Chapter5
540 Words
The deeper you dig, the more you’re hurting.
Maxwell sat in his private study room at 1:03 a.m., staring at a paused video frame.
Eva. Leaving a grocery store three years ago.
She looked over her shoulder, nervous. Holding a child in one arm and cheap groceries in the other.
He hadn’t taken the footage. But someone had. And they had been sending it to him anonymously for over a year.
He had ignored it at first. Thought it was a scam. Or worse, Selene is playing games again.
But now he knew the truth. Eva had been living in the shadows with her son. And someone had been watching them both the whole time.
Flashback: One Hour Earlier
“Who’s been feeding you information?” Maxwell barked into the phone.
On the other end, his private investigator hesitated. “We don’t know. But the footage is real. Eva’s been tracked. Probably since the year she disappeared.”
“By who?”
We traced the digital route. The files were first sent from a shell IP owned by… Voss Global.
Maxwell’s hand clenched around his glass.
Selene.
She hadn’t just threatened Eva. She had stalked her. For years.
This wasn’t just a breakup anymore.
It was a setup.
Back in the present, Maxwell exhaled hard. His emotions were tangled: rage, guilt, disbelief.
He had hated Eva for five years.
But she had been running, not from him, but from a machine more powerful than either of them.
And he had done nothing to stop it.
He stood. Crossed to the hallway.
He opened the guest suite quietly.
Eva was curled beside Elijah on the bed, his small hand gripping her shirt in her sleep.
Maxwell stared at them both.
How many nights had she done this alone? No help. No money. Hunted.
He backed out slowly, heart heavy with something he hadn’t felt in years.
Remorse.
The next morning, Eva found him on the balcony, tied undone, staring into the city.
She hesitated. “You didn’t sleep.”
Maxwell turned. “Neither did you.”
She walked toward him, wary. “What are you thinking?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Then: “I know someone’s been watching you.”
Her blood froze. “What?”
He handed her a photo—grainy, timestamped. She was holding Elijah. The date read: January 5th, 2023.
Eva’s hand trembled. “Where did you get this?”
“I’ve been receiving files for over a year. I didn’t know they were real. Until now.”
Tears sprang into her eyes.
“I told you they wouldn’t stop,” she whispered.
“Selene?” he asked.
Eva nodded. “I tried to report it once. They threatened Elijah’s school. His safety. I stopped.”
Maxwell’s jaw tightened. “Not this time.”
He pulled out his phone. Dialed. “Phillip. Set up a press meeting. And find everything on Aldrich and Selene Voss. Every skeleton. Every dollar.”
Eva grabbed his arm. “No. If you go after them, they’ll retaliate.”
“Let them,” Maxwell growled. “I’ll burn their legacy before I let them touch you again.”
Her breath caught.
This wasn’t revenge anymore.
It was protection.
And maybe… something more.
- Writer
