ChapterNine
1007 Words
Mila’s POV
I couldn't sleep that night. The slightest things caused my heart to beat and shadows to make me feel safe. I was so fatigued even in the morning that coffee could not help.
Ruben had already attended an emergency board meeting, but he requested security to remain outside my door. Still, I was scared.
Around noon, my phone buzzed.
Luca: We need to talk. In person. Now.
I hesitated before replying.
Me: Where?
Luca: A cafe near the canal. Somewhere public.
That caused my chest to tighten.
When I came, Luca was there, sitting in a corner with his back to the wall. He looked different. His shoulders were stiff, and he continually looked about in case someone might come.
You are looking like you have not slept, he said when I sat down.
"I haven't," I replied. People continue to leave threats on my door.
He tightened his jaw. This is why I have invited you to come here.
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
Luca spoke with more low tones. "Mila, you're being watched."
The words hit me hard. "By who?"
I do not know, I told you, he said. But there is one who is keeping a watch over you. Your online activity. Even your building."
My hands were shaking, and I held my cup in my hands. "Is this because of the video?"
That was worse, he thought to himself. "But this started before that."
I stared at him. "How would you know?"
He waited a moment too long.
"Luca," I said quietly. "You're scaring me."
I am trying to protect you, he responded. "Last night I saw a pattern. Someone used traffic cameras outside your former apartment and outside the building of Titan Corp. The IP address was the same on both occasions.
I shook my head. That is like something in a movie.
"I wish it were," he said. “I would not be sitting here unless it was something.”
I let my voice drop. "Do you think it's Victoria?"
"Possibly," he said. However, she is not clever enough to do it all on her own.
That made my stomach twist.
"So what do I do?" I asked.
"For now, stay where you are. Don't go anywhere alone. If anything feels off, call me. Or Ruben."
I swallowed. I have too many fires to put out, that he knows of because of me, Ruben.
Luca's eyes softened. "You are not the fire, Mila. You are simply in the middle of it.
His phone sparked off before I had a chance to answer. He looked swiftly into it and rose.
"I have to go," he said. "Please be careful."
I saw him go, my head doing the rounds with questions unanswered.
At the apartment, I was attempting to keep myself occupied through work. Ruben was able to give me access to some of my old files through remote access, so I could assist silently in the background. I reasoned that it would make me feel useful once again.
I opened my laptop and logged in.
Things were going well in the beginning.
Then I saw something out of the ordinary.
It was one of my folders that was opened recently.
I frowned. The last time I had touched it was the week before the gala.
I went into the activity log.
My heart dropped.
There was somebody who had been into my files at three am.
Remotely.
I began to scroll through the list, and my hands were shaking. Financial reports. Internal emails. Draft notes had never been shown to anybody.
“No, this can not be right,” I said to myself.
I reloaded the site, just in case it was a glitch.
It wasn't.
I picked up my phone and dialled the number.
He responded the second time he was ringing. "Mila?"
Somebody has been into my files, said I. "From my account."
"When?" he asked.
"Last night. While I was here. While I was asleep."
There was a pause on the line. Too long.
"Luca," I said, panic rising. "Say something."
Do not touch anything, said he said in the end. "Log out and shut your laptop."
"Why?"
Just got serious because this is serious.
My throat felt dry. Do you reckon they are putting me in the frame?
"Yes," he said honestly. "And this time, they want proof."
I did so, and my fingers were so unaccustomed that I was afraid.
A few minutes after this, I heard a knock at my door.
I jumped.
“It is me, Mila, it is me,” Luca called.
I opened the door and admitted him, closing him out. He had gone immediately to the windows and had stopped before returning to me.
No, you must not, no, you must not, I said, breaking my voice. You returned to my life, and now, everything is worse.
He stepped closer. I returned because I had a sense that something was wrong. I simply did not expect it to be this near to you.
"What are you not telling me?" I asked.
He rubbed a hand through his hair and exhaled slowly. I would not have been pleased at making your discovery this way.
"Find out what?" I demanded.
Luca gazed at me, his expression grave, his voice monotonous and deep.
Mila, said he, Titan Corp is being investigated.
The room seemed to tilt.
"By whom?" I whispered.
"A European agency," he replied. "For corruption. Fraud. And the loss of major individuals who were related to the beginning of the company.
My chest felt tight. "And you?"
I have been involved in that investigation, he confessed.
I looked at him, and my brain whirred as everything started fitting in.
The warnings. The watching eyes. The files.
"And me?" I asked slowly. "Where do I fit into this?"
Luca looked at him with a guilty air.
In the middle of it, you are, he said.
And at this point, I realised that I would never feel safe again in my life.
- Writer
