The CFO's shadow

Chapter 17

The afternoon air was damp and heavy. The facility department’s lower break room was dark, smelling of industrial soap and wet concrete. I was standing near the metal sink, carefully washing the dirt off my thick maintenance gloves after a long floor rotation.

Suddenly, the heavy iron doors at the end of the corridor hissed open.

The casual chatter of the other work-study students stopped instantly. A cold, suffocating pressure rolled into the room. It wasn't the wild, fiery aura of Cassian, or the deep, winter-storm weight of Alistair. This pressure was sharp, precise, and freezing cold, like a silver blade pressing against your throat.

Cassandra Vance walked into the break room.

The Chief Financial Officer of Lunar Ridge Academy looked incredibly elegant. She wore a tailored charcoal-grey skirt suit, her dark hair pulled back into a tight, flawless bun. Her face was a pale, aristocratic mask, and her sharp hazel eyes swept over the room, filled with absolute disdain for the lower-class workers. Two high-ranking Alpha enforcers stood right behind her, their arms crossed.

"Attention, facility staff," Cassandra said, her voice dripping with executive authority. "I am conducting a surprise administrative inspection of the lower tower workforce. Stand by your lockers."

The other scholarship students scrambled to stand in front of their lockers, their heads bowed in fear. I stepped back from the sink, keeping my movements slow and deliberate. I stood straight, my hands tucked into the pockets of my oversized grey maintenance jacket, watching her through my eyelashes.

In my first life, this woman had terrified me. Her sharp tongue and cold calculations had completely destroyed my family. Now, looking at her, I felt only a freezing, focused hatred.

Cassandra began walking down the line of students. She didn't look at their faces; she only checked their uniform tags and their physical posture. But as she neared the corner where I stood, her steps slowed down.

She stopped right in front of me.

The atmospheric pressure dropped instantly, making the air feel thick and hard to breathe. Cassandra leaned in slightly, her sharp hazel eyes narrowing as she looked at my stained, oversized jacket.

"Evangeline Cross," Cassandra murmured, her voice dangerously low. "The girl who caused a political circus at the back-to-school party. I am surprised my brother allowed you to remain in this tower."

"Principal Vance assigned me to the lower corridor maintenance, ma'am," I said, keeping my voice soft, respectful, and entirely flat.

"I know what he did," Cassandra hissed, stepping closer until she was crowding my personal space. She slowly tilted her head, her gaze moving down to my neck.

My heart gave a hard, violent thud against my ribs.

Her eyes were fixed precisely on my left collarbone, the exact spot where my hidden royal birthmark sat beneath the fabric of my thick shirt. In the original timeline, she hadn't discovered my true identity until much later. But my actions had accelerated everything. She was already suspicious. She was looking for a physical sign of the lost High Sovereign line.

Suddenly, a sharp, white-hot heat flared deep inside my chest.

My royal bloodline magic was reacting violently to her hostile presence, trying to break through its inner seals to crush her. The agony was sudden and blinding. A thick, heavy pool of hot copper flooded my mouth.

I tightly clenched my jaw, forcefully swallowing the blood down. My teeth ground together so hard I felt the vibration in my skull. I forced my face to remain entirely blank, entirely stoic, refusing to let her see a single flicker of pain or weakness.

Cassandra reached out a manicured hand, her long fingers moving slowly toward my collarbone, as if she wanted to rip my shirt open to see the skin.

"Your posture is very unusual for a maid, Miss Cross," Cassandra whispered, her eyes flashing with a predatory sharpness. "You do not bow your head like the others. You stand like you are waiting for a crown."

Before her fingers could touch my fabric, a massive, booming voice cut through the room.

"The CFO does not handle physical staff inspections."

Gideon stepped into the break room from the back entrance, his massive, scarred frame completely blocking the light. His dark eyes were cold as ice, and his powerful posture radiated immediate security authority.

Cassandra froze. She slowly dropped her hand, turning her body to face the head of security. "I am checking the facility department’s compliance logs, Gideon. It is within my budget rights."

"The Principal has placed this specific corridor under strict executive security," Gideon said, his gravelly baritone voice completely unyielding. "All physical inspections must go through my office first. Please leave the break room, Chief Vance."

Cassandra’s jaw tightened, a flash of pure rage crossing her elegant features. She knew she couldn't break Gideon's authority without Alistair intervening.

She turned back to me, giving me one last, freezing look. "We will finish this audit very soon, Miss Cross," she whispered venomously.

She turned on her heel and stormed out of the break room, her enforcers following close behind. The heavy iron doors slammed shut with a loud, echoing clang.

The moment she was gone, the heavy pressure left the room. My knees shook slightly, and I quickly pulled my handkerchief from my pocket, pressing it to my lips to wipe away a small trace of red blood.

Gideon didn't say a word. He looked at me for a silent moment, his face completely unreadable, before walking back out to the corridor.

I leaned against the metal sink, taking a deep, shaky breath. Cassandra was hunting me now. She was looking for the birthmark, and she was already planning the audit that would ruin my father. The shadow of the Vance family CFO was getting closer, but I held the digital flash drive tight in my pocket. The game was getting bloodier, but I was not going to run.