Nadia didn't answer right away.
She simply stood in front of Arman, staring at her husband as if she were looking at a stranger.
"You were the one who asked Raka to get close to me?"
Arman nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I needed something from him."
Nadia let out a short laugh. Not because it was funny, but because she didn't know what else to do.
"So all this time..."
She swallowed.
"Everything that happened between Raka and me started with you?"
"At first."
Nadia fixed him with a sharp stare.
"At first?"
Arman took one step closer.
"I asked him to get to know you. To find out whether you still..."
He stopped.
"Still what?"
"Still loved me."
Nadia froze.
Arman continued, "I knew our relationship had changed. I knew you felt lonely. I also knew there was a chance you'd look for someone who could give you the attention you needed."
"So you were testing me?"
"I wanted to know the truth."
"And you thought that was enough reason to involve someone else?"
Arman didn't answer.
Nadia shook her head.
"This hurts."
"I know."
"No. You don't."
Nadia's voice trembled.
"Because if you did, you wouldn't have done any of this."
Arman lowered his head.
"I was wrong."
Nadia gave a bitter laugh.
"At least you're admitting it now."
She picked up the envelope from the table.
"Why did Raka accept your money?"
"Because he had his own reasons."
"What reasons?"
Arman fell silent.
Nadia grew angrier.
"Why did he get to know me two years ago?"
"Because at the time, I was dealing with a problem at the company."
"What problem?"
Arman sighed.
"Raka knew someone had taken money from the company."
Nadia stared at him.
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"I know someone stole it. But I don't know who."
Nadia reopened the documents she'd brought from the storage room.
"Then why is your name here?"
Arman looked at the documents.
His expression changed.
"Where did you get those?"
"Answer me first."
Arman took the documents.
His eyes moved quickly as he read page after page.
"Nadia..."
"What?"
"These aren't documents I ever gave to anyone."
"So?"
"That means someone has a copy of the company's confidential archives."
Nadia fell silent.
"And that person deliberately gave it to you."
Nadia began to understand.
"To make me suspect you."
Arman nodded.
"Yes."
"But you did tell Raka to get close to me."
Arman looked at her.
"That's true."
Nadia closed her eyes.
Every answer felt like a piece of a puzzle that would never fit.
Suddenly, her phone vibrated.
One message.
From an unknown number.
> *Don't trust Arman.*
Nadia showed him the message.
Arman immediately went pale.
"Don't reply."
"Why?"
"Because they want you to react."
"Who are they?"
Arman didn't answer.
Nadia stared at her husband.
"Arman."
"I don't know."
"You know something."
"I know enough to put both of us in danger."
The words left Nadia silent.
Arman walked to the window and closed the curtains.
"From now on, don't go anywhere alone."
Nadia stared at him in disbelief.
"After all your lies, you want me to trust you?"
"I'm not asking you to trust me."
Arman turned around.
"I'm only asking you to stay alive until this is over."
Nadia felt a chill run through her body.
"How serious is this?"
Arman held her gaze for a long moment.
"Very serious."
The next morning, Nadia didn't go to work.
She sat in Arman's study, reading all the documents they'd found the night before.
A pattern was beginning to emerge.
All the transactions had taken place around two years ago.
During the same period when Raka left the company.
And a few months later, Arman began traveling frequently.
Nadia opened an old folder.
Inside was a photo from a company event.
She flipped through them one by one.
Until she found a photo that made her stop.
Arman.
Raka.
And a woman.
The woman stood between them.
Nadia recognized her.
Maya.
Her coworker.
Nadia immediately stood up.
"Maya?"
Why was her name in a company photo from two years ago?
She zoomed in on the photo.
Behind them was a board bearing the name of a project.
**Project Arunika.**
Nadia had heard that name before.
But Arman had always said the project had failed and was never continued.
Nadia's phone vibrated again.
This time, it was a message from Raka.
> *Don't go to the office today.*
Nadia typed:
> *Why?*
The reply came.
> *Because the person who sent that photo is there.*
Nadia stared at the screen.
> *Who?*
Raka answered:
> *I'm not sure yet.*
Nadia frowned.
> *You know about Project Arunika?*
There was no answer.
She waited.
Five minutes.
Ten minutes.
Then Raka called.
Nadia answered.
"Tell me."
Raka's voice sounded heavy.
"You found that name?"
"Yes."
"Don't look into it on your own."
"Why?"
"Because Project Arunika wasn't an ordinary project."
Nadia fell silent.
"What do you mean?"
"That project caused someone to lose a lot of money."
"Who?"
"Arman."
Nadia closed her eyes.
"And you?"
"I lost more than money."
"What?"
Raka didn't answer.
"Raka?"
"I lost someone."
Nadia fell silent.
"Who?"
Silence.
Then Raka said,
"My younger sibling."
Nadia felt her chest tighten.
"What does that have to do with Arman?"
"My sibling died after the project failed."
Nadia couldn't say a word.
"Ever since then," Raka continued, "I've wanted to know who was really responsible."
"And Arman?"
"Arman wasn't the one who took the money."
"Then who was?"
Raka drew a breath.
"That's the problem."
"What?"
"The person who took the money is still close to both of you."
Nadia stared at the study door.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside.
She froze.
"Raka..."
"What is it?"
"Someone's here."
The footsteps stopped right in front of the door.
Nadia stood perfectly still.
The doorknob slowly turned.
Click.
The door opened.
Maya stood there.
Smiling.
"What are you doing here?"
Nadia stared at her.
"Arman isn't going to the office today."
Maya nodded.
"I know."
Her answer came too quickly.
Nadia sensed that something was wrong.
"You know?"
Maya smiled.
"I know a lot about your family."
Nadia felt her heart beating faster.
Maya stepped inside and closed the door.
"I also know about Raka."
Nadia tightened her grip on her phone.
Maya stepped closer.
"And I know who sent that photo."
Nadia gave her a piercing look.
"Who?"
Maya smiled.
"If I tell you, you have to promise me one thing."
"What?"
"Don't tell Arman."
Nadia fell silent.
Maya pulled a small flash drive from her bag.
"This contains all the evidence."
"Evidence of what?"
"Evidence that your husband wasn't the first person to start the game."
Maya placed the flash drive on the table.
"And if you open it..."
She looked Nadia straight in the eye.
"...you'll find out why Raka really got close to you."
Nadia stared at the small object.
Her hand slowly reached out.
But before she could touch it, Maya's phone rang.
Maya looked at the screen.
Her expression changed instantly.
"I have to go."
"Who's calling?"
Maya didn't answer.
She took the flash drive back.
Then she said softly,
"I'm sorry, Nadia."
"Sorry for what?"
Maya opened the door.
"Because it looks like I'm too late."
She left.
Nadia chased after her.
But the hallway was already empty.
There was no Maya.
No one at all.
Only the sound of the elevator doors that had just closed.
Nadia returned to the study.
Her phone vibrated.
One message from an unknown number.
> *You've gotten too close.*
A second message came in.
> *Now choose: trust your husband, or trust Raka.*
Nadia stared at the screen.
Then a photo was sent.
A photo of Raka.
Standing with someone in front of Nadia's house.
The photo had been taken **the night before Arman returned from his business trip.**
Nadia zoomed in on the image.
The face of the person beside Raka was clearly visible.
And this time, Nadia was truly speechless.
Because that person...
was Arman.