Chapter 48: chapter 48
One month later.
Fernandez Corp operated like a well-oiled machine on the surface—but beneath that polished exterior, a silent storm brewed.
For the past month, Y/N had been working relentlessly behind the scenes—tracking every transaction, every shadowy wire transfer, every internal leak. She did it all quietly. Carefully. Not even her assistant knew the full scope.
Only Felix and Yuri were in the loop.
Felix had become a frequent visitor to her office, always arriving casually with a laptop slung over his shoulder, slipping in and out like a ghost. He and Y/N worked late hours behind locked doors, often with the lights dimmed and digital maps glowing on their screens.
The employees began to notice.
Whispers spread like wildfire.
"Miss Fernandez and the IT guy? You think they're…?"
"Come on, he's kinda goofy—no way."
"They've been alone in her office for hours. That's not business, that's something."
But then there was Yuri Hanamitchi—the calm, composed executive whose presence around Miss Fernandez felt different. Subtle. Unspoken.
"They've known each other for years, right?"
"Yeah, someone said they're just family friends."
"Still… have you seen the way he looks at her?"
Yuri never addressed the rumors. He played it cool, letting the talk roll off him like rain. But behind his still gaze, he noticed everything—especially how much time Felix was spending with Y/N.
One late evening, the three of them were still in Y/N's office—Felix lounging on the couch, typing away, and Y/N reviewing internal files. Yuri stood by the window, arms crossed, watching the city… and watching them.
Suddenly, Yuri turned toward Felix.
"Felix," he said calmly. "I need to start learning hacking. Codes. Encryption. All of it."
Felix blinked, hands freezing mid-type. "Eh? Why? That's literally why I'm here, bro."
Yuri narrowed his eyes just slightly, his tone smooth as ever.
"Because you've been spending more time with my to-be wife… than her to-be husband."
Felix dropped his laptop on his lap and sat up with the biggest grin.
"Yooooooo… CHEESYYYYYY!" he laughed, pointing dramatically. "Damn, you finally said it out loud! I knew it!"
Y/N glanced up from her screen, smirking but not interrupting.
Felix leaned toward Yuri, nudging him with a grin.
"Don't worry, bro. She's got a cold heart for business, but I've seen the way she softens when you walk in. Your spot's safe."
Yuri gave a sly half-smile. "Good. Because I don't share."
Felix raised both hands, laughing. "Noted. Hacker code: Bros before encrypted files."
Y/N rolled her eyes playfully. "You two are ridiculous."
But inside, she was smiling.
Because for once, the war outside paused—and she felt home.
Just as Felix was leaning back, ready to crack another joke, a sharp alarm ping from his laptop shattered the mood.
His eyes snapped to the screen, hands flying over the keyboard.
Yuri straightened immediately. "What is it?"
Felix didn't answer right away. His brows furrowed, his playful energy gone in an instant.
Y/N walked over, her heels clicking across the marble floor.
Felix's voice was low. "Someone just accessed the internal audit logs from two years ago… and tried to delete them."
Y/N froze.
"They're cleaning up."
"Exactly," Felix said, rapidly tracing the signal. "And whoever it is? They're panicking. They used a buried backdoor from the old security wing. It's clumsy. They're not a pro."
"Which means," Yuri added, stepping closer, "we're getting too close."
Felix's eyes gleamed. "Even better—I caught the access trail before they could cover it. I'm isolating the IP."
The room fell silent as lines of code scrolled across the screen.
Then—click.
Felix looked up, eyes sharp.
"Got it."
He spun the laptop to face them. On the screen: a name.
Michael Renner – Director of Internal Finance.
Y/N's expression darkened. "He was my father's man. Loyal. Trusted."
Yuri's jaw clenched. "And now he's trying to erase proof."
Felix nodded. "And there's more—he's been forwarding internal files to an external server registered under a shell company… owned by one of your board members."
Y/N's voice was like steel.
"Prepare everything. Lock his access. Pull surveillance. I want him watched."
Felix cracked his knuckles. "Consider it done."
Yuri stepped beside her. "What's the next move?"
She turned, eyes burning cold fire.
"We don't confront him yet. We let him sweat. But we start building the noose."
Y/N stood still, staring at the name glowing on the laptop screen. Her fingers curled slightly at her sides. The rage was there—but so was the restraint.
Then, Yuri stepped in front of her. Close. Voice low but urgent.
"Babe… let's take action now. Before it's all gone."
She looked at him, torn between her calculated patience and the fire burning in her chest.
"But—" she started, her voice tight.
