Sienna and Mia walked down the fire exit stairs side by side, their steps echoing softly against the concrete walls.

For once, the silence between them wasn’t heavy with pain. It was different, yet still filled with something unspoken.

Relief lingered in the air around them, but so did confusion, like a question neither of them quite dared to ask out loud.

Sienna glanced at Mia from the corner of her eye. Her best friend’s face looked... strange.

Not sad. Not exactly happy either. More like someone who had just escaped a storm but was still checking the sky, unsure if the clouds would return.

Sienna, on the other hand, felt something close to victory bubbling inside her chest. Not a loud, dramatic kind of victory, but more like the quiet satisfaction of surviving something that should have crushed her.

Still, her mind kept circling back to one thing. ’What on earth did Riley show them?’

Because whatever it was, it had turned the entire situation upside down in seconds. And honestly? It made her a little scared of him.

’Riley! You’d better not be secretly some genius mastermind,’ Sienna thought, her lips twitching into a faint smile. ’Because if he is, I’ve been underestimating him this whole time.’

They reached their floor and stepped out into the hallway. But just as Sienna was about to push the office door open, Mia suddenly grabbed her arm.

"Huh!? Mia, what happened...?" Sienna frowned, startled by the sudden action.

Instead of answering immediately, Mia pulled her toward the far end of the hallway, away from the door, away from anyone who might overhear them.

Sienna followed, though her confusion only grew.

"What happened to you?" Sienna asked, turning to face her. "Why do you still look awfully stressed? I thought we just survived a disaster. You should at least pretend to smile a little."

Mia didn’t smile. If anything, her expression became even more serious.

"Sienna..." Mia began, her voice quieter now, "Why do I feel like this isn’t over yet?"

Sienna blinked, caught off guard by her question. "What do you mean?"

Mia took a deep breath, then slowly let it out, as if trying to organize her thoughts.

"Do you remember what the HR Manager said?" Mia asked.

Sienna opened her mouth to answer, but Mia didn’t wait. "The HR Manager said they still need to review the evidence before making a final decision," Mia added.

The words hung between them.

And just like that, the small sense of relief Sienna had been holding onto wavered. For a brief moment, a thought crossed her mind. ’What if this is only temporary?’

But just as quickly as it came, Sienna pushed it away.

’No. I wasn’t going to fall into that spiral again. Not after I had just managed to breathe again.’

Sienna straightened slightly, her expression shifting back to something calmer, more controlled.

"My goodness, Mia! Can you stop worrying for five minutes?" she scolded her in a playful tone, "You’re going to age faster than me at this rate, and I refuse to have an older-looking best friend."

Mia stared at her for a second. Then, without her knowing, a small, helpless laugh escaped her lips. "Please, Sienna, this is serious—"

"I know," Sienna interrupted gently, though there was still a hint of humor in her tone. "But worrying about it won’t change anything." She nudged Mia lightly toward the office door. "Just trust Riley this time, huh!?"

Mia hesitated. But in the end, she nodded. Whether they liked it or not, Riley had already done something they couldn’t. He had changed the outcome. And for now, that was enough.

"Alright, I will try..." Mia said, and a weak smile appeared on her lips.

They stepped back into the office together.

The familiar noise of keyboards clicking and phones ringing greeted them, as if nothing extraordinary had happened at all.

It almost felt ridiculous, like the chaos from earlier had been nothing more than a strange dream.

Sienna leaned slightly toward Mia and whispered, her tone shifting back into her usual professional mode. "Go back to your desk. Work as usual. And please, no mistakes today. I don’t think my heart can handle another surprise."

Mia nodded quickly, already moving toward her station.

As for Sienna, she returned to her own desk, sitting down with a quiet exhale. Her fingers tapped lightly against the surface as a small smile formed on her lips.

’Tonight,’ she thought, ’we’re definitely going out.’

Because, whether this storm was truly over or not, they had survived today. And that alone was worth celebrating.

...

Sterling Capital.

Zachary sat behind his desk. A stack of documents lay neatly arranged before him, each page waiting for his signature.

His expression remained composed, almost indifferent, as his pen moved steadily across the paper.

He was so absorbed that he didn’t hear the knock on his office door.

Only when a familiar voice followed did it finally break through his concentration.

"Boss, can I enter?"

Zachary’s pen paused for the briefest second before continuing again. He lifted his gaze slightly, eyes landing on the door, then shifted back to the document in front of him.

"What is it?" Zachary asked, his tone flat as if nothing in the world could possibly disturb his workflow.

The door opened fully, and Trevor stepped inside with his usual relaxed posture. However, the faint smile on the corner of his lips hinted that he was carrying something far more interesting than routine updates.

"Are you seriously not curious about the result?" Trevor asked as he approached the desk.

Zachary didn’t respond immediately. He signed one more document, placed the pen down carefully... then finally looked up.

The shift in his attention was subtle, but enough.

Trevor’s smile widened slightly.

"Miss Sienna is safe," Trevor announced, watching closely for any reaction. "And those who tried to frame her and her team have been dealt with. I just received an update... they will not be working at the Imperial Hotel effective tomorrow."

For a moment, Zachary said nothing.

But something changed.

A faint curve touched his lips, so slight that it could be missed if one wasn’t paying attention. Then, as quickly as it appeared, the smile vanished, replaced once again by his usual calm, unreadable expression.

"Make sure no one knows where that evidence came from," Zachary ordered, his tone returning to business.

Trevor nodded without hesitation. "Of course, boss. Mr. Riley won’t be able to trace it back to us. Everything was handled discreetly and cleanly."

Zachary gave a small nod. "Good."

There was nothing more to say. He gestured lightly toward the door, dismissing Trevor without another word.

Trevor nods slightly, then turns and leaves the office, closing the door behind him with a quiet click.

And just like that, silence returned.

Zachary leaned back slightly in his chair, his gaze drifting toward the side of his desk where his phone rested.

For a moment, he simply looked at it.

Then, slowly, he reached out and picked it up.

His thumb hovered over the screen, his expression softening just a little.

"Should I call her...?"