Chapter Four – Shadows:Exposed

Rain lashed against the windows of their Zurich penthouse, the sky above the lake dark and angry. It mirrored his mood.
He stood alone in the office, back to the door, staring at the screen. A message blinked in red:
CONFIDENTIAL LEAK: ‘Forex Prodigy’s Algorithm Origins Under Scrutiny.’
His past had come knocking.
She found him there, tension carved into every line of his body. He didn’t look at her when she stepped inside.
“I told you I’d never let anyone touch us,” he said, voice low, heavy. “But this… this goes deeper than I thought.”
She approached slowly. “What is it?”
“My father. The man I swore I’d never speak of. He sold part of my original code. Years ago. It’s resurfacing now, through Drex.”
She froze. “He stole from you?”
“No. I gave him access. I was fifteen. I trusted him. I was naive.”
Her heart ached at the shame in his voice. He had built himself from the ground up, but this—this was a crack in the foundation.
“He wants to ruin me,” he whispered. “Through the thing I care about most.”
She stepped in front of him, eyes locked to his. “Then he doesn’t know you. Because the thing you care about most is standing right here.”
His hands trembled as he cupped her face. “I don’t deserve you.”
“That’s not your choice to make.”
He kissed her then—deep, almost desperate. Not lust this time, but longing, fear, and the wild desire to hold on when the world shakes. They made love on the floor of that office, slow and tangled, with thunder crashing outside.
Later, in the afterglow, she whispered, “We fight this. Together.”
The next morning, a press release went out.
Full transparency. Full truth.
He stood beside her during the livestream—young, brilliant, unshaken. He spoke with clarity, humility, and confidence. He admitted the past, owned the code, explained the breach.
What happened next no one expected.
The markets rallied around him.
His honesty became his weapon.
That night, they returned to the penthouse. It was still raining. Still quiet.
He poured them wine and watched her cross the room, her bare feet silent against the wood.
“You saved me,” he said.
“No. I reminded you who you are.”
He set down the glass and pulled her into his lap.
She kissed his throat and whispered, “Let’s disappear.”
“For how long?”
“Long enough to remember why we started.”