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Zara sat behind her desk, tapping her pen on a stack of files as she stared at her computer screen. The weekly financials for the cinema were in. They were pretty decent, and certainly a jump from where they’d started.

She leaned back in her chair, stretching her legs out, mulling. Tess had been doing everything right. The cinema was on the way up, not down. So why was Phillip so pessimistic?

Well, it didn’t matter why. Zara’s job was only to meet the expectations. She refused to be intimidated by them.

Zara’s phone buzzed, snapping her out of her thoughts. She glanced at the screen and saw it was Tess. She answered quickly.

‘Hey. What’s up?’

‘You won’t believe this,’ Tess said, breathless with excitement. ‘I just got off the phone with Nina Clarke.’

Zara blinked. ‘Yes?’

‘She’s interested in showing her new film at the cinema. She’s coming by next week to discuss it! Can you believe it?’

‘That’s amazing,’ Zara told her, impressed. This was huge—Nina Clarke was a name that could draw in big crowds, bring press coverage, and change everything for Tess.

‘I know!’ Tess’s enthusiasm was big. Zara had never heard her like this. ‘I’m buzzing, Zara. This is the best news we’ve had in months.’

‘Great job getting her interested. Shall I come to the meeting?’

‘I bloody hope so,’ Tess said. ‘I need someone to make me look capable.’

‘You’ve always been that,’ Zara assured her.

‘Oh, also, I told Jerry about your idea. He’s so happy. I mean, I think he was. His face still looks like that. But I could tell. So thanks for that.’

‘Glad to help,’ Zara said.

The notification bar on Zara’s screen flashed. An email from her manager. A reply to something about the cinema she’d sent earlier. She opened the email, expecting a simple acknowledgement.

But it wasn’t that. Her eyes scanned the message, and her stomach flipped. This was bad. Really, really bad.

The worst part of the email was this part.

Adjust projections as necessary to ensure non-compliance. Deborah Sinclair remains extremely motivated to acquire if/when default occurs.

Zara quickly realised that she was not supposed to be reading this. Her boss had meant to send this to other managers, forwarding her original email to them. He must have clicked reply instead of forward. And now Zara knew what she shouldn’t know.

Deborah. It couldn’t be a coincidence—Deborah, Tess’s ex. The way she’d looked around the cinema, that bloody evil glint in her eye…

Zara’s hand tightened around her phone, and she realised Tess had been talking.

‘—so I was thinking you could wear that suit to the meeting with Nina, you know the white one? It’s really serious. I think it’ll show her what a business badass you are—’

‘Tess, I…’ Zara’s voice came out strangled, and she forced herself to breathe, to sound normal. ‘That sounds like a good idea. But let’s, um, talk in person?’

‘Oh. Sure, OK.’ There was a brief, awkward pause. ‘You’re OK, right?’

‘I’m fine. Just a few other things to deal with,’ she said vaguely. She needed a moment to think, to breathe.

‘Are you cheating on me with other businesses?’ Tess asked jovially. So light-hearted it hurt Zara to hear it. She didn’t know how screwed she was. How nothing she did was going to matter. They were taking The Eclipse.

‘Ha, yeah!’ Zara said weakly. ‘Gotta go.’

‘OK, sure. I gotta go too. I’m about to open the doors on our first autism-friendly showing.’ She paused. ‘Will I see you tonight?’

‘Umm, I don’t think I can. So much work,’ Zara said quickly.

‘Oh, OK,’ Tess said, a little quieter. ‘Well, I’ll let you go.’

‘OK, bye,’ Zara said and hung up.

She pressed her hands against her desk. Her mind was racing. The cinema wasn’t the only thing in trouble.

She’d been the one who talked Tess into taking out that loan. She’d promised Tess that Heritage Trust wasn’t some villainous bank.

And it was. It was evil to do this to Tess. Deborah wanted the cinema, and the bank was willing to let her have it.

They wanted Tess to fail. Worse, they’d make sure she did.

Zara should tell Tess, warn her. But how could she? Tess would hate her. She might even think Zara had been in on it. And now that Zara had seen that email, she was complicit.

Zara’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her office door creaking open. She looked up to see Phillip stepping inside, closing the door behind him. No knock.

‘Hey, Zara,’ he said, closing the door behind him. ‘Got a minute?’

She nodded neutrally. Phillip never came by her office without a reason. His presence now, timed moments after what she’d just read, was him panicking. Zara decided to leave the elephant in the room for him to point out. The least she could do was not make this easy for the bastard.

‘Of course. What’s up?’

‘You seem a bit tense. Everything OK?’ Phillip asked with a greasy smile.

Zara gave him a thin smile. ‘Yeah, just working on the cinema account. We’re working hard to meet the new quarterly targets, as you asked.’

‘Right,’ Phillip said, his grin frozen. He took a seat across from her desk, leaning back casually. ‘So, you saw the email?’

Zara crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, letting her smile fall away. ‘Yes.’

He looked like he was waiting for more. But he wasn’t getting it. Zara was seriously angry. She didn’t trust her mouth right now.

Phillip laughed awkwardly. ‘Funny thing about that.’ He leaned forward, his tone shifting into something more intimate. ‘I wasn’t supposed to send that to you. Little mistake on my part.’

Zara nodded. ‘I had worked that out, yes.’

‘So, I’m going to need you to delete that. Right now. And we can pretend it never happened.’

A hard laugh fell from Zara’s lips. ‘What?’

‘I think you heard me.’ His tone was still light, but there was an edge to it now. ‘That email wasn’t meant for you, Zara. And it would be… messy if it were to get out.’

Zara stared at him, trying to process what he was saying. He was asking her to play along. ‘Phillip, this is…’ she struggled to find the right words, ‘what you’re suggesting isn’t just unethical. It’s illegal. You’re forcing a default. I can’t—’

‘You can,’ he said softly, cutting her off. ‘And you will. The profits from this sale… Deborah Sinclair isn’t exactly trying to get a bargain here. She’s made it clear she’ll pay way over market value. The profit from this sale will look very good on the Q4 earnings report.’

Zara’s hands clenched into fists under the desk. ‘I don’t care.’

Phillip’s expression hardened, the friendliness slipping away entirely. ‘Listen, Zara, I like you. You’re smart and capable, and you’ve got a great future ahead of you. But if you start making noise about this, you’re going to make a lot of enemies. And I don’t just mean at this bank.’ He leaned in closer, his eyes locked on hers. ‘Think about your career. Think about all the clients you’re responsible for, all the projects you’ve worked so hard on. You don’t want to throw that away over some cinema.’

Zara’s throat tightened. ‘It’s not just some cinema,’ she said, her voice trembling despite herself. ‘It’s Tess’s life.’

‘And you want to protect her, right?’ Phillip’s voice was almost soothing, like he was talking to a child. ‘Then don’t make a fuss. Let things run their course. Deborah will take over, the bank will get what it needs, and everyone will move on. You’ll still have a job, and Tess can walk away clean. It’s the best outcome for everyone.’

‘Except for Tess,’ Zara snapped. ‘She loses everything.’

Phillip shrugged. ‘That’s business. Sometimes people lose. But it doesn’t have to be you.’

Zara felt a surge of anger, but she knew she was trapped. If she fought back, if she reported what she’d seen, Phillip would destroy her career. He had the power, and he wasn’t afraid to use it. But if she kept quiet, if she deleted the email and pretended she hadn’t seen it, she’d be betraying Tess. Betraying The Eclipse.

‘I’ll take that into consideration,’ she said finally, hating the way her voice wavered.

‘Of course,’ Phillip said, leaning back with a satisfied smile. ‘Take all the time you need. And remember, some battles aren’t worth fighting.’ He stood up, giving her a last, lingering look before turning to leave. ‘And make sure that email’s gone.’

The door closed behind him, and Zara felt tears from her eyes. For Tess and herself. Because if Tess lost The Eclipse, Zara knew in her heart she’d lose Tess.

Tess would never forgive Zara for playing any kind of part, knowing or unknowing, in losing the thing she cared about most. No matter what she did now, Tess would not be hers for much longer.