Beyond the Secrets

CHOICES

Madelyn decided to go to Silver Lane Publishing since Mr Lane offered her an office space to work. She got to her space, sat at her desk, her mind racing with unanswered questions then she heard a knock at the door which caused her to shake. She looked up to see who it was. It was Jen.

"Hey, Miss Lyn, mind if I call you Lyn, Miss Lyn. So how's it going?" Jen asked, walking into the room.

Madelyn hesitated, unsure if she should share the message with Jen. But something about Rachel’s personal assistant's kind expression put her at ease.

"Yeah, sure you can call me Lyn but something weird just happened. I just got a mysterious message". Madelyn said, showing Jen the text. “And the number is not traceable.”

Jen's eyes widened as she read the message. "Talk about creepy," she said. "Do you have any idea who could have sent it? Perhaps ex-boyfriends"

Madelyn shook her head. "No, I don't. I don't date stalkers too. Don't you think if I did I wouldn't be calling it ‘mysterious’, she answered with an air quote when she mentioned mysterious. “But I have a feeling it's related to this book.”

Jen's expression turned serious. "We need to tell Mr. Lane about this,” she said. "He needs to know what's going on."

Madelyn nodded, feeling a sense of relief wash over her. She knew she couldn't handle this on her own, and thankfully with Jen's help, she felt more at ease. But Mr. Lane, she was still hesitant, but she knew this mysterious sender might be dangerous.

As they entered, Mr. Lane's office, Madelyn could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She tried to avoid Mr. Lane especially when his looks bothered her. She had no idea what to expect if she did not report this, but she knew that she had to be brave.

Drew looked up from his desk as the duo entered his office, his eyes narrowing as he saw the concern on Madelyn's face. "What's wrong?" he asked, his voice firm but gentle.

Jen looked at him with a sense of fear and seriousness. “Madelyn is being stalked by some random”

Madelyn took a deep breath and handed him the phone with the message displayed. "I received this message," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I think it's related to the project."

Drew's expression turned serious as he read the message. His eyes scanned the room, as if he was searching for something or someone. "How did you get this?" he asked, his voice low yet urgent.

Madelyn shook her head. "I don't know. I just received it on my phone a few moments ago."

Drew's eyes locked onto hers, and for a moment, Madelyn felt like he was searching her soul