CHAPTER 5
960 Words
Emma POV
I couldn’t stop staring at the photo.
It was me no doubt about it. My hair tied in a neat bun. My coat buttoned all the way up. My eyes downcast like I was nervous, just trying to get through the doors of Winthrop Enterprises.
But someone had been watching me from far away, behind a camera.
And now that someone had left this photo where I would find it.
In our office.
Inside Travis’s company.
My hands shook as I slipped the photo and the note back into the red folder. I pressed it shut and glanced around the hallway. The office felt suddenly too quiet. The soft clicking of keyboards. The murmur of a distant phone call. Even the sound of someone stirring sugar into their coffee felt sharp in my ears.
Don’t trust anyone.
That’s what the note had said.
My stomach flipped as I thought of the faces around me. Vanessa. Her fake smile. Her cold warnings. The way she always seemed to know a little too much.
Could she have put the folder there?
Or was it someone else?
I looked down at the sticky note again. The writing was messy, like the person had scribbled it in a hurry. A little tilted, a little shaky.
He’s not who he says he is.
Did they mean Travis?
That didn’t make sense… did it?
I remembered the way Travis had looked at me earlier his eyes soft for the first time, almost kind. He wasn’t warm exactly, but he wasn’t cold anymore either. Something had shifted since that meeting yesterday. Since I spoke up for him.
Would someone who wanted to trick me say thank you?
Would someone who was dangerous… care?
I didn’t know what to believe anymore.
I slipped the red folder into my bag. I needed to think. To breathe. I walked quickly to the restroom, locking the door behind me. My reflection stared back from the mirror pale, wide-eyed, uncertain.
“Just breathe, Emma,” I whispered.
I counted to five. Then again. Then again.
After a while, I felt steady enough to leave.
When I stepped out, Vanessa was standing in the hallway.
Waiting.
She tilted her head. “You’ve been looking pale lately. Trouble sleeping?”
I didn’t answer.
Her red lips curled into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “You should take care of yourself. Things can get… stressful around here.”
She knew.
I could feel it in her voice, the way she dragged out the word “stressful” like it meant something more.
I clutched my bag tighter and walked past her without a word.
Back at my desk, I tried to focus. I typed reports. I answered emails. I acted like everything was normal.
But inside, everything felt upside down.
At 3:00 p.m., I heard Travis call my name.
“Emma. My office.”
His voice was calm. Not sharp like before. Just… steady.
I got up and walked in, heart thumping.
He gestured for me to sit. I did.
Then he surprised me.
“You look tired.”
I blinked. “I’m fine.”
He leaned back in his chair, watching me like he was trying to read my thoughts.
“If something’s bothering you,” he said slowly, “you can tell me.”
I hesitated.
Should I?
Was it a trap?
Or did he really care?
“I just didn’t sleep well,” I said softly.
He didn’t look convinced, but he nodded. “Alright. I wanted to let you know you’ll be joining me at the investor dinner tonight.”
My eyes widened. “Me?”
“Yes. I need someone I trust there. You’ll be taking notes. Staying close.”
The word trust echoed in my ears.
He trusted me?
My chest warmed just a little. Maybe I wasn’t alone after all.
“I’ll be ready,” I said.
He nodded again. “Good.”
When I left his office, Vanessa was waiting again, right outside.
She leaned close, her voice just a whisper.
“You think you’re special now? Don’t be stupid.”
I kept walking.
I wasn’t going to let her get to me. Not today.
I stayed late that evening, fixing Travis’s notes, checking the guest list for the dinner. The building got quieter and quieter as people left. By 6:00 p.m., only a few lights were still on.
And that’s when it happened.
I went to the copy room to print a final document. I opened the door.
And there on the table was another red folder.
My blood turned to ice.
No name on the outside. Just like before.
I looked around. No one.
With shaking hands, I opened it.
Inside was another photo.
Me again this time sitting at my desk, looking at the first red folder.
Someone had been watching me.
Not just from outside the building.
From inside.
I covered my mouth to keep from gasping.
On the back of the photo, another note was written in big, slanted letters:
You can’t trust him. You’re in danger. Leave now.
I dropped the photo like it had burned me.
Then I ran.
Back to my desk. Back to my bag. I stuffed the folder inside and hurried out into the elevator.
Down, down, down to the lobby.
My heart was racing so fast I could barely think.
Outside, the air was cool. I tried to breathe. Tried to decide if I should go home or stay for the dinner.
But just as I reached the street, someone stepped out of the shadows.
A man.
The same gray jacket.
The same low hat.
He didn’t say a word.
He just stood there.
Watching me.
I froze.
And then…
He smiled.
- Writer
