Chapter Five - The Next Target
1592 Words
Maya leaned against the edge of the boardroom table, her gaze fixed on Cole. The memory of the terrace, the way he had held that woman, was still raw in her mind.
“Cole,” she said slowly, voice steady despite the tremor in her chest, “who is she?”
He looked at her, calm, unbothered, like he’d expected the question. “ Her name is Serena.”
Maya blinked. “Serena?”
He nodded, a faint smile curling on his lips. “Yes. I suppose you’ll hate me for it. But… I’m tired, Maya. Tired of hiding in your shadow, watching everyone praise you, adore you, treat you like the golden one while I stand behind you.”
“Blaming me for your choices?” she asked, her voice icy.
He shook his head. “Not blaming you. Just… stating a fact. I’ve always supported you, but it’s exhausting to be invisible in the very empire I helped build. I deserve more than a shadow.”
“But you are famous, you're a star, we work together, we’re a team” Maya said softly.
“ Yeah, but it just doesn't feel like that anymore”.
Maya pressed her lips together, furious and bewildered. She opened her mouth to reply, but he added casually, almost as if it were nothing:
“Unescapable.”
Maya froze. “Unescapable?”
“Yes. Some things… outcomes… I can't escape it, when the spotlight is on you.” Cole tried to explain.
“But the spotlight is on us…I mean us,” Maya said, trying to convince him.
He turned to look at her, shook his and said,“ Forget about it Maya” and stormed out of the room.
The word lodged itself in her mind, prickling at the edges of her curiosity and suspicion.
She didn’t know why, but she felt it carried a warning, a hint that something beyond her understanding was unfolding.
By mid-morning, she was in the quiet of her office, surrounded by files, reports, and spreadsheets.
She sat back, relaxed, as the conversation of the morning between her and Cole replayed in her mind.
Immediately she sat up.
Her fingers flew over the keyboard, pulling up account histories, transfers, and internal memos. Every line, every entry, was cross-checked.
She started with Liam. The accusations from the boardroom still echoed in her mind. She had to know, had he really sabotaged the empire?
Hours passed as she scoured records. At first, it looked like chaos but chaos didn’t create patterns.
Slowly, she began to see the subtle manipulations, duplicated entries, altered funds, misfiled contracts. Someone had been careful, precise, and methodical.
And then she found it.
Her heart skipped.
Amid the labyrinth of manipulated transactions, her own name appeared. A series of fund transfers, signed approvals, and authorizations all linked to her.
She felt her stomach drop. Someone was making it appear as though she herself was responsible for the destruction.
A cold clarity settled over her. She wasn’t just investigating the sabotage from before…she is the next target.
Maya’s mind spun. The numbers, the fake memos, the careful alignment of evidence… it wasn’t sloppy. Whoever was doing this knew exactly how to strike, exactly where to hide. She didn’t yet know who, but the message was clear: she had to act and fast.
Her hands shook as she closed the laptop. She needed guidance, someone she could trust without question. She grabbed her phone and dialed.
“Ivy,”...No answer.
She exhaled, frustrated, and tried her next call. Victor, her legal advisor.
“Victor,” she said, voice trembling slightly, “you home?”
“Yeah, what's going on?”. He asked.
“I’m coming to see you. There’s… something urgent I need to show you. Please be ready.”
“I’ll be here, Maya,” Victor replied calmly. “Drive safely.”
She hung up and rushed into her car, hands gripping the steering wheel tighter than necessary.
The city passed by in a blur. Her mind raced with everything she had discovered, the manipulated records, Liam’s accusations of fraud, the evidence against her, and the word Cole had said…“unescapable”.
She pressed the brake pedal as she approached a red light. Nothing happened. The car didn’t slow. Her pulse skyrocketed.
“Not now,” she whispered, slamming her foot harder on the pedal. Still, it refused to respond.
Panic clawed at her chest. She grabbed her phone with her free hand, dialed Ivy and pressed it to her ear.
“Ivy! It’s me! The brakes… they’re not working! Please, I need you..”
The streetlights blurred past her, She fought for control, hands shaking, heart pounding. She tried to steer toward an empty side street, toward anything that could stop the car.
Ivy’s voice came through, steady and calm but urgent. “Maya! Breathe. Focus. Turn the wheel slowly and look for something to slow down. Please!”
Maya’s eyes widened as the car hurtled toward a busy intersection. She gritted her teeth, twisting the wheel with all her strength, slamming it against a curb to try to stop the momentum. The screech of tires, the metal crunching, and the smell of burning rubber filled her senses.
But nothing worked. The car skidded violently, careening off the road, and then… the river.
Cold water swallowed her instantly. She screamed, the sound cut off by the rushing current. The car flipped, twisted, and began sinking. Panic clawed at her chest, but she fought, trying to keep her head above the icy water.
“Ivy!”...her last words.
The river’s current was too strong. Darkness pressed against her, and everything became chaos, water, metal, air, and the cold, suffocating silence.
When emergency crews arrived hours later, the car had vanished beneath the dark, churning water. Divers combed the river, finally recovering a body tangled in the wreckage. It was disfigured beyond recognition, facial features blurred, hair plastered, clothes torn.
No one could say for certain if it was Maya. Not the authorities, not the paramedics, not even the closest friends who had rushed to the scene.
The river kept its secret.
And somewhere, far away from the chaos, the empire she had fought for continued to crumble. Cole and Serena moved freely and undisturbed, while the world whispered and speculated about the fate of Maya Trent.
Months passed.
Cole and Serena stood at a small ceremony, exchanging vows, both smiling like nothing had happened.
Only a few people were in attendance.
Serena touched his arm.“We made it, Cole. Just you and me.”
“Yes. Just you and me.” He replied, and missed her.
Soon after, Cole met with his lawyer friend who is known for dirty work. Fred Gates.
“I want the company name changed, " Cole said. And the inheritance clause too”.
Fred grinned. “Easy. But you know these things won't be done easily.”
“Just do your best, and you will be handsomely rewarded”. Cole said.
“ What's the name of the company?” Fred asked. Scribbling down some notes.
“Trent Empire.”. Cole replied.
And in two weeks it was done. Investors clapped. Serena clung to his side like victory.
For a short while, the empire shined. Deals rolled in. Their pictures filled magazines as powerful couples.
But Cole made careless choices. He hired inexperienced players. He ignored warnings. The losses started small. Then bigger. Then heavy.
Serena tried to stay calm. “ Cole, the team is falling apart. Everyone is complaining.”
He waved her off. “They will win again. Relax.” He said feeling unbothered.
But they did not win.
Sponsors withdrew. Investors backed out. Fans turned their backs. People whispered that the Trent Empire was sinking fast.
One Morning, Cole sat alone in his office. Papers were scattered everywhere. His phone buzzed again and again with alerts of cancelled contracts.
The board called him on speaker.
“Cole, this is unacceptable. The empire is collapsing.” a board member said.
“Give me time”, he said.
“You had your time," one member replied. This is over.”
The call clicked off. Then the worst moment happened.
Serena came in, paced behind him.
“We just need one good deal, Cole. One. Something to stabilize the company.” she said, trying to give suggestions.
Before he could answer, his phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
He opened it. Just one photo.
His entire face was drained of color.
“Cole?” Serena asked, stepping closer. “What is it?”
He turned the screen toward her.
Serena’s breath caught.
It was a picture of the river…
the exact spot where Maya’s car had gone under…
At the bottom of the image, someone had typed:
“I know what you did.”
Serena’s voice trembled. “Cole… this has to be a joke. Maya is dead. They found her body.”
Cole’s voice was calm. “That was her. We handled it. End of story.”
Serena felt her whole body shaking.
“Cole… do you think she survived?”
He didn’t answer.
Serena backed away.
“Cole… who is sending this?!”
He stared at the screen, sweating, shaken, terrified.
“I don’t know,” he whispered.
But what they didn't know was…
Someone survived.
Someone is coming back.
Someone who knows what they did
But for now, the world believes the heiress of FLG, Maya Trent is gone.
- Writer
