”

Elias let the silence stretch.

Caleb fidgeted.

Good.

People who felt pressured tended to reveal more than they intended.

“So,” Caleb said suddenly, “which department are you in now?”

“You don’t know?” Elias asked softly.

Caleb shrugged. “HR didn’t tell me the details.”

Lie.

Elias knew Caleb had personally tried to block his return. He must have been furious when the Board overrode him.

“I’m with Analysis,” Elias answered.

Caleb’s smile flickered. “Analysis? Under Ava Lin?”

Elias nodded. “Yes.”

Caleb’s fingers tightened around the back of the chair. “Be careful with her. She’s… complicated.”

“She’s competent,” Elias corrected.

Caleb’s laugh came out sharp. “Competent? Sure, but she doesn’t understand how things work around here. She digs too deep. She asks too many questions. Honestly, it’s dangerous.”

“Dangerous for whom?” Elias asked quietly.

Caleb froze.

His mouth opened.

Then closed.

Then he chuckled nervously. “You know what I mean. This company has… layers. Not everything needs to be investigated.”

Elias leaned back, crossing one leg over the other. “Trust me, Caleb. I’ll be fine.”

Caleb nodded, but sweat had gathered at the base of his neck.

“And Elias?” Caleb asked, voice tight. “If you ever need anything, just ask me. I want us to stay on good terms.”

“Good terms?” Elias echoed softly. “Of course.”

Caleb swallowed.

Elias kept smiling.

Then Caleb made a mistake.

A fatal one.

He reached out and gripped Elias’s shoulder in a too-friendly gesture and said:

“You were always harmless, Elias. Let’s keep it that way.”

Harmless.

The same word Caleb used two years ago…

right before he destroyed Elias’s career.

Elias held the smile, but inside, something old and frozen stirred.

“Of course,” he said.

Caleb let go, looking relieved.

“Great! I knew we could talk like adults.”

“We did,” Elias agreed.

Caleb stepped out of the room, humming, pretending nothing was wrong.

Elias waited until the door clicked shut before letting his smile drop like a blade.

“Harmless,” he whispered.

He stood slowly.

He was going to enjoy proving Caleb wrong.

---

AVA’S SUSPICION

When Elias returned to the Analysis floor, Ava Lin was standing by his desk, arms folded, expression unreadable.

“You were gone a while,” she said.

“I was talking to Caleb.”

Ava’s eyebrow lifted. “Voluntarily?”

“He approached me.”

“Why?”

Elias shrugged. “Curiosity, I suppose.”

Ava studied him. “You’re lying again.”

He didn’t deny it.

She sighed. “Fine. Keep your secrets. But if your past with him affects this project—”

“It won’t,” Elias said firmly.

Ava’s eyes didn’t soften, but her shoulders eased a fraction.

“Good,” she said. “Because we found something.”

She handed him a tablet filled with transaction logs. “Three vendor codes match across separate departments. All connected to procurement.”

Elias scanned the file.

And there, in the middle of it, he found it.

A name.

A company.

A signature.

Something Caleb shouldn’t have been linked to—but was.

A small thrill ran beneath his calm exterior.

The first real thread.

Ava watched his face. “You look like you just solved a puzzle.”

“I might have,” he replied.

“Explain.”

He pointed at the recurring vendor. “This company doesn’t exist. Not legally.”

Ava frowned. “A shell corporation?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re familiar with it?”

Elias paused.

A dangerous question.

“Yes,” he said finally.

She leaned forward. “How?”

“Because I helped design the payment system Caleb abused,” he answered quietly. “Two years ago.”

Ava inhaled sharply.

“You knew?”

“I suspected. But I had no proof.”

Ava stared at him, speechless for once.

Then she asked the question he knew would come:

“Did Caleb push you out because of this?”

“Not directly,” Elias said. “But it was connected.”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

Elias gave her the same gentle smile he’d given everyone else.

“Because no one would’ve believed me.”

Ava didn’t smile back.

Instead, she whispered, “I believe you.”

Strangely… that bothered him more than disbelief would have.

Belief meant she was stepping closer.

Closer meant danger.

And he didn’t want more variables—or more losses.

---

THE MESSAGE

At six, employees packed up and drifted toward the elevators. Elias remained at his desk, pretending to organize files while scanning the procurement logs again.

Then his phone buzzed.

Unknown number.

STOP DIGGING.

SOME THINGS SHOULD STAY BURIED.

Elias read it twice.

No signature.

No context.

But he didn’t need either.

Caleb.

Of course it was Caleb.

The timing was too perfect.

Elias deleted the message and slipped the phone into his pocket.

His expression didn’t change.

But inside, his mind sharpened.

This was no longer just a plan.

It was a countdown.

---

THE FINAL MOMENT OF THE DAY

He left the building late, the lobby mostly empty. Outside, streetlights painted long shadows across the pavement.

As he stepped onto the sidewalk, he caught a glimpse of someone sitting on a bench near the entrance.

Lena Hale.

Notebook open.

Head tilted.

Watching him again.

He walked toward her.

“Are you stalking me?” he asked dryly.

She grinned. “Professionally.”

“Lena.”

“Elias.”

A tense silence settled between them.

Then she said something unexpected:

“You’re getting yourself into something dangerous.”

Elias didn’t reply.

“Just remember,” she added softly, “even smart men can drown in secrets.”

He almost laughed. “Are you warning me?”

“No,” she said, closing her notebook.

“I’m predicting you won’t stop.”

Elias stared down at her.

And he let himself smile—not the polite smile.

The real one.

“Correct,” he whispered.

Then he walked into the night.

Because tomorrow, the game would escalate.

And the first piece Caleb tried to hide?

Elias was going to drag it into the light.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***