Chapter Five
924 Words
Adrian remained standing.
"I ran facial reconstruction on the yacht footage".
Raven went still, only for a second but he noticed, always observant "And?" she asked carefully
"There was another survival". silence, heavy silence.
Raven slowly lowered the tablet in her head "That's impossible"
"That's what I thought" Adrian stepped closer. "The footage was corrupted intentionally, Someone erased part of the passengers records before the investigation even started"
Her pulse began slowly, dangerously, not fear, focus "Who?"
"I don't know yet".
Something about the answer irritated her immediately "You expect me to believe the great Adrian Draven suddenly doesn't know anything?" his expression hardened "You think I came here to play games?" Raven crossed her arms slowly
"I think you came here because you're hiding something".
A dangerous pause followed then Adrian reached into his coat and tossed a file onto her desk.
It slide directly toward her, Raven looked down slowly, and her blood ran coldly instantly, because written across the top of the file were words
EVA LAURENT- CONFIDENTIAL INVESTIGATION
Her eyes snapped upward sharply Adrian's voice lowered, "Someone's already digging into your identity". The air inside the office suddenly felt heavier. Raven stared at the file on her desk without touching it, every instinct inside her sharpening instantly, her carefully built identity as Eva Laurent had survived for years without cracks.
No one was supposed to connect her to Raven Vale. No one
"Who?" She asked quietly. Adrian didn't answer immediately instead,he walked toward the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city below. But the tension in his posture told her otherwise "The file was sent anonymously to my private server this morning". he faintly said Raven's stomach tightened "This morning?"
"Yes".
Which meant Someone had already been investigating her before she ever walked into Draven Technology, that realisation sent unease crawling beneath her skin, slowly she opened the file.
Inside were photographs. Her arriving at the airport three weeks ago. Meeting investors overseas. Entering Laurent Dynamics. Someone had been tracking her movement for weeks, her pulse slowed dangerously.
Not fear.
Calculation
The next page hit harder. Old photographs of Raven Vale, then newer photographs of Eva Laurent beside them. Comparison analysis, facial measurements, scar mapping, the similarities were circled aggressively in red ink.
Raven's expression hardened instantly. "They're close", Adrian admitted quietly. Too close
One more confirmed details and everything would collapse.
Eva Laurent would disappear.
And Raven Vale, the dead heiress would become public again, she closed the file sharply "Who else has see. this?"
"No one".
Her eyes narrowed
"You expect me to trust that?" Adrian turned toward her slowly.
"If the board saw that file, your face would already be all over the news". Silence.
Because he was right, Raven hated that he was right. She walked away from the desk, forcing herself calm while thoughts spiralled violently inside her mind
Someone was watching her long before she returned to the city, which meant this wasn't random surveillance. It was targeted, personal
Adrian studied her carefully "You're scared". Raven laughed softly without humor "You wish"
"You're hiding it better than before" That annoyed her instantly. Before.
As if he still remembered the girl she used to be, she turned sharply toward him
"I didn't spend five years rebuilding myself just to panic because someone found old photographs".
"Those aren't old photographs". Adrian's voice darkened slightly
"They photographed you yesterday".
The words landed like ice water, Raven went still yesterday, someone had eyes on her yesterday, a dangerous silence settled between them, then suddenly her office phone rang, both of them looked toward it immediately. Raven frowned,her private executive line almost never rang directly. She walked toward the desk slowly and answered "This is Eva Laurent "
Static answered first then a distorted voice spoke softly through the line
"You should listen to Adrian" every muscle In Raven's body tightened instantly. Adrian noticed immediately, the voice continued calmly:
"Because next time... the file won't be private".
The line disconnected. silence.
Dead silence.
Raven lowered the phone slowly, her pulse was steady now, too steady. The kind of calm that came before disaster, Raven looked toward him sharply "How much surveillance do you have on me exactly?"
"Enough" The answer irritated her immediately
"Stop saying that like it explains anything". Adrian's jaw tightened "You're not understanding the situation".
"No" Raven snapped coldly "You're not understanding me".
The tension between them thickened instantly
"I survived before you. I built an empire before you and I stayed hidden for five years before you suddenly decided to interfere".
Adrian stepped closer slowly
"And now someone's hunting you again". His voice lowered dangerously. "This isn't about your pride anymore". Raven's breathing slowed because that word struck something sharp inside her.
Pride.
No. This wasn't pride
this was survival, depending on people got her killed once already, she wouldn't repeat that mistake.
Before she could answer, movement outside her office caught her attention, several employees suddenly gathered near the lobby screens downstairs, whispers spread rapidly across the executive floor. Then Raven's assistant rushed toward the office looking pale. "Ms. Laurent..." Raven frowned "What happened?" The assistant looked terrified "You need to see this".
Something in her tone immediately made Raven's stomach tighten.
Adrian walked toward the office television first and grabbed the remote the screen flickered on instantly.
Breaking News flooded the display then Raven stopped breathing, because her face appeared across every screen not Eva Laurent.
Raven Vale.
And beneath the image, bold red letters read:
DEAD HEIRESS ALIVE? SHOCKING CONNECTION TO LAURENT DYNAMICS CEO.
- Writer
