Chapter Twelve: Every Move You Make
1046 Words
Nathan stared at the camera lying in the leaves.
It wasn’t an ordinary consumer camera.
It was a professional DSLR fitted with a long telephoto lens—the kind paparazzi used to photograph celebrities from hundreds of meters away.
The red recording light was still blinking.
Whoever had been holding it had fled in such a hurry that they hadn’t even switched it off.
“Nathan!”
Amelia’s voice echoed from the dock.
He picked up the camera carefully, avoiding the buttons.
“Don’t touch anything,” he called back. “There may be fingerprints.”
She hurried toward him anyway.
“What happened?”
“He disappeared.”
She glanced around the quiet forest.
The only sounds were birds and the gentle rustling of leaves.
It looked peaceful.
Too peaceful.
“Do you think he’s still here?”
Nathan scanned the trees.
“I don’t know.”
“And I don’t intend to find out alone.”
Twenty minutes later, local police arrived.
The small clearing was cordoned off while officers photographed footprints and collected the camera as evidence.
A detective in his early forties introduced himself.
“Detective Mason.”
Nathan shook his hand.
“Thank you for coming.”
Mason nodded.
“Your manager filled me in.”
He turned toward Amelia.
“Are you Miss Brooks?”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to ask both of you a few questions.”
The interview lasted almost an hour.
When they finished, Detective Mason closed his notebook.
“Here’s what concerns me.”
Nathan folded his arms.
“I’m listening.”
“The person watching you had no intention of confronting you.”
“So?”
“They wanted information.”
“They’ve been observing.”
“Learning.”
“Waiting.”
Amelia felt a chill.
“Waiting for what?”
The detective looked at both of them.
“I don’t know.”
“And that’s what worries me.”
By the time they returned to the city, it was almost nine o’clock.
Oliver was already waiting in the penthouse.
“So?”
Nathan handed him the detective’s business card.
“They’re investigating.”
Oliver sighed.
“I’ve also hired another private security team.”
Amelia frowned.
“Another one?”
“We now have security outside your school, your apartment, and this building.”
Nathan looked surprised.
“My apartment too?”
Oliver gave him a flat look.
“You think whoever’s following you only cares about Amelia?”
Nathan fell silent.
He hadn’t considered that.
The following morning, Amelia insisted on returning to school.
Nathan wasn’t convinced.
“You could take a few days off.”
“And teach my students what?”
She smiled.
“That it’s okay to quit when life gets difficult?”
He sighed.
“I hate it when you make good points.”
“I know.”
Before she left, Nathan stopped her at the front door.
“Wait.”
She turned around.
He reached into a drawer beside the entrance and held out a small box.
“What’s this?”
“Open it.”
Inside lay a delicate silver bracelet.
Simple.
Elegant.
Almost ordinary.
She looked up.
“It’s beautiful.”
“It’s also a GPS tracker.”
She blinked.
“…Seriously?”
Nathan smiled apologetically.
“I had the jeweler hide it inside the clasp.”
“So you’ll know where I am?”
“So security will.”
She hesitated.
“It feels strange.”
“I know.”
“But it’ll help me breathe.”
She studied his face.
There was no manipulation.
No celebrity charm.
Just genuine concern.
Quietly, she fastened the bracelet around her wrist.
“There.”
She lifted her arm.
“Happy?”
Nathan nodded.
“A little.”
At school, the children noticed it immediately.
“Miss Brooks!”
A little girl pointed excitedly.
“Your bracelet is pretty.”
Amelia smiled.
“Thank you.”
Another child asked innocently,
“Did your boyfriend give it to you?”
The classroom burst into laughter.
Amelia laughed too.
“He did.”
The words came out so naturally that she didn’t realize what she’d said until the room grew quiet again.
Her boyfriend.
Not fake boyfriend.
Not actor.
Not Nathan Hart.
Just…
Her boyfriend.
She quickly changed the subject.
“Okay, everyone.”
“Open your reading books.”
But the words stayed with her all day.
Meanwhile, Nathan returned to the film set.
His co-star, Ethan Cruz, noticed his distracted expression almost immediately.
“You missed your mark three times.”
Nathan sighed.
“I’m thinking.”
“Dangerous hobby.”
Nathan laughed despite himself.
Ethan sat beside him.
“So…”
“What’s really going on?”
Nathan hesitated.
Then, for the first time, he told someone outside his inner circle about the threats.
Ethan’s smile faded.
“This isn’t fan behavior.”
“I know.”
“You need to be careful.”
Nathan nodded.
“I am.”
Ethan looked at him thoughtfully.
“And the teacher?”
Nathan’s expression softened.
“What about her?”
“Do you love her?”
Nathan didn’t answer.
Instead, he stared across the empty soundstage.
Finally, he admitted,
“I don’t know when it happened.”
“But when she’s not around…”
“The room feels empty.”
Ethan smiled knowingly.
“That’s not confusion.”
“That’s your answer.”
That evening, Oliver called an emergency meeting.
Nathan arrived to find Amelia already seated in the conference room.
On the large screen was a map of the city.
Dozens of red dots covered it.
“What is this?”
Oliver zoomed in.
“Our security team reviewed every confirmed sighting of the unknown photographer.”
He connected the dots with a blue line.
A route began to appear.
Nathan frowned.
“They’re not random.”
“Exactly.”
Oliver pointed to the final location.
“The route always ends here.”
Amelia leaned forward.
“Where?”
Oliver looked at both of them.
“Hart Entertainment.”
Silence filled the room.
Whoever had been following them…
Wasn’t just interested in Nathan’s personal life.
They were watching the company.
Which meant this was no longer just a celebrity scandal.
It was becoming something far more dangerous.
- Writer
