Chapter 18: Corporate Espionage

I should have known better than to let my guard down, even for a moment. The boardroom felt thick with tension, like a fog of suspicion and barely hidden hostility. I, Dr. Olivia Chen, sat at the long mahogany table, my fingers lightly touching the edge of a tablet that held the most dangerous financial data I'd ever seen.

Ethan, my husband of convenience who had unexpectedly become an ally, sat across from me. His jaw was tight, his eyes darting between the other board members as if he was trying to read their minds. If only he could read mine.

"Dr. Chen," Victoria's smooth voice broke the silence. "Your analysis of the quantum shifts in the market seems... unusual. Could you explain?"

I met her gaze. Her piercing eyes seemed to hide secrets beyond what I could understand. Was it just my imagination, or did they flicker with a strange light?

"Of course, Ms. Drake," I said, keeping my voice steady despite the rush of adrenaline. "The quantum computer has shown patterns that were invisible to traditional economic models. These shifts suggest—"

A sudden tremor shook the building, interrupting me. Glasses clinked, and a few gasps filled the room.

"Just a small earthquake," one of the board members chuckled nervously.

But Ethan and I exchanged a glance. Nothing was "just" anything anymore.

As I stood to continue, a sharp pain shot through my head. The room spun, and for a moment, I saw not the boardroom, but a swirl of numbers and symbols, stock prices rising and falling like a digital wave.

I grabbed the edge of the table, blinking quickly. When my vision cleared, I noticed everyone staring at me.

"Are you okay, Dr. Chen?" Victoria asked, her voice a mix of concern and curiosity.

"Yes, I'm fine," I lied. "As I was saying, these quantum shifts—"

The lights flickered, then went out completely. Emergency generators kicked in, filling the room with an eerie red glow.

"Security protocol alpha engaged," a robotic voice announced. "Please stay calm and remain in your current location."

Ethan was on his feet in an instant. "What's going on?" he asked, his hand reaching for mine under the table.

I squeezed it, thankful for the connection, even as my mind raced through possibilities. Another vision? An attack? Or something worse?

"I'm sure it's just a temporary glitch," Victoria said soothingly, but her eyes stayed on me.

The tablet in front of me suddenly lit up, lines of code scrolling across the screen too fast to read. My heart pounded as I recognized pieces of the quantum algorithms we had been working on.

"Ethan," I whispered urgently. "Someone's accessing the quantum data."

His eyes widened in alarm, but before he could respond, the doors burst open. Men in black tactical gear stormed in, weapons raised.

"Nobody move!" one of them shouted.

Chaos erupted. Board members dove under the table, shouts and screams filling the air. Ethan's hand tightened around mine, pulling me close.

"Trust me," he murmured in my ear, then he moved, pulling me with him.

We ducked low, weaving between panicked executives and overturned chairs. My mind was spinning, trying to understand what was happening. Who were these intruders? What did they want?

A hand grabbed my arm, and I turned, ready to fight. But it was Victoria, her face calm and unreadable.

"This way," she whispered, pointing to a hidden panel in the wall that had slid open.

I hesitated, looking at Ethan. He nodded, and we followed Victoria into the darkness.

The panel closed behind us, muffling the noise in the boardroom. We were in a narrow hallway, emergency lights casting long shadows.

"What the hell is going on?" I demanded as we ran.

"Corporate espionage," Victoria replied quickly. "But not like anything we've seen before."

We rounded a corner, and I gasped. A holographic display covered an entire wall, showing real-time data from thousands of quantum sensors throughout the building.

"They're after the quantum core," Ethan said, his voice tense.

I watched in horror as red dots representing the intruders spread through the building like a virus.

"We need to get to the secure server room," Victoria said, typing quickly on a hidden keypad. "It's our only chance to protect the data."

Another tremor shook the building, stronger this time. Dust fell from the ceiling.

"That's no earthquake," I muttered, feeling a chill.

We raced through a maze of hidden corridors, the sounds of fighting growing louder. My mind worked overtime, connecting dots I hadn't even known existed.

"The quantum shifts," I gasped as we ran. "They're not just in the market. They're in reality itself!"

Ethan shot me a surprised look. "What are you saying, Olivia?"

"I'm saying that whoever is behind this isn't just after financial data. They're trying to manipulate the fabric of our world!"

We stopped in front of a massive vault door. Victoria placed her hand on a scanner, and it slowly began to open.

"Once we're inside, we'll have access to the quantum core," she explained. "We can shut it down, prevent them from—"

A deafening explosion shook the hallway. I was thrown off my feet, hitting the wall hard. My ears rang, and smoke filled the air.

Through the smoke, I saw dark figures approaching. Victoria was on the ground, not moving. Ethan struggled to stand, placing himself between me and the attackers.

"Well, well," a chillingly familiar voice said through the chaos. "I must say, I'm impressed you made it this far."

As the smoke cleared, my blood ran cold. Standing before us, a cruel smile on his face, was a man I thought I'd never see again.

My ex-fiancé, the one I believed had died years ago.

"Hello, Olivia," he said, pointing a strange, glowing weapon at us. "Did you miss me?"

The quantum core hummed behind us, reality itself seeming to twist around its power. In that moment, I realized that everything—my marriage to Ethan, the economic theories, the visions—had led to this point.

And I had a sinking feeling that the fate of not just our world, but many others, hung in the balance.

As my ex-fiancé's finger tightened on the trigger, time seemed to slow. I saw multiple futures branching out before us, each more terrifying than the last.

In that frozen moment, I made a decision that would change everything.

I lunged for the quantum core.