Chapter Fourteen: The Leak
1102 Words
Nathan woke before sunrise.
The apartment was still quiet.
For a brief moment, he allowed himself to forget everything.
The threats.
The cameras.
The contract.
He walked into the kitchen to make coffee.
Amelia was already there.
She stood barefoot by the window, wearing an oversized cream sweater, her hair tied into a loose bun as she watched the city wake beneath the pale morning sky.
“You beat me to the coffee.”
She smiled without turning around.
“I’ve been awake for an hour.”
“Worried?”
“A little.”
Nathan handed her a mug.
“You don’t have to carry this alone.”
She accepted it with a grateful smile.
“I know.”
For a few moments, they stood together in comfortable silence.
It was becoming their favorite kind of conversation.
Across the city…
Oliver had not slept at all.
He sat in Hart Entertainment’s cybersecurity office surrounded by monitors displaying thousands of files.
A young analyst hurried over.
“Mr. Grant.”
“I found something.”
Oliver stood immediately.
“What is it?”
The analyst enlarged a log on the main screen.
“The anonymous account that uploaded the edited press conference video…”
“We traced its login history.”
Oliver leaned closer.
“And?”
“It was uploaded using Hart Entertainment’s private network.”
Oliver’s face drained of color.
“So the leak really is inside the company.”
Less than an hour later, Nathan and Amelia arrived at headquarters.
Oliver met them in the underground garage.
“We’ve confirmed it.”
Nathan frowned.
“Confirmed what?”
“The person who edited the video accessed our internal servers.”
Amelia looked between them.
“So someone working here is helping whoever’s threatening us?”
Oliver nodded.
“Either helping…”
“…or they’re the one behind everything.”
Nathan requested every executive attend an emergency meeting.
Within thirty minutes, the boardroom was full.
Victor Lang sat calmly at the far end of the table, his expression unreadable.
Nathan remained standing.
“Someone inside this company leaked confidential information.”
No one spoke.
He placed a printed cybersecurity report on the table.
“This isn’t speculation.”
“It’s evidence.”
One by one, the executives flipped through the pages.
Helen Morris looked genuinely shocked.
Victor barely reacted.
Nathan noticed.
“You don’t seem surprised.”
Victor adjusted his cufflinks.
“I’ve worked in business for thirty years.”
“Leaks happen.”
Nathan narrowed his eyes.
“Not this many.”
The meeting ended with no answers.
As the executives filed out, Helen quietly approached Nathan.
“I need to tell you something.”
He looked at her.
“Not here.”
She glanced toward the hallway.
“There are cameras everywhere.”
Nathan frowned.
“Then where?”
“My office.”
“In an hour.”
She walked away before anyone noticed.
Meanwhile, Amelia decided to return to school.
She refused to let fear steal another day from her students.
During recess, she supervised the children on the playground.
Laughter filled the air.
For the first time in days, she relaxed.
Then she noticed a little boy crying near the swings.
“Ben?”
She knelt beside him.
“What’s wrong?”
He held out a folded piece of paper.
“A man told me to give this to you.”
Her heart stopped.
“What man?”
“He wore a black cap.”
“Where is he now?”
The little boy pointed toward the front gate.
But by the time Amelia looked…
The sidewalk was empty.
Hands trembling, she unfolded the note.
You’re making this harder than it needs to be.
No signature.
No explanation.
Just those seven words.
She immediately called Nathan.
Nathan answered on the first ring.
“Amelia?”
“I got another note.”
His expression darkened.
“Where are you?”
“At school.”
“I’m coming.”
“You don’t have to—”
“I’m already on my way.”
Twenty minutes later, Nathan arrived with two security officers.
The school principal met them outside.
“This is becoming unacceptable.”
Nathan nodded.
“I agree.”
He turned to Amelia.
“Show me.”
She handed him the note.
Nathan read it twice.
Then handed it to one of the officers.
“Bag it.”
“We’re sending it for fingerprints.”
The officer nodded.
“Right away.”
That evening, Nathan canceled every interview, rehearsal, and promotional event.
Oliver objected immediately.
“You have a magazine cover shoot tomorrow.”
“I’m canceling it.”
“The studio won’t like that.”
“They’ll survive.”
“What about the premiere next week?”
Nathan looked at him.
“If choosing between a movie and Amelia is difficult for someone…”
“They shouldn’t know me at all.”
Oliver studied him for a long moment.
Then smiled.
“You really are in love.”
Nathan didn’t deny it.
For the first time…
He couldn’t.
Later that night, Nathan drove Amelia back to the lake where they had found the abandoned camera.
This time, security searched the area first.
When they were finally alone on the dock, Amelia asked quietly,
“Why did you bring me here?”
Nathan skipped a small stone across the water.
“Because this is the only place where I feel like Nathan.”
“Not Mr. Perfect.”
She looked at him.
“I like Nathan better.”
He smiled.
“So do I.”
The wind carried the scent of pine and fresh rain.
For several minutes, they watched the water ripple beneath the moonlight.
Then Nathan reached into his jacket pocket.
He pulled out a folded piece of paper.
“The contract.”
Amelia recognized it immediately.
He looked down at it.
“I’ve been thinking…”
Slowly…
He tore it in half.
Then again.
And again.
Tiny pieces of paper drifted into the trash bin beside the dock.
Amelia stared at him.
“What are you doing?”
Nathan met her eyes.
“I don’t want a contract anymore.”
“I don’t want rules.”
“I don’t want deadlines.”
“I don’t know what happens next…”
“But if you stay…”
“I want it to be because you choose me.”
Not because of a signature.
Not because of money.
Just as Amelia opened her mouth to answer—
A deafening gunshot echoed through the trees.
The wooden railing beside Nathan exploded into splinters.
Someone had fired at them.
- Writer
