The fall of our secrets

Chapter13

I was glad Allen didn't comment on my words and remained silent until I finished copying Ethan's project into my hard drive.

Seeing all the efforts he had put into this, I felt a pang of guilt hit me inside my heart. It wasn't right to steal someone's hard work, but I must do it because my little sister's life was on the line.

"I am done," I announced.

"Good, I will delete all of our traces from Ethan's server. Don't worry. He won't know you are the one who leaked his project to the Anderson's." Allen assured me.

But I know who is the traitor. How could I live with myself after this?

Stop it, Nina! You are doing your work, end of the story. My subconscious admonished, and I agreed with it. I had a mission, and I must do it.

I smiled at his words and nodded my head, even though he couldn't see me. "Thank you, Allen. You were of great help today."

"You are welcome, beautiful." With that, Allen ended the call, and I watched as Ethan's laptop turned off on its own after all the files were closed.

I hurried back to my room and called Alberto. "I have all the files you wanted."

"Excellent work, Nina. As always, you went beyond my expectations." Alberto praised, and I resisted the urge to gag.

"I will send them to you by email, and you can do whatever you want with them." I ignored his words and started loading the files.

"What else am I supposed to do with them? I will ruin Ethan Salviatti's work. He thinks he is strong and untouchable. Let's see how he will manage this time."

Do you remember the laugh of evil characters in Disney movies? It was the same sound Alberto produced. I ran my hand through my hair in frustration and cut him off. "If that's all, I will hang up."

"Yes, that's all. Well, at least for today because my destruction just began."

I didn't give him the chance to say any more poisonous words and pressed the end call button.

Once I was finished and made sure the files were deleted from my phone, I stretched on the bed and closed my eyes. How I wished this nightmare would be over. It was killing me slowly, and I couldn't do anything about it.

*********************

Patience was never my virtue. It was dark outside, and Ethan wasn't back yet. I don't know why I was nervous. Maybe I feared his reaction to what happened today. I could imagine his rage and frustration.

Silly girl! You are afraid he will discover the truth, and you will be six feet under the ground before you can even blink. Do you think a man with his power would be blind?

I shook my head to get rid of these dark thoughts. When I agreed to Alberto's offer, I knew my work would get dirty at any minute. And here I was, betraying the man who started trusting me.

Do you really believe Ethan Salviatti trusts you? You are more naïve than I thought.

The annoying rational part of my brain whispered. I sat on the couch and stared aimlessly at the TV. I can't do anything until Ethan is back, and I digest his mood and reactions.

It was two hours later that I heard the door being open. I schooled my features and pretended I was quietly watching a movie.

"You are still up," Ethan said as he went to the kitchen.

"Yes, I slept most of the day away, and I don't have the desire to sleep yet," I said nonchalantly and took a handful of popcorn from the bowl on my lap to munch on. It was an excellent technique to keep your mouth busy in tough situations like this.