ADELINE

I brush my hair in a low bun, leaving a few strands at the front. Today, I will face The Chairman and Greyson ass Ledger. A terrible combination, I must say.

I put on a sleeveless black button-up and tug it inside my sand beige high-waisted pants. Today I am wearing black heels. I haven't worn heels in so long, but I want to impose some height when I face off with ledger.

He can no longer threaten me. But he will make sure to make my every move costly. I put on a coat and headed to my car.

Driving is especially hard this week. But yesterday was harder. The snow filled the streets until most houses disappeared. No cars were able to drive. Which is why I didn't go to work.

I am sure the chairman had a blast preparing everything for me. Especially since the interview aired at nine p.m. He was forced to drive through the snow and renovate the entire Pentagon.

Today, most of the roads were emptied, but not enough. I had to drive to the White House first before I crossed the bridge to get to the Pentagon.

When I arrive, I get out of the car and hug my coat tighter. It is cold today. I can see my breath in the air, and I am starting to regret wearing heels.

I walk inside and let out a relieved sigh. They turned on the heaters. I look around just to be met with the cold stares everyone seems to be giving me. I guess no one missed Norman's episode.

I was able to avoid them on my way to my office. I walk in after unlocking the door. The moment my eyes landed on my desk, I knew something was wrong. I approach the table carefully.

I open the third drawer, where I know I left all the files I took from the White House but it's empty. Shit. I open the second drawer, and it is empty too.

"That psycho!" I start searching my entire office for any papers I have had since the beginning of this case. Nothing. I can't even find the map the chairman gave me on my first day.

This office is almost brand new; what about my computer? Could Ledger have possibly stolen that too? I sit at my desk and turn on the computer.

I head to the saved folder I made a few days ago with all the details and recordings. It is not here. All my work is gone! I will kill him, I swear!

I shot right up and was about to storm out of the room to murder the entire male population, but I stopped in my tracks. I won't give him what he wants. I will not play his games.

I take a deep breath and instead head straight to the chairman. Luckily, I didn't see Greyson ass Ledger on my way, or I would have lost it.

I knock twice on the chairman's door and he lets me in. I don't bother to close the door behind me. "Mr. Santiago." His office is ice cold. Is this man insane? Close the window!

"Miss West, it's pleasant seeing you in real life again." It seems I got on his bad side. I am on everyone's bad side anyway. They are just lucky that I don't have enough motivation to commit murder.

I rub my bare arms as I approach his desk. "You have seen the news." I can see my breath in the air again. "Everyone in America saw the news. I must applaud you. It was a very bold move for such a fragile soul."

Is he threatening me with death, or is he implying that I am too small for such a big step? Whatever it is, both are offensive. "You left me no choice." I force myself to stand straight and face the cold.

He chuckles. They are not going to kill me; he is just trying to scare me. "You had plenty of choices. You just chose to be a problem." He opens one of his desk drawers and takes out a small red card.

My access.

"Enjoy it while it lasts." I sure will. I pick up the card and turn to leave. "Did I dismiss you?" That stopped me in my tracks. With a silent sigh, I turn around again.

"I am sorry, sir." I waited for him to start speaking again and to tell me what he forgot to say. But he dismisses me with a wave of his wrist. Did he humiliate me just to dismiss me again? Fucking asshole.

I bite the inside of my cheek until it draws blood. "Am I dismissed? Sir"

I won't fall for the same mistake twice. "Yes." He doesn't miss the chance to watch me walk out with half my dignity.

The second the door shuts, I am met with the creator of all trouble. Ledger. Well, there goes the other half. "Good morning, Adeline."

He is in red today. Blood red, to be specific. Couldn't reach for my blood, so he decided making a statement would do. Blond hair slicked back and white button down.

He wore a red vest to go with his suit, but I noticed something. He trimmed his hair. The sides are shorter, but the top is long enough to cover his entire head if left down.

He must be diligent in everything he does. A true villain. I would compliment him on his good looks if I did not know why this devil is here.

He raises his brow, questioningly. I don't have the nerve for this bullshit. "How can I help you?" I manage my best indifferent face. but I didn't consider how my tone would sound. "What is wrong, dear? Did someone rain on your parade?"

I am getting out of here before I say something I will regret. I make a point of glaring at him first before I turn in the other direction. He follows me as I stab the concrete with my heels.

It seems Greyson ass ledger has more to say. "Why are you following me?" I turn a corner, and he turns too. "Am I?"

This asshole. "Yes! You waited for me to get out!" The more he breathes, the more anger I will eventually show. He wants to get my reaction. I can't give him a reaction.

"Well," he says, moving a little faster than his previous slow strides. "Adeline, darling, I must say you looked exquisite on that TV show. Quite the performance."

A shiver runs down my spine at the nickname, but I am too angry to address it. I turn my head to look at him.

