Marina Vale adjusted the hem of her skirt as she waited for the elevator to reach the executive floor. The mirrored walls reflected a version of herself she barely recognized. sharper eyes, straighter posture, and the unmistakable hunger of someone who had learned that power didn't come with time. It came with opportunity.
And she was about to make her own.
As the doors opened, she stepped into the high-gloss, glass-paneled realm of Roth Industries' elite. She was just an intern. "just" a temporary fixture of the marketing department. But Marina had watched enough boardroom dynamics, enough of Elena Roth's cool but brittle exterior, and enough of Victor Crane's unsettling confidence to know one thing:
Something was shifting. And where there was uncertainty, there was room to climb.
She walked past Sophie's empty desk oddly, considering the woman never left it unattended and slipped down the hall where classified materials were stored. She wasn't going to steal anything. Not outright. But information? That was currency. And if she could position herself in the right place, with the right people...
Victor Crane had once told her during a coffee run, "Smart people wait. Smarter people watch. But the smartest people create their own moment."
She'd never forgotten it.
At the corner near the secondary server access room, she paused. Inside, she could hear muffled voices. Leaning in, she barely caught a sentence from the IT lead on a call.
"…the code looks like a loop left by the original architecture. Liam says he's seen it before."
Liam. Again.
Marina's lips parted slightly. She had been following the whispers: Elena Roth was spending a curious amount of time with the quiet, enigmatic technician. Their elevator trap incident had already made its rounds in hushed gossip. And just yesterday, she'd spotted the two of them talking near the server wing too close to be just professional.
Was Liam Carter a vulnerability? A distraction?
Marina didn't know yet. But if the rumors were true,that he had once been a hacker then why would Elena keep him so close?
Another voice approached. Marina ducked quickly into the nearby breakroom, pressing herself behind the door. Footsteps passed Sophie and Mia, mid-conversation.
"…you trust Liam?" Mia asked, her tone low, skeptical.
Sophie didn't answer immediately. "I trust what I've seen. But people have layers."
Marina's pulse quickened. Layers. Secrets. The entire top floor of Roth Industries was wrapped in them.
Later that afternoon, she sat at her desk and pulled up a restricted access form template she'd seen Sophie use once during a training session. She didn't submit it. Not yet. But she filled it in. Elena Roth's signature faked with precision and saved it to her drive.
Marina didn't need to act yet. She only needed to be ready.
At 6:00 p.m., after most of the office had emptied out, Marina climbed the stairs to the rooftop terrace. From here, she could see the entire skyline. But her eyes weren't on the view. They were on the private office lights still glowing from Elena Roth's suite.
She watched as Liam entered.
The door closed behind him.
And stayed closed for a long time.
Marina turned away with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
In this world, no one rises by waiting.
They rose by pushing others down first.