Chapter Nine
1120 Words
The Hunt
Amelia ran. Her footsteps echoed against the narrow alley as she clutched the flash drive tight in her fist. She did not dare look back. Every sound, the rustle of plastic bags, the hum of a streetlight, made her heart race faster.
When she reached her car, she fumbled with the keys, hands trembling too hard to fit the metal into the slot. She forced herself to breathe. Focus. She managed to start the engine and sped away into the night, headlights slicing through the fog.
Elias was gone. The thought hit her like a blade. He had risked his life to warn her, and now he was probably dead.
She drove with no direction, turning wherever the road led. Every shadow looked like a threat. Every passing car made her flinch. Her phone buzzed again, and she nearly screamed.
You should have stayed quiet.
No name. No number. Just those five words.
Tears blurred her eyes. She threw the phone onto the passenger seat and pressed harder on the accelerator. She needed a plan. If she went home, David would find her. If she went to the police, they would call him before listening to her story. He still looked perfect to everyone else, the charming husband, the successful businessman, the loving father.
She stopped near an abandoned petrol station. The air smelled of rust and rain. She opened her bag and pulled out the flash drive. It was small and cold in her hand. She had no laptop, but maybe there was a way to see what was inside.
Across the road, a dimly lit cyber café flickered with a neon sign. It looked old, almost forgotten, but it was open. She parked nearby, hood up, and entered quietly.
The place was nearly empty except for a tired clerk half-asleep behind the counter. Amelia chose a corner computer and plugged in the flash drive. Her pulse raced as folders appeared, each labeled with dates, bank names, and code words. She clicked one at random.
Dozens of scanned documents filled the screen. Transaction records. Fake passports. Contracts. And then photos.
She froze. Her own face stared back at her. Pictures of her wedding. Her house. Her children. Notes in the corner of each photo, written in David’s neat handwriting.
“Safe access. Full control.”
She covered her mouth, fighting the urge to cry out.
A message popped up on the screen suddenly.
“This device is being tracked.”
Her heart stopped. She yanked out the flash drive, grabbed her bag, and ran out the door.
Outside, the street was empty, but only for a moment. Headlights flared to life from a car parked across the road. The same dark car she had seen before.
Amelia ran toward her vehicle, fumbling with the keys again. The engine roared to life just as the other car began to move. She reversed hard and turned onto the main road, her tires screeching. The chase had begun.
Rain started to fall, making the road slick. The car behind her stayed close, its headlights glaring in her mirrors. She turned sharply into a side street, hoping to lose it, but it followed. She could see the outline of the driver now, a man wearing a cap, his expression cold and focused.
She pushed the car faster, heart thundering in her chest. The city lights blurred around her. She could hear her own breathing, fast and uneven.
Then she saw it, a small bridge ahead, half blocked by roadwork signs. She turned sharply and drove through, nearly hitting a cone. The pursuing car tried to follow, but it hit the barrier and skidded. Amelia didn’t wait to see what happened. She kept driving until the road led into the countryside.
When she finally stopped, the rain had turned to mist. She was shaking, soaked in sweat and fear. She parked behind an old farmhouse and switched off the engine. The silence was heavy, broken only by her ragged breathing.
For a moment, she allowed herself to cry. The tears came fast, hot and silent. Everything she thought she knew about her life had been a lie. Her husband, her safety, her future, it was all an illusion.
Then she remembered the note in Elias’s wallet. He works above.
Who was the man above David? And what did he want from her?
She pulled out the flash drive again and stared at it. She could not check it now, not while being hunted. But there was one person she could still trust.
Clara.
Amelia had spent days avoiding her, unsure whether to see her as a rival or an ally. But now she understood, they were both victims of the same man.
She took out a small notepad and wrote: Meet me tomorrow. Dawn. The pier behind the old warehouse. Then she folded the note and placed it inside an envelope. She would find a way to get it to Clara without being seen.
The wind howled outside. Amelia leaned back in the seat, eyes half-closed from exhaustion. She had not slept in almost two days.
Then she heard it, a faint knock on her window.
Her entire body froze.
The knock came again, louder this time. She turned slowly. A man stood outside the car, face hidden by the fog.
Amelia’s pulse hammered. She reached for her phone, but it was still in the front seat. The man bent down, trying to see through the glass.
“Who are you?” she whispered, though no one could hear.
He raised a hand and pressed something against the window. A small badge glinted in the faint light.
Police.
Amelia’s relief was instant and then it twisted into confusion. How had they found her here?
She rolled the window down a little. “What do you want?”
“Mrs. Morgan,” the man said calmly. “We need you to come with us.”
His voice was smooth, too smooth.
“Why?” she asked.
He smiled faintly. “Because your husband filed a report. He says you are missing. And unstable.”
Her blood ran cold. “That’s not true.”
“I’m afraid we still have to bring you in,” he said. “Orders from above.”
The words echoed in her head. He works above.
Amelia’s hand tightened on the steering wheel. The man’s eyes flicked toward the flash drive in her lap. He noticed.
“Give me that,” he said quietly.
She pressed her foot down on the accelerator. The car lurched forward, nearly hitting him. He shouted and reached for his gun.
The shot cracked through the fog as Amelia sped away into the darkness.
- Writer
