Reborn at a cost

Raphael's POV

The boardroom doors closed with a quiet click. The noise from the main office disappeared. It was just me, the long table, and the big screen on the wall.

I walked to the front. Jacket off. Sleeves rolled up. No time to sit and act fancy.

The screen lit up. Red lines everywhere on the graphs. Timelines squeezed tight. My team was already waiting: Jackson on my right with his tablet, Elena tapping her pen fast, Marcus from legal looking serious with his tight tie.

"Tell me," I said.

Elena spoke first. "The launch date is getting shorter. Blaise Corps just added more time to their patent for data protection. It looks almost the same as our main code. If they win, we lose months in court. Maybe lose customers too."

I leaned on the table. My hands pressed hard on the glass. "How similar?"

"Very close," Marcus said. "We can fight it, but it will take time and money we need for the launch."

Everyone went quiet. Oraion was not just a company to me. It was everything. I grew up with nothing. Foster homes. No parents. No one to trust. I learned to build my own safety. Code was my way out. I made Oraion big because I never wanted anyone to take it from me again.

"What can we do?" I asked.

Jackson answered. "We speed up our test version. Show investors we are ahead. And we watch their public news and filings. If they are rushing something, we can be ready."

I nodded. "Good. Elena, make the code stronger. Marcus, prepare our side of the story. Jackson, keep an eye on their announcements. No tricks. Just stay ahead."

They agreed. The meeting ended. People left.

Jackson stayed behind. "You okay, Rafe? You look like you didn't sleep."

I gave a small smile. "Late night."

He raised one eyebrow. "The good kind?"

"Maybe."

He laughed quietly. "Just don't let it mess up the launch. We need you here."

"I'm here."

He left. The door closed.

I sat alone. My head hurt a little.

My mind kept going back to her.

Liana.

This morning at the coffee shop was different from what I expected. I got there early. Hands sweaty. I ordered her caramel latte because I remembered she said she liked sweet things. When she walked in, grey sweater, hair loose and curly, red lipstick, I forgot how to talk for a second.

She teased me. Her foot touched mine under the table. I felt hot in my face. I'm not usually shy. I talk to big investors and fix hard problems every day. But with her? Yeah. Shy.

She said, "You think you can handle me over three courses?"

I wanted to pull her close over that table right there. Show her how much I could handle. But I didn't. I stayed gentle. I wanted her to feel safe with me.

I took out my phone. Sent the dinner message: "8 p.m. Le Gavroche. Wear whatever makes you feel strong."

Then another: "Can't wait."

I put the phone away. I tried to focus on work again.

The patent file from Blaise was still open. I read it quickly. Something felt strange. The words were rushed. Like someone wrote it fast.

My desk phone rang. "Mr. Blackthorne? Your 10 a.m. with investors is ready."

"Coming."

The meeting went long. Numbers. Plans. Questions. I answered everything calmly and clearly. That's what people expect from me.

But my phone kept buzzing in my pocket.

I ignored it.

It buzzed again.

And again.

When the meeting ended at 11:15, I checked.

Three missed calls. Unknown number.

One voicemail.

I played it in my office with the door closed.

A man's voice. Calm but serious. "Mr. Blackthorne, this is Marcus from legal. We just got a strange email from an outside source. It claims someone inside Oraion is leaking small pieces of our code to a competitor. No proof yet, just a tip. They want us to check our own team. Call me back."

My stomach dropped.

Leaking code?

We had strong security. No one inside would do that.

I called Marcus back.

He answered quickly.

"Rafe. The email came from a fake address. But it had one detail that worried me-a timestamp from last night, 2:47 a.m. Said someone accessed our test server at that time."

I frowned. "We have logs. Did we see anything?"

"Nothing unusual. But the tip said to look closer at external connections. It feels like someone is trying to start trouble for us."

I rubbed my face. "Send me the email. I'll look at it myself."

"Already in your inbox."

I hung up. I opened my laptop.

The email was short. No sender name. Just words:

Someone in Blaise Corps is trying to ruin you. Look at the 2:47 a.m. access. You'll see.*

Attached: a fake-looking screenshot of our server logs.

I stared at it.

The time was real, 2:47 a.m, but the access was from an old test account we shut down months ago. Harmless. Probably someone playing games.

But why send it now?

Why today?

My phone buzzed again.

Text from Liana.

"Can't make dinner. Something came up. Sorry."

No more words.

No explanation.

Just sorry.

I stared at the message.

My chest felt tight.

She sounded different. She sounded distant.

Was she okay?

Was this connected?

I looked at the clock.

11:30.

I had a full day ahead, more meetings, codes to reviews, investor calls.

But all I could think about was her face this morning. The way she smiled when I got shy. The way her fingers brushed mine.

I typed back quickly.

"Is everything okay? If you need anything, I'm here."

Sent.

No answer.

I put the phone down.

I tried to focus.

But the strange email sat open on my screen.

And Liana's text sat unanswered.

Something felt wrong.

Very wrong.

I stood up.

Grabbed my coat.

I needed air.

Or answers.

As I walked to the elevator, my assistant called out.

"Mr. Blackthorne! You have an urgent call on line one. It's from an outside security firm. They say they found unusual activity in our test server last night. They want to speak to you right away."