"What if we push too soon? What if they cover the rest?"
Yuri gently took her hand, steady and sure.
"Don't worry. I'm here."
Then, a confident smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
"I'm Hanamitchi."
That familiar warmth in his voice—half teasing, half promise—cut through her doubt like a blade.
She stared at him for a moment, then let out a quiet breath.
"…Alright. Let's burn them down."
Felix's fingers danced across the keyboard as he pulled up the network logs and traced the last data ping. A map loaded—highlighting a gray zone on the outskirts of the city.
He turned his laptop toward Yuri and Y/N.
"Location is X-942. Abandoned textile warehouse, eastern docks."
He zoomed in on a grainy satellite shot of a very old building with rusted roof panels and boarded-up windows.
"It's not just a data dump. They've been using it for exchanges—I ran thermal scans from old security feeds. People in and out, always at night. You're not gonna believe this…"
He tapped again. Surveillance snapshots flicked across the screen—faint figures exchanging duffel bags in the shadows.
"They're moving drugs," Felix said, voice grim now. "It's way beyond corporate fraud. This is organized crime-level stuff. And the paper trail runs through Renner… and three board members."
Y/N's expression turned ice-cold.
"They used my father's company… to clean their money."
Yuri stepped beside her, fists clenched.
"We go in. Tonight."
Felix raised a brow. "You sure? This isn't just corporate espionage anymore. This is cartel stuff."
Y/N glanced at Yuri. He gave her a steady nod.
"I'm done watching," she said. "We end this."
Yuri nodded. "I'll get the car. Felix, grab everything we need. Surveillance, files, backups."
Felix saluted with a grin. "Operation Checkmate, baby."
Later that night – 11:43 PM.
A black SUV rolled silently down the dark road leading to the eastern docks. The full moon cast a cold silver glow across the rusting rooftops of the abandoned warehouse district.
Inside the vehicle:
Y/N sat in the back, dressed in all black—sleeveless tactical gear, sleek and silent. Her hair was tied back, eyes razor-focused.
Yuri sat beside her,
Hanamitchi mode: activated.
Keifer and David loading a compact sidearm and checking their earpiece. Calm. Calculated.
Up front, Felix was monitoring thermal scans from a portable rig, eyes flicking across heat signatures in the warehouse.
"Six heat readings inside. One outside, acting as a lookout. No civilians. Movement patterns suggest they're waiting on a delivery."
Y/N leaned forward. "Can you shut down power?"
Felix smirked. "You ask, I deliver."
He tapped a command. The warehouse lights flickered… then blacked out completely.
Yuri glanced at Y/N. "Ready?"
She met his gaze. "Let's finish this."
They moved like shadows.
They slipped out of the SUV, disappearing into the night. Felix's voice echoed softly through the earpiece.
"Southwest entrance—unguarded. Thermal confirms a corridor to the main chamber. You've got two minutes before they notice the blackout."
They reached the side door. Yuri picked the lock in under five seconds.
Inside, it smelled of mold, rust, and corruption.
Through the cracked boards, they saw them: Michael Renner and two suited men from the board—smoking cigars and casually checking the contents of a crate.
Inside? Bricks of white powder. Labeled "medical supplies."
Y/N's eyes hardened.
"Gottcha."
Inside the warehouse, the silence was broken only by the muffled voices of Michael Renner and the two board members, oblivious to the shadows closing in around them.
Y/N's voice cut through the air like a blade.
"Quite the business you've built in my father's name, Renner."
The three men turned—shocked, frozen.
Michael's cigar slipped from his fingers.
"Miss Fernandez—?!"
Too late.
Yuri moved first—swift and precise. He pinned one of the board members to the ground in seconds, disarming him and twisting his arm behind his back.
The other reached for a weapon—Y/N's boot hit his wrist before he could draw, the gun clattering across the floor.
Felix's voice crackled through the comms.
"Backup's coming. I sent everything to the narcotics division and cybercrime unit. They'll be here in five."
Michael tried to back away, stammering.
"Y/N, listen—this wasn't personal. Your father—he wouldn't—"
She stepped forward, face like stone.
"Don't you dare speak his name."
She held up the flash drive. "You thought you erased everything. You didn't. And now, I own you."
Sirens wailed in the distance, faint but growing.
Yuri shoved the men toward a steel beam and zip-tied their hands with sharp precision.
"Don't worry. You'll still get your headline."
Y/N stood tall, the chaos behind her, the empire ahead of her.
She didn't just reclaim her company.
She cleansed it.