The plane touched down in Sardinia under a blood-orange sky, and I already regretted every life choice that led me here.\n\nInside the villa, glass and marble gleamed under recessed lighting, sterile as a lab. My suitcase thudded against the floor as I scanned the space—minimalist, efficient, just like I like it. Then I heard laughter from the terrace. Bright, unguarded. Hers.\n\nLila Chen stood barefoot on the tiles, sundress fluttering, holding a tablet like it was a picnic menu instead of our company’s future. She turned, saw me, and her smile didn’t falter. That annoyed me most of all.\n\n"You made it! We were starting to think you’d ghost us," she said, stepping closer.\n\n"I don’t ghost. I delegate," I replied, voice flat.\n\nShe tilted her head, studying me like I was one of her user-experience puzzles. "Well, delegation’s over. For two weeks, we’re stuck together. Team bonding, remember?"\n\nMy jaw tightened. This wasn’t part of the plan. None of this was.\n\nThe air between us crackled—not with hostility, but something worse. Recognition.\n\nThen her phone buzzed. Her expression shifted—concern, then guilt. She glanced at the screen, then back at me.\n\n"Elias… there’s been a leak. Someone knows about AURA’s core algorithm. And the only people with access are in this villa."\n\nI stepped forward, pulse spiking. "Who got the alert?"\n\n"Everyone. But… your name wasn’t in the distribution list. Mine was."\n\nSomeone inside was feeding secrets. And now, I had to figure out if I could trust the one person I wanted to kiss—and the one person who might already be replacing me.