They walked to a nearby café and took a corner table away from the other customers.
The moment she sat down, Elena placed her handbag beside her. "Whatever you have to say, say it quickly."
Noah looked at her for a moment. "I was worried about you. Tell me honestly... are you okay? Did something happen at the party that night?"
Elena immediately frowned. Suspicion flashed across her eyes.
"That party was held by the Rowan family. There was security everywhere. What could possibly have gone wrong? Nothing happened."
Noah’s expression remained serious.
Elena leaned back. She was beginning to think he had nothing important to tell her and had simply invented an excuse to get her to sit down with him.
"If that’s all, I’ll leave." She reached for her handbag.
"It’s about the Sterling family."
Elena froze. Her hand stopped halfway. "What are you talking about? What about them?"
She slowly looked at him.
Noah hesitated. He couldn’t directly tell her about the drugged drink. If he did, he would have to explain how he had learned about Vivian’s plan.
Instead, he chose his words carefully. "Vivian Sterling is dangerous. She is obsessed with Elias. And obsessed people don’t always act rationally. She could do anything to hurt you."
This was nothing new to her. She had already known what Vivian felt about Elias.
For a moment, Elena simply stared at him. Then she let out a dry laugh.
"What an irony." Her voice carried a bitter edge. "You are here to warn me about Vivian? The person I trusted most betrayed me and hurt me. And now you are pretending to be worried about my safety."
Her eyes hardened.
"I don’t need your pity, Noah. I have people who will protect me. You should focus on your own life."
Noah lowered his gaze, his fingers slowly intertwining on the table.
"I know you don’t want to believe me. You don’t trust me anymore, and honestly, I don’t blame you."
He looked back at her. "But I’ve heard enough to know that she is dangerous."
Elena’s expression remained guarded. "Vivian has always hated me. That’s nothing new."
"No, Elena." Noah leaned forward. "This is different."
His voice dropped. "I’m telling you to be careful. She isn’t simply jealous anymore. She is willing to do whatever it takes to separate you from Elias."
Elena studied him silently. For the first time since they had started talking, she couldn’t detect any hidden agenda in his words.
He wasn’t asking her to leave Elias, nor was he asking for another chance. He wasn’t even trying to talk about their marriage. Instead, he simply looked worried, genuinely worried.
"If Vivian approaches you, don’t trust her. Don’t trust the Sterlings."
Elena’s brows knitted together.
Although Vivian was impulsive and obsessive, the Sterling family had been close to the Rowans for decades. They were longtime business partners and had worked together on countless ventures.
In fact, Elena had just finalized a new project involving them.
Why was Noah suddenly telling her not to trust them?
"The Rowans and the Sterlings have been friends and business partners for decades," she said skeptically. "If there was no trust between them, why would they have worked together for so long?"
She narrowed her eyes. "What are you planning, Noah? Are you trying to hurt Elias?"
"No, no." The denial came instantly. "This is not what I mean." He shook his head emphatically.
"I’m here to caution you. The Sterlings aren’t as harmless as they appear. They are planning something against Elias."
Elena’s heart skipped. A chill ran down her spine.
"What plan?"
For the first time since she had sat down, fear flickered in her eyes.
Noah looked anxious. "I don’t know every detail yet." He chose his next words carefully. "But I’m looking into it."
He couldn’t tell her about Victor and Cedric. Not yet. He still didn’t know how she would react, and revealing everything before he had enough evidence could jeopardize his investigation.
"I’ll tell you everything once I uncover the truth," he promised. "For now, all I want is for you to be careful. Especially around Vivian. She can do anything to ruin your reputation."
He paused before adding quietly, "Whatever happened between us, I don’t want you to get hurt."
Elena remained silent.
"I’m not asking you to come back to me," Noah continued. "I’m not trying to interfere in your marriage."
He swallowed. "I just want you to be careful."
Elena looked away. She still didn’t know whether she could trust him. But his warning had planted a seed of doubt in her mind.
Perhaps Noah was telling the truth. Perhaps there really was something happening behind the scenes.
