That morning, the air at AURELIA GROUP felt colder than usual.
Although Ethan had shut down the gossip in the meeting room the day before, the whispers behind my back had only gotten worse.
“She must be using the CEO.”
“That’s why Mr. Ethan always defends her.”
I clutched the folder against my chest more tightly.
I wanted to argue.
But I realized that people who had already decided to hate you wouldn’t believe you, even if you explained yourself a thousand times.
I chose to focus on my work.
It was the only way to prove that I deserved to be at this company.
Around noon, Clara came rushing over.
“Maya, Mr. Ethan wants the cooperation report with Orion Corporation. He’s taking it to the one o’clock meeting.”
“Okay. I’ll get it.”
I headed to the archive room.
I had stored the document there myself yesterday afternoon.
I was sure it hadn’t been moved.
But when I opened the filing cabinet...
My chest instantly tightened.
The red folder containing the cooperation documents was gone.
I checked shelf after shelf.
Drawer after drawer.
It was nowhere to be found.
“That’s impossible...”
Cold sweat began to dampen my temples.
I clearly remembered putting it there.
Clara came over to me.
“Did you find it?”
I slowly shook my head.
Her face immediately went pale.
“The documents are gone.”
“What?”
Clara’s voice was loud enough that several employees turned to look.
Within minutes, the news had spread across the entire floor.
“The new employee lost an important document.”
“Oh, my God...”
“It’s a multibillion-rupiah project.”
My heart began pounding faster.
If the document was really gone...
It wouldn’t just be my job that was over.
The company’s reputation could be ruined too.
In the CEO’s office.
Surya entered with a tense expression.
“Sir.”
Ethan looked up from his laptop.
“What is it?”
“The cooperation documents with Orion Corporation are missing.”
Ethan’s gaze sharpened.
“Who was the last person to have them?”
“Maya.”
The room suddenly fell silent.
Ethan stood up immediately.
“To the archive room.”
By the time Ethan arrived, almost all the employees had gathered.
I was still standing in front of the filing cabinet.
My hands were trembling.
“What happened?” Ethan asked.
I lowered my head.
“I’m sorry... I don’t know how the documents disappeared.”
Daniel immediately cut in.
“If she didn’t lose them, then who did?”
Several people nodded in agreement.
“Problems have kept cropping up ever since she joined.”
I bit my lip.
I wanted to defend myself.
But I really had no proof.
Ethan walked toward the filing cabinet.
He studied the cabinet door, which was slightly ajar.
Then his eyes stopped on the small hole in the corner of the room.
“The CCTV.”
Everyone turned to look.
Surya immediately contacted security.
But a few minutes later, the security officer arrived with an anxious expression.
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“The CCTV footage from the archive room has been deleted since last night.”
“What?”
The room instantly erupted.
Deleted?
How was that possible?
Ethan didn’t say a word.
That only made the atmosphere even more tense.
Meanwhile...
In a corner of the underground parking lot.
A man handed the red folder to a woman.
“Everything’s taken care of.”
The woman smiled in satisfaction.
“This time, Maya definitely won’t be able to get away.”
The man nodded.
“No one will suspect us.”
The woman opened the red folder.
Inside was the company’s original contract.
She pulled out a lighter.
A small flame flickered to life.
It slowly began burning one of the pages.
“If the contract is damaged...”
“All the blame will fall on Maya.”
The woman smiled smugly.
“Just wait. She’ll be fired today.”
The woman’s face finally came into clear view.
Vanessa.
She clearly hadn’t given up yet.
Back at the office.
Ethan’s phone rang.
He answered it briefly.
His expression changed at once.
“What?”
Surya looked at him.
“Sir?”
Ethan ended the call.
“The client from Orion Corporation is already downstairs.”
Everyone froze.
Without those documents...
The cooperation deal, worth hundreds of billions of rupiah, could fall through.
The Finance Director began to panic.
“If the meeting fails, the company will suffer massive losses.”
Everyone’s eyes slowly turned back toward me.
Their gazes were filled with accusation.
I took a deep breath.
No...
I couldn’t give up.
I closed my eyes, trying to remember every detail of assembling the documents the night before.
Then, all of a sudden...
I remembered something.
“Mr. Ethan!”
Everyone turned toward me.
“I still have a digital copy.”
The room instantly fell silent.
“When I was preparing the contract, I made a backup on the company server.”
Daniel immediately sneered.
“Then why are you only saying that now?”
I looked at him.
“Because I just remembered.”
Ethan turned to Surya.
“Check now.”
Surya immediately ran toward the IT room.
Several minutes that felt like hours finally passed.
The meeting room door opened.
Surya entered carrying a laptop.
“Sir...”
Everyone held their breath.
“The backup file...”
Surya paused for a moment.
His face looked tense.
“...has been deleted too.”
My eyes widened.
“That’s impossible.”
“The deletion trail shows that it was done using Ms. Maya’s account.”
Those words made it feel as if the blood had stopped flowing through my veins.
I took a step back.
“I... I never deleted that file.”
But now all the evidence pointed to me.
The original document was gone.
The digital backup had been deleted using my account.
And the entire room was beginning to believe...
That I was the culprit.
Amid the silence, Ethan stared straight at me.
His expression was impossible to read.
Then, in a flat voice that made my heart pound, he said,
“Maya... come to my office. Now.”
I didn’t know whether that meant my last chance...
Or the beginning of the end of my career at AURELIA GROUP.