Page 43 of Royal Deception

I tilt my head slightly, lowering my voice just enough to make it feel like we’re on the same side. “Off the record, then. I get it—no one wants to be caught in the middle of something like this. But from what I hear, this whole situation has you on edge. And I’m guessing that’s not just because of work stress.”

His jaw tightens. He taps his fingers against the desk, debating something internally before finally shaking his head. “I don’t want to get him in trouble,” he mutters.

“Him?” I ask, pressing lightly.

He exhales heavily. “My ex, Darren Webb.”

I lift an eyebrow. “Your ex?”

Jordan lets out a bitter laugh. “Yeah. He’s in the IT department here. And the phrase ‘Don’t shit where you eat’ should be posted in every office breakroom. He was crazy. Hated all the time I spent with Mark. He was convinced I was screwing him.”

I tilt my head, letting Jordan talk. “And were you?”

Jordan rolls his eyes. “Not a chance. Mark is as straight as the day is long and my boss to boot. But Darren never believed that. He thought I was making the job more important than him.”

My instincts are on high alert now. “What happened when you broke up?”

“He lost it,” Jordan says, frowning. “Told me I’d regret it. That he’d make sure Mr. Veridan knew I wasn’t as loyal as he thought.”

My gut tightens. “And now there’s a data breach.”

Jordan nods grimly.

“Do you have anything more on him? Anything concrete that could point us in his direction?”

Jordan hesitates, then grabs his mouse. “I don’t have solid proof, but I was just scrolling through his socials. Figured I might find something.”

I lean over him and scan the page. Darren’s Facebook profile is pulled up. It’s filled with photos of nights out with friends, a few political rants, the usual. But then, something catches my eye in his friends list.

A familiar name.

Aleksey Mikhailov.

It’s like a switch flips in my brain, my pulse kicking up a notch. I know that name. One of Volkov’s most trusted men. One of the bastards responsible for Rose Brannagan’s kidnapping last year.

I keep my expression neutral, swallowing down my reaction as I casually point at the screen. “Who’s that?”

Jordan barely glances at the name. “Oh, uh, I don’t know. Some friend of Darren’s, I guess. Why?”

I force a small shrug. “Just curious.”

Inside, my mind is already working a mile a minute. If Darren is really friends with Aleksey, this is the connection we’ve been looking for.

Making my excuses, I leave, knowing I have the information I need now. I don’t even bother to hide my smug grin as I step intoRory’s office. He’s at his desk, sleeves rolled up, eyes scanning something on his laptop, but he looks up the second I walk in.

“I take it you found something,” he says, arching a brow.

I sit on the corner of his desk, crossing my legs. “Oh, you could say that.” I lean forward, enjoying the way his eyes travel to my legs. “I talked to the assistants. Mark’s assistant Jordan has an ex-boyfriend, Darren Webb, who works in Veridex’s IT department. According to Jordan, Darren was jealous, bitter, and hell-bent on revenge after their breakup.”

Rory’s expression turns thoughtful. “And you think Darren leaked the data?”

I nod. “I think he leaked it to someone who’d pay well for it.” I hold his gaze. “Someone like Aleksey Mikhailov.”

That gets his full attention. Rory leans forward, his sharp eyes locking onto mine. “Aleksey?”

I nod. “Darren’s Facebook friends list. He’s connected to Aleksey.”

Rory mutters a curse under his breath. He pushes back from his desk, standing as he rubs a hand along his jaw. “That makes a hell of a lot of sense. Aleksey ownsThe Gilded Cage.”