The Name Behind The Shadow
601 Words
Chapter 20
The Name Behind the Shadow
The young man stood frozen long after Nadia had disappeared.
His heart was still racing.
He had followed dozens of people before.
None of them had ever noticed him.
Yet Nadia had discovered him within minutes.
He quickly pulled out his phone and made a call.
"I've been exposed."
A woman's voice answered immediately.
"How?"
"I don't know."
"I was careful."
There was a brief silence.
Then...
"Come and see me."
The call ended.
An hour later...
Vanessa sat inside a quiet café, her fingers tapping impatiently on the table.
The young man arrived and sat opposite her.
"You failed."
He lowered his head.
"She knew I was following her."
Vanessa frowned.
"Did she say anything?"
"She confronted me."
"What?"
"She didn't threaten me."
"She just... looked at me."
He swallowed nervously.
"I've never felt that way before."
Vanessa leaned forward.
"Did she tell you who she is?"
"No."
"But..."
He hesitated.
"I don't think she's an ordinary university student."
Vanessa scoffed.
"Don't be ridiculous."
"I'm serious."
"The way she looked at me..."
"It felt like she already knew every move I was going to make."
Vanessa remained silent.
For the first time, doubt crossed her mind.
Who exactly was Nadia?
The next morning...
Nadia arrived at the university as though nothing had happened.
She greeted a few classmates before entering the Faculty of Business.
Ethan was already waiting outside the lecture hall.
"Morning."
"Morning."
"You look happy today," Nadia said.
"I finally found something."
She looked at him curiously.
"About your laptop?"
He nodded.
"I still don't know who tried to access it."
"But I recovered part of the hidden program."
"And?"
"It wasn't meant to damage my computer."
"It was trying to copy information."
Nadia folded her arms.
"Did it succeed?"
"No."
"It failed."
She smiled.
"I guess the computer genius wins again."
Ethan laughed.
"I wouldn't celebrate yet."
"Why?"
"Whoever did it might try again."
Before Nadia could respond, the bell rang.
They entered the lecture hall together.
After their afternoon lecture, Ethan and Nadia returned to the library to rehearse their presentation.
Everything was going smoothly until Ethan's phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed immediately.
"My father."
Nadia noticed the change.
"You should answer."
He nodded and stepped outside.
As soon as he left, Nadia felt it again.
Someone was watching.
She calmly looked toward the library window.
Across the courtyard...
A man wearing a dark cap stood beside a black car.
Their eyes met for the briefest moment.
The man immediately looked away.
Nadia memorized his face.
He's not the same man from yesterday.
So they've changed people.
She returned to her notebook as though nothing had happened.
If someone wanted to watch her...
She would let them.
Sometimes the fastest way to find the person giving orders...
...was to follow the people carrying them out.
That evening...
In a dimly lit office, a man sat behind an expensive wooden desk.
Several files lay open before him.
One photograph rested on top.
It was Nadia.
The man studied it quietly before speaking.
"So this is the girl."
Another man standing nearby nodded.
"Yes, sir."
"Our people have been watching her."
"And?"
"Nothing unusual."
The older man smiled faintly.
"Then keep watching."
"I don't believe in coincidences."
He picked up Nadia's photograph one last time.
"Something about her..."
"...doesn't feel ordinary."
He slipped the photograph back into the file and closed it.
Neither he nor his assistant realized...
The person they were investigating had already noticed they were there.
The game had become far more dangerous.
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