Secretary's POV

I sat at my desk, but I was not really here. My eyes were glued the screen of my phone, however my thoughts were everywhere else. My fingers hovered over the keyboard, waiting to type something important, but nothing came out and everything around me was quiet, too quiet.


Hades hasn't said much since the summit. His mood changed. I could feel the tension in his silence, the weight in the way he walked and it was like the world was slowly caving in on him, and he was too proud to scream for help.

And me? I felt like I was standing on broken glass.

I opened my drawer and took out the second phone. The one no one knew about. The one I use only when I have to speak to him, Raheem Kader.


I stared at the blank screen before unlocking it. There was a message sitting there from last night, 'Keep your position, stay close and observe."

That was it, No greeting, no names. It was just cold instructions.


I deleted it right away, like always, and dropped the phone back into the drawer.

Raheem wasn't just anyone. He was powerful, charismatic and he was a man with a thousand masks. When he brought me into this assignment, he told me it was about protecting Arab corporate interests. That Hades was a threat. That I was doing something noble.

But lately, It felt less noble and more personal.

Hades wasn't the monster I imagined. Yes, he was cold and calculating. Yes he could be arrogant, however he was under it all, there was something else and something broken and something human.

I sighed and stood up and pretended to stretch.

But my mind stretched back instead, it stretched back to that night, a year ago, when everything began.

___

It was raining hard and the streets were slick, and I had just lost my previous job when my phone buzzed with an unknown number. I almost didn't pick up immediately, but I eventually did.

'Is this Miss Ayra?" the voice asked. It was confident and smooth.

'Yes," I responded.

'My name is Raheem Kader. I have a business proposal."

Within forty-eight hours, I was sitting across from him in a high-rise office, and I was staring into eyes that seemed to see everything.

'You will work at Hades Corp," he said. 'As his secretary. You will be invisible. But you will watch and you will report to me and nothing more."

'And why would I do that?" I asked.

'Because Hades is dangerous. And because if you help me, I will help you rebuild your life."

And I believed him.

___

Back in the present, I paced around my desk and I felt sick.

Every report I have given Raheem was a piece of Hades. His moods, his decisions, the shifts in his empire. I was not just watching, I was helping tear him down.

And now, I was not so sure I wanted to.

Because lately, he has been different.

Last night, I saw him leave the office late. His tie was loose, his eyes red. He didn't even acknowledge me. Just walked past like a ghost.

Something was wrong.

I waited till evening, then called his driver. 'Where did Mr. Hades go after work?" I ask casually.

'To the penthouse," the man says. 'Didn't say a word all drive. Just told me to leave him alone."

My heart raced.

I grabbed my bag and headed to the elevator.

___

The penthouse was quiet when I arrived and I used the emergency access key he once gave me 'for scheduling reasons," and stepped inside.

The place was dark except for a single lamp in the living room.

And there he was.

Hades.

Slouched on the couch, shirt unbuttoned halfway, a glass of whiskey dangling from his fingers. Bottles litter the coffee table.

He didn't look up. I closed the door softly behind me. 'Sir?"

He flinched slightly however, he didn't turn.

'I…" I hesitated. My voice felt foreign. 'I came to check on you."

He laughed, but it was not a happy sound. It was low, bitter and hollow.

'I didn't ask you to."

'I know."

I took a slow step forward.

His head tilted back, and I saw the emptiness in his eyes.

'I'm fine," he said flatly.

'You don't look fine."

His glass slipped from his hand and hit the floor with a soft thud. There was no shattering, it was just surrender.

He rubbed his face with both hands. 'They are all snakes," he muttered. 'All of them."

I sat down on the other couch across from him.

'I can leave," I offer gently.

'No." His voice was rough. 'Stay. You are the only person who hasn't stabbed me in the back... I think."

I froze and his words landed like ice on my skin.

'I think."

He thought I was loyal.

He thought I was the only one left.

If only he knew.

I looked down at my hands. They trembled slightly. I wanted to say it. I want to confess everything. Right here, right now.

But something held me back.

His face, his pain and the silence around us.

Would telling him break him completely?

'Sir..." I begin slowly, trying to find the courage.

But he leaned forward, and rested his elbows on his knees. 'Did you know Raheem once offered me a deal? One I thought I needed more than anything?"

I blink. 'No."

'He's testing me now and toying with me and I think someone is feeding him things from the inside."

My blood ran cold.

He looked straight at me.

'I don't think it's you," he added. 'But if it ever is... tell me. Before it's too late."

I nodded slowly, though I said nothing.

I couldn't breathe.

I wanted to scream.

But all I did was whisper, 'I'm sorry."

He didn't ask why. He just leaned back and closed his eyes.

Within minutes, he's asleep and passed out, maybe.

I sat there, frozen in place.

And that was when it hit me.

I was not just a spy anymore. I was a traitor with a heart.

___

Later that night, I returned home. I opened my drawer and took out the second phone.

I start to type a message to Raheem.

'I want out."

But I deleted it before I sent it.

Because something tells me it was already too late.