THE SECRET IN THE MESSAGE

Isabella stared at her phone, reading the anonymous message for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Why did Jude Adeyemi hire you? Don't trust Zara. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

Her fingers tightened around the phone.

Who had sent it?

And why did they know about her?

She glanced around her small apartment, suddenly feeling as though someone was watching her.

"Get a grip, Isabella," she whispered to herself.

It was probably a cruel joke. She had only been working at Adeyemi Holdings for a short time. Why would anyone be interested in her?

Yet one question refused to leave her mind.

Why had Jude personally insisted that she work under his supervision?

She remembered the cold expression on his face, the way he spoke as though everyone around him existed to follow his orders.

And then there was Zara.

The beautiful woman had looked at Isabella with a strange mixture of hatred and pity.

A shiver ran down Isabella's spine.

The next morning, she arrived at the office earlier than usual, determined to concentrate on her work and ignore the strange events of the previous day.

Unfortunately, her plans lasted less than ten minutes.

"Miss Isabella."

She looked up.

Jude stood in front of her desk, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit. His expression was unreadable.

"Good morning, sir," she replied.

"Come to my office. Now."

Before she could ask why, he turned and walked away.

Isabella grabbed her notebook and followed him.

When she entered his office, Jude closed the door.

"Did you receive any unusual messages last night?" he asked.

Her heart skipped.

She studied his face carefully.

"Why are you asking me that?"

"Answer the question, Isabella."

She lifted her chin.

"I don't remember agreeing to surrender my privacy just because you happen to be my boss."

His jaw tightened.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Jude stepped closer to his desk.

"Someone has been asking questions about you."

Isabella's stomach twisted.

"What kind of questions?"

"Where you live. Who you spend time with. Why you applied for a position at my company."

She stared at him.

"That's ridiculous. Why would anyone care about me?"

"That's exactly what I'm trying to find out."

She hesitated before reaching into her handbag and taking out her phone.

"There is something you should see."

She showed him the anonymous message.

The moment Jude read it, his expression changed.

It was subtle, but she noticed.

His eyes darkened, and his fingers tightened around the phone.

"You received this last night?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me immediately?"

"Because I don't report every strange thing that happens in my life to you!"

"Isabella, this isn't a game."

"Neither is my life, Mr. Adeyemi."

Their eyes locked.

For a moment, something flickered across his face. It wasn't anger.

It looked almost like fear.

Then it disappeared.

"Stay away from Zara," he said quietly.

Isabella frowned.

"Why?"

"Because you don't know her."

"Then tell me who she is."

Jude turned toward the window.

"She's someone from my past."

"Your ex-girlfriend?"

He didn't answer.

His silence told her enough.

Isabella felt an unfamiliar ache in her chest. She had no reason to feel jealous. Jude was her boss, and their relationship was nothing more than a professional arrangement.

At least, that was what she kept telling herself.

"Does she hate me because of you?" Isabella asked.

Jude turned back to her.

"She doesn't know you well enough to hate you."

"Then why does she look at me as if I've stolen something from her?"

His expression hardened.

"Because Zara has never accepted losing."

Before Isabella could respond, Jude's phone rang.

He glanced at the screen.

For the first time since she had met him, he looked genuinely unsettled.

He answered the call.

"What?"

A pause.

Then his face drained of colour.

"No. That's impossible."

Isabella watched him carefully.

"What happened?" she whispered.

Jude ignored her.

"Listen to me. Nobody touches that file. Nobody. I'll handle it myself."

He ended the call and stood motionless for several seconds.

Then he looked at Isabella.

"Go back to your desk."

She didn't move.

"Jude, what is happening?"

It was the first time she had called him by his first name.

He noticed.

Something shifted in his eyes, but he quickly buried it.

"That's none of your concern."

"Someone is investigating me, your ex is threatening me, and now you're acting as though you've seen a ghost. How can you expect me not to ask questions?"

He walked toward the door and opened it.

"Please leave, Isabella."

The word please surprised her more than his command.

She gathered her things and stepped outside.

But before she could walk away, she heard him speaking on the phone again.

This time, his voice was barely above a whisper.

"Find out who sent her that message. And whatever you do, don't let Isabella discover what happened to my brother."

Isabella froze.

His brother?

She had never heard Jude mention a brother.

Slowly, she turned toward the slightly open door.

Then another voice came through the phone.

A woman's voice.

Zara's.

"You're too late, Jude," she said coldly. "The truth is already coming out."

Isabella's blood ran cold.

What truth?

And what had happened to Jude's brother?

She stepped away from the door