"Keep your eyes open, Elena," he said quietly. "The people around the Rowan family aren’t always their friends. Some of them may be harmful."
Neither of them noticed the man sitting at a table across the café. He appeared to be casually scrolling through his phone. But his camera was quietly recording.
He had been watching them from the moment they entered. When Noah leaned closer to Elena, the man’s camera captured several photographs.
The angle was perfect.
In the pictures, Noah and Elena appeared to be having a secret, intimate meeting.
The man glanced through the photographs. A satisfied smile slowly spread across his face.
He sent all of them to Vivian.
Vivian sat inside her car outside Sterling Group’s headquarters.
Her phone vibrated. She glanced down.
One photograph appeared on the screen, then another and another. Her eyes widened slightly as she opened them.
’Noah and Elena are together at a café!’ her mind screamed.
Vivian’s lips slowly curved upward. "Perfect."
She enlarged the clearest photograph. To anyone looking at the picture, it appeared as though Elena had secretly met her former husband.
Vivian leaned back against the seat, her smile growing colder.
"You’ve just handed me exactly what I needed, Elena. Let’s see how Elias reacts when he finds out his wife has been meeting Noah behind his back."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
At Elias’s office...
That morning, Elias was busy reviewing paperwork when Vivian arrived.
She knocked lightly on his door before pushing it open.
Elias looked up from the documents on his desk. His expression immediately hardened when he saw her.
"Vivian?"
She smiled brightly. "Good morning."
She walked inside with a confident sway, a slim folder held against her chest.
Elias didn’t return her greeting. "What brings you here?"
His tone made his displeasure obvious.
Vivian moved closer to his desk, completely ignoring his cold attitude.
"What? Can’t I come here to check on you?" she asked playfully. "This isn’t the first time I’ve come to see you at work. I’m your friend. I can come here anytime I want."
Elias returned his attention to the documents in front of him. "I told you not to come. I’m busy. Don’t disturb me."
Vivian’s smile disappeared. "Come on, Elias. Do you think I’m useless?"
She placed the folder she had brought with her firmly on his desk. "I’m here for work. I’ve come to discuss the project."
Elias glanced at the folder.
"I’m leading the project from the Sterling Group’s side," Vivian added.
She wasn’t there merely as a representative of Sterling Group. She had volunteered to lead the project from their side.
The project was one of the largest collaborations between the two corporate empires in years—a joint venture to develop an advanced AI-powered infrastructure platform for smart cities.
Once deployed across multiple major cities, the project was expected to be worth billions. It was also highly confidential.
Only a limited number of executives from both companies had access to the complete project framework, including its technical architecture, financial projections, security protocols, and deployment strategy.
Elena had been appointed to oversee the entire project. The core concept had originated with her, and she had worked tirelessly to develop and finalize the initial framework.
Elias had given her complete authority over the project.
"Then you should meet Elena," he said dismissively.
Vivian’s smile didn’t falter. She already knew she was supposed to report to Elena. But instead of going to Elena’s office, she had deliberately come here.
She wanted to see Elias. More importantly, she wanted to see how he would react to her.
"I know," she said sweetly. "But I thought it would be better if I discussed the project with you first. After all, you are the boss."
Elias leaned back in his chair. "Since you’ve decided to work on this project, you should take it seriously."
"I am serious," Vivian said quickly, cutting him off before he could finish. "I’ll work hard. I won’t give you a single reason to complain."
Elias let out a dry chuckle. "Really?"
He had never seen Vivian show any real interest in business before. He couldn’t understand why the Sterling Group had chosen her for such an important project. But it wasn’t his concern.
If she couldn’t perform, he would simply pressure the Sterling Group to replace her. And honestly, he doubted he would even have to do that.
He was certain Vivian would walk away on her own within a few days.
"If you are serious, you should meet Elena," he said coldly. "She knows everything about the project. The core idea is hers."
His gaze returned to the documents on his desk. "Stop wasting both your time and mine. Go find her."