"How very kind of you to notice, Ledger." Since he is starting to add flatteries to his sentences, I might add some harshness to mine. "I thought I would stop by and congratulate you on your newfound fame, but I didn't find you at your office yesterday."

"So you helped yourself to some of my files." The bitterness in my words reveals how much it triggered me. He must have noticed because he is smirking like he won some sort of silent war. I turn my head away to avoid looking at him.

"Just a few." Someone save me. I should have known what that interview would cost me, but I didn't think the government itself would take it so personally as to derail my work intentionally.

We reach the elevator, and I press the button. I stand still, waiting for my lift to come. He stands beside me. Nearly double my height. Why is he still here? Didn't he say enough?

"You are still here," I say it as a fact. A fact he should change. "Will you tell Fishermen about that too?" This motherfucker needs an ego check. I take the elevator door opening as an excuse to not murder that entitled light pole.

We enter, and I press the first-floor button. He leans in front of me to press the second-floor button. His shoulders are so broad that they cover my entire view. I back away slightly as he returns to his former spot.

He is well aware that I think he is attractive, and he is not afraid to show it. Men are so shameless. The entire ride down is silent. When the elevator reaches the second floor, he turns to look at me.

His eyes slowly ran down my body and up again. "You look beautiful today, Adeline." The elevator door opens, and then the bastard winks at me.

The elevator door closes, and I can no longer see him. My eyes are wide in shock, and my jaw has touched the floor. I blink and swallow immediately. Did he just call me beautiful? Did Greyson ass Ledger just call me beautiful?!

I can feel my cheeks warm, and it only makes me angry. So what if Ledger thinks I am beautiful? I think he is a royal pain in my ass. Back to work, Adeline!

You have access now; you can do whatever you want.

⟺

"Replay that again," I say to the CCTV operator. He presses a button, and the footage of Windsor entering his office plays. Only an hour later does someone go to check on him.

The woman screams and calls the guards, who pronounce Windsor dead. No one entered or left Windsor's office before his arrival or after. The corridor is empty. But I spotted something.

In the footage before Windsor came, a guard stood and then left to stand on another angle. In the footage of the hour between Windsor's arrival and the discovery of his body, the corridor is empty. Except for the guard's foot, which shows slightly in the top right corner.

The guard had originally moved out of frame by the time Windsor was unlocking his office door, but once Windsor goes in, the foot reappears.

The woman comes and knocks on the office door, but no one answers. The foot has vanished. The woman goes in and screams. If the foot was an actual person, she would have gone to him first, or he would have rushed to her aid.

Which means this footage has been edited. I straighten and take a step back. Someone deleted the footage of the murderer and then cropped the video and replayed it in place of the deleted hour.

"What about the footage of the emergency stairs?" The operator switches to another screen. The stairs hadn't been used three days before, during, or after the murder, and I didn't spot anything odd in the footage. I would think nothing happened here if it weren't for the bullet holes.

What gang is advanced enough to infiltrate The White House's security? Why would they go this far for Windsor? If someone did infiltrate the White House, why is the chairman so relaxed about it?

Why didn't the Secret Service send extra forces to protect all those in The White House? Unless it wasn't at all a gang that did it, could it be possible? that the government did this all by itself.

What about The Senator? Could he be another victim too? Maybe he just had a horrible stroke. I can get his medical report, right?

I thank the CCTV operator and walk out of The White House. On my way, I spot the roses again and think back to my dying red rose. Should I get a new one? I stare at the roses for a while. Questions ring in my head.

If the government did it,. Kill Windsor and Millis. What then? Why was I hired? Why was I let into The Pentagon? No. I wasn't let into The Pentagon. I was cornered like a contagious dog. The public only partially calmed down when my investigation began.

But this is The Pentagon; it would be odd if I were allowed to do everything. There must be a lot of classified things; I could understand their concern.

Especially after the potential treachery in their ranks. I let out a sigh and push all the questions away. One question lags in my mind, though. If they did kill Windsor and Millis, then where do I stand?

Do I support my government and keep my mouth shut, or do I oppose them and risk my own life? Is it worth it? If they killed them, then they must have been traitors. Will I risk it for traitors?

I shake my head before I enter my Nissan. Thinking about this will only give me a headache. I have to busy myself.

I open the glove compartment and take out Windsor's file. This file is new; the old one only discussed his trials, so when I reached the first floor earlier today, I asked for a new one.

I opened the first page, and for a second I could almost see Greyson ass ledger winking at me in the back of my eyelids. "Ugh, I can't get rid of that asshole anywhere I go!"

I blink a few times to erase his image from my mind. I will have to bleach my eyes out because of him. Shaking my head, I start reading the file. I skip to the part about Windsor's relationship with The Senator.

They both objected to the Iraqi invasion, but it was only Windsor that went viral for it. Millis and Joe have been friends since the start of their political journey. They met in a conference room in 2007.

