Chapter 183

Justice had finally caught up with Brinley, which left Hannah feeling lighter than she had in weeks. Things at the office seemed to be falling into place as well.

Spotting Hannah's upbeat mood, Felix decided to mark the occasion with a bouquet of cheerful yellow roses.

Finding another arrangement of flowers waiting on her desk, Hannah felt her smile waver when she noticed,once again, there was no name on the card. Could the sender have switched their preference to yellow this time? The ongoing mystery over who kept sending her anonymous bouquets continued to unsettle her.

Felix found her deep in thought, gazing at the flowers. He couldn't resist a playful jab. "You look troubled.Have yellow roses gone out of style for you?"

Surprise flickered across Hannah's face. "These are from you?"

Confirmation came with a nod. "I saw Evan's public statement online, just like we planned. Polaris Tech is backed into a corner now. That felt worth celebrating, so I brought flowers."

Relief softened Hannah's features. "Thanks, Felix. I'm glad these are yours."

For days, she had been getting red roses every evening, each bouquet as mysterious as the last. Now that the delivery had stopped, maybe the unwanted game was finally over. She allowed hersel to relax a bit.

"Work's wrapped up. Would you like to get dinner together?" Felix asked, trying to sound casual.

Things between them had been tense after he confessed his feelings, but their routine at work slowly helped them slip back into an easy familiarity.

Taking his time, Felix knew Hannah was fresh out of a broken marriage. Patience came easily to him-he could wait as long as she needed.

She turned him down with a gentle shake of her head. "I've got to stay behind and work on the program a bit more. It'll be a while. How about a rain check?"

He tried again, suggesting, "Want some company while you work?"

A quick answer followed. "No need. I'll just be running tests. It shouldn't take long."

Felix let it go at that. "Alright. Just let me know when you're home safe."

"I will," she replied.

Gradually, Nova Tech emptied as employees clocked out for the evening, until only Hannah remained in the quiet office.

Meanwhile, inside a Bentley stationed near the building, Derek glanced at the dashboard clock, realizing it was nearly eleven. He let out a tired yawn and asked, "Mr. Jones, is it that you don't know which floor Nova Tech is on?"

"Nineteenth floor, Building Nine, Cerulean Bay," Vincent answered right away.

Learning about Hannah and Felixlaunching Nova Tech together had prompted Vincent to memorize every detail about the company.

Given how long they'd been waiting, Derek spoke up. "If you're that familiar, why are we still out here? Why not go up and see her?"

They had watched employee after employee leave, yet Hannah was nowhere in sight.

Seeing her car parked close by, Vincent figured Hannah must still be working late. He waited a moment before replying, "What reason do I have to go up?"

Their offices both occupied buildings in the Cerulean Bay district-if she happened to spot him on the street, he could pass it off as pure chance. Climbing up to her floor, though-what message would that send?

Vincent had no intention of coming across as someone who would pester her after the divorce and even chase her all the way to her company. She already had enough reasons to find him exasperating.

Suddenly, the entire building went pitch black.

"Looks like a power outage," Derek remarked.

Vincent's reaction was immediate. Hannah did not do well in the dark. "I'm going up. Do we have an emergency flashlight in the car?"

"We've got one," Derek replied.

A quick handoff followed as Derek retrieved the flashlight and placed it in Vincent's grip.

Meanwhile,upstairs, Hannah's progress had been painstaking. She watched her program crawl up to 90%,but then the screen went dark, erasing a night's worth of effort.

A glance out her window revealed the rest of Cerulean Bay glowing with light. The blackout seemed to be limited to her own building. Not wasting a second, she activated her phone's flashlight and got ready to leave.

Encouragement echoed in her mind, telling her to go straight for the exit without looking back.

Passing by the front desk, something unexpected stopped her in her tracks. A strange red light flickered to life on the marble reception counter, painting the area in crimson.

Without thinking, she jerked backward, the cold doorframe pressing against the back of her neck.

Somehow, a bouquet of red roses had appeared atop the marble, as if conjured out of thin air.

Weakness crept into her knees, but she pushed herself toward the emergency stairwell, holding her breath as she hurried down the steps.

Midway down, a prickling sensation told her something wasn't right. The echo of footsteps-ones that weren't hers-filled the stairwell.

Realizing she wasn't alone, her heart pounded harder. She yanked off her heels and darted faster, desperate to escape, but a misstep sent her ankle twisting painfully.