📖 CHAPTER 10 – 2019
725 Words
Lila didn’t sleep that night.
She tried.
She really did.
But every time she closed her eyes, she saw the same thing.
2019.
Damian’s silence.
That look in his eyes when she asked.
Like she had touched something buried.
Something dangerous.
By morning, she was already up.
The house was still quiet.
Too quiet again.
She moved slowly downstairs, expecting to see staff moving around, breakfast, noise—anything normal.
But it was empty.
Not just empty.
Controlled empty.
Like someone had cleared it out on purpose.
Lila frowned.
“Okay… this is getting creepy.”
She checked her phone.
No new messages.
That made it worse.
Silence from unknown numbers was never a good sign.
She walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge, closed it again.
Nothing made sense.
Then she saw something on the counter.
A folded paper.
Not an envelope this time.
Just paper.
Her name written on it.
Same handwriting as before.
Her fingers hesitated.
Then she opened it.
“If you want answers about 2019, don’t ask him. Look at the company records yourself.”
Lila stared at it.
Slowly, her grip tightened.
“So it’s like that,” she muttered.
She looked around once.
No one.
Still, she felt like someone was watching her think.
She went back upstairs.
Straight to her room.
Locked the door.
Then opened her laptop.
Damian Cole Group.
The name alone brought up pages of business articles, achievements, interviews.
Clean.
Too clean.
She clicked older files.
Scrolling.
Scrolling.
Until she found it.
A headline.
Her breath slowed as she read it.
“Damian Cole Group faces sudden internal crisis after undisclosed partner collapse.”
Her brow furrowed.
She clicked another.
“Anonymous whistleblower exposes missing funds linked to Cole acquisition deal.”
Another.
“Junior executive found dead following investigation into Cole Group transactions.”
Lila froze.
Dead?
She sat back slowly in her chair.
“What…?”
Her hands didn’t move for a second.
Then she forced herself to keep scrolling.
More reports.
Some deleted.
Some incomplete.
Some just… missing entirely.
Her chest tightened.
This wasn’t just business trouble.
This was something people tried to bury.
A knock hit her door.
Hard.
Lila shut the laptop instantly.
“Who is it?”
No answer at first.
Then—
“Open the door.”
Damian.
Her stomach tightened.
She stood slowly, walked to the door, and opened it just a little.
He didn’t wait for permission.
He pushed it open wider and stepped in.
His eyes went straight to her face.
Then down.
Like he already knew.
“You were searching,” he said.
Not a question.
A statement.
Lila didn’t deny it.
“Someone told me to,” she replied.
That made him stop.
Just for a second.
Then his jaw tightened slightly.
“You’re being played,” he said.
“By who?” she asked immediately.
No answer.
Of course.
She laughed a little, shaking her head. “You really think silence is going to help you forever?”
He stepped closer.
Not aggressive.
But firm enough that the space between them disappeared a little.
“This is not something you dig into,” he said.
“And why not?” she shot back. “Because it makes you uncomfortable?”
That landed.
She saw it.
Just for a second.
Something in his eyes shifted.
Not anger.
Something heavier.
But he covered it quickly.
“Because people died,” he said quietly.
Silence.
That word stayed in the air longer than anything else.
Lila stopped talking.
For once.
Damian continued, voice lower now.
“And whoever is sending you messages… they’re not warning you to help you.”
He paused.
“They’re using you.”
That made her look up again.
“So what am I supposed to do?” she asked.
A beat.
Then—
“Stay out of it.”
Simple.
Final.
But Lila already knew that wasn’t an option anymore.
Because now she had seen enough.
And someone clearly didn’t want her seeing more.
Damian turned to leave.
But Lila spoke again.
“Why are you protecting me?”
He stopped.
Didn’t turn.
Just paused.
Long enough that the silence said too much.
Then he left.
And for the first time since this started…
Lila wasn’t scared of the messages anymore.
She was scared of what Damian wasn’t saying.
- Writer
