6: ShadowsOfThePast
1126 Words
Carter.
That name should have meant nothing. Should have been just another ghost from the past.
But it wasn’t.
It was a thread—a frayed, untangling thread—that led straight back to her father’s death.
And now, after all these years, he was here.
Waiting for her.
She stepped into the company cafeteria, her pulse an unsteady rhythm beneath her skin.
And there he was.
Carter Hayes.
Older now, but still the same—sharp jaw, calculating eyes, a presence that was both casual and dangerous.
He was seated in a chair, one leg crossed over the other, as if this was a social visit.
“Alessia,” he greeted smoothly. “It’s been a while.”
She didn’t sit. Didn’t return the pleasantries.
Instead, she leveled him with a stare. “What do you want?”
A slow, amused smile. “You always were direct.”
“Cut the nostalgia, Carter.” Her voice was ice. “Why are you here?”
He exhaled, tilting his head. “I was in the area. Thought I’d check in.”
Liar.
She folded her arms. “Try again.”
For a moment, silence.
Then, too casually—
“You’ve been spending time with Theo Lennox.”
A chill crawled down her spine. “That’s none of your business.”
His gaze sharpened. “Isn’t it?”
Her stomach twisted, but she kept her face blank. “If you have something to say, say it.”
His smile faded. “You think you’re just fighting for a community, don’t you?” A pause, his voice dropping lower. “That’s what he thought, too.”
Everything in her went still.
Her pulse pounded in her ears. “Don’t.”
But Carter didn’t stop. He stopped to lean in, just enough to make it feel like a threat.
“You’re stepping into something bigger than a fight over land, Alessia.” His tone was almost pitying. “Your father didn’t realize that until it was too late.”
Her fingers clenched at her sides.
Carter let the silence stretch before delivering the final blow—
“You shouldn’t make the same mistake.”
He turned, walking away as if he hadn’t just cracked open a wound she’d spent years trying to close.
Then he was gone.
Leaving her standing there, breath unsteady, pulse racing—and the feeling that she had just stepped onto dangerous ground.
---
Theo had never been the kind of man to get distracted.
But tonight, as he stood in his penthouse, gazing out over the city skyline, his mind was elsewhere.
Back in the conference room.
Back to her.
Alessia Sinclair was a puzzle he hadn’t intended to solve.
But he had noticed something today. Something she hadn’t wanted him to see.
She held her breath when she was nervous. She had gripped that pen like it was a lifeline.
And her heartbeat had been too fast.
It wasn’t just anger. It wasn’t just defiance.
There was something else. Something she was hiding.
And the realization unsettled him.
Because now, he wanted to know more.
Needed to.
With a low exhale, he rolled his shoulders, stripping off his shirt as he made his way to the shower.
~~~
Alessia made her way to the office kitchenette, rolling her stiff shoulders.
The building was nearly empty now—just a few people still in their offices, buried in their own work.
As she reached for the coffee pot, she heard a voice behind her.
“You’re still here?”
She jumped.
A splash of coffee nearly burned her fingers as she turned, scowling at the unexpected presence.
Noah Hayes, one of her co-workers, leaned casually against the doorway.
“What, are you keeping tabs on me?” she muttered, setting the pot down.
Noah smirked. “If I was, I’d tell you that you overwork yourself.”
“Thanks for the unnecessary observation,” she deadpanned.
He stepped inside, crossing his arms.
“Seriously, Les. You’re running yourself into the ground over this Lennox project. It’s not worth it.”
Her jaw tensed. “I think it is.”
Noah sighed. “You always think you have to be the one to fix everything.”
She didn’t respond to that. Because if she did, she might say something too honest.
Instead, she poured her coffee, keeping her focus anywhere but him.
He hesitated before speaking again. “You know…” His tone softened. “You don’t have to do everything alone.”
Something about that sentence made her chest tighten.
Because she knew that.
She just didn’t know how to do anything else.
So instead of responding, she took a slow sip of coffee and said, “Go home, Noah.”
He sighed but didn’t argue. “Yeah, yeah. Try not to pass out on your way out, okay?”
And with that, he left.
Leaving Alessia standing there, alone again.
With too many thoughts, too little time, and a coffee that suddenly tasted too bitter.
~~~
The water was burning.
Theo let it pound against his skin, washing away the tension, the restlessness.
He exhaled, leaning forward, palms pressed against the cool marble as the steam curled around him.
But his mind wouldn’t still.
It’s not just about buildings.
Her words surfaced, unrequested.
Theo’s eyes flickered shut, the memory creeping in.
She had said it like a deflection. A casual remark meant to brush past something deeper.
But it had been true.
And now, it wouldn’t leave him alone.
Because it reminded him of something else. Someone else.
A different voice, from a different time.
‘Home. It's been destroyed.’
His jaw clenched. The steam thickened.
‘Run! Fire!’
His stomach twisted. The echo of the past too sharp, too real.
The air felt heavier now. Too thick.
He straightened, blinking hard. No. Not this. Not now.
But it was too late.
The memory slammed into him—visceral and unforgiving.
A room. Too bright. Too cold.
His hands. Trembling.
The voice came back. Pleading.
‘Theo, please—’
Pain. Everywhere. Nowhere.
His own breath, coming in frantic, uneven gasps—
The water pounded harder.
Theo sucked in a breath—too sharp, too fast.
His chest locked up.
His vision blurred.
The world tilted, and he staggered back.
His palm slapped against the shower wall—searching, grasping—but there was nothing.
Nothing except the crushing weight in his chest.
His body wouldn’t listen. His mind wouldn’t let go.
The past was choking him.
And then—he fell.
The last thing he heard before everything went black—
Was the sound of water still running. And a single, unfinished thought as he falls. “Not again.”
***
- Writer