For some reason, it doesn't mention what conference room they met in or how Millis, who was at the time just a lowly politician, ended up in it. I need Millis's file. I can email The Chairman.

But that man is no longer on my side, and I am no longer obligated to go to him first. Who else could I ask? Greyson ass Ledger? No way; I would rather jump off a cliff.

I will just visit the basement. I drop the file in the passenger seat and drive back to The Pentagon. Driving around the state just for files is a very annoying thing. If these people were helpful, I would have everything on my computer.

I can't save anything on that computer anymore, not with ledger on my tail. I will have to find another way.

Soon, I arrived at The Pentagon. I headed straight to the elevator, but I spotted Scarlet and Matheo bickering again somewhere on my way.

These two never stop. I don't know what project they are working on, but it should have been given to someone else. Whoever hired them has horrible judgment.

I take the elevator down to the basement. Once I step into the artificially lit place, I am met with a receptionist. I walk into a small white room with doors on each side.

I hand her the red card with my name and ID on it. She scans it and then tells me to go left. I walk through the door on the left and down a small hallway. I take a turn and finally understand why this place is classified.

Rows upon rows of pillars that reach beyond sight. Lights planted into the ceiling shine dimly at the gigantic bookshelves that contain see-through drawers filled with folders upon folders.

I make my way to the first bookshelf and run a hand on the plastic of the drawers. Here lie the lives of millions of United States citizens. Imagine who I can find here.

My eyes light up with excitement, and a rush of rebellion paints my sensitive skin pink. I can spend eternity in here. "I wouldn't touch that if I was you."

A dark old, scrawny woman with a pair of slim glasses says this from further down the hall. She is sitting on a disk with an old computer and a light bulb swinging on top of her head.

How bizarre for a classified area to be run by a...

What is that? An 80's office outfit? I blink and approach her. "I am-"

"I know who you are. I have received a lot of calls about you," she shuffles angrily in one of her desk drawers. "About me?"

"Don't be surprised now, dear; you should expect such a thing." She waves a dismissive hand and takes out a file. I frown at her, and she eyes me like I lack common sense. Should I take it? I reach for the file and open the first page.

Millis Johnson, 1960 - 2023.

How the hell? "How did you know I would come for this?" She scoffs at me like I said something stupid. I seem to be saying lots of stupid things today. "We have been waiting for you since yesterday. You are way back on schedule."

Uha, I see. It must've been The Chairman who called. I imagine the amount of disaster this place has witnessed in my absence. A proud smile graces my face. "Can I look for files on my own here?"

She looks up from her rusty typewriter. Seriously, did I skip a few centuries on my way down here? "You can if you don't fear belt beatings and ass whippings."

The way she says it sounds so formal, even though she just used modern English. For some reason, I expected her to speak like Henry VIII, but in an American adaptation.

"But I have access?" I take out the red card and wave it in the air. "You have permission to ask for files unattended, young lady, not permission to child play with sensitive information."

"Now that is offensive." She fixes her glasses and looks me up and down. "But true." Ouch.

I search for her name on a label or something anywhere on her desk, but I can't find anything. These people said we reconstructed The Pentagon in 2011 to match modern technology, but they skipped the basement.

"Expect me often." She nods, and I walk back to the door. The fact that The Chairman knew I would come here personally looking for this specific file ticks me off. Are my thoughts written all over my face? Why does everyone seem to expect my next movement the moment they see me?

It doesn't matter; no one can stop me now anyway. I take the elevator back to the first floor and sit in the cafeteria. Opening Millis's file. Millis was a second cousin to The President at the time he met Windsor.

The President must have wanted to give Millis a head start in politics by taking him to conference rooms so early in his career. Millis and Windsor have been supportive of each other since then. Attending each other's weddings, baby showers, and even visiting each other on holidays.

Millis got wildly famous in his state and started a campaign. Soon, he was elected senator along with Sally Simon. They both became members of Congress following their debut in the Senate building.

Millis has three kids, and his wife is dead. I searched for any sort of medical history or report, but none was present. The only thing mentioned here is the cause of death. For real? That old lady had lots to say compared to how much I received.

I am seriously going to storm right back to the basement just to have a one-on-one with her. but if the information I want isn't included, then she won't give it to me. That means I will have to get it myself. I could consult Millis's private doctor and get his medical history.

But all that is in Michigan, along with the crime scene. Then it occurs to me. What if I go to Michigan? The Chairman won't complain; in fact, I would be doing him an immense favor.

I can pack today and leave tomorrow. I would need a day to get the medical report and find a lounging, another day to investigate the crime scene, and a third day to interview his family.

It is a nine-hour road trip. If I leave tomorrow by two, I will arrive at ten minimum. I still have time to find a hotel, or I can book one online now. The next day, I could save time by getting the medical report and investigating the crime scene. Then, on the third day, I would interview the family and leave the same day at 2:00 pm.

Tiresome, but it sounds like a plan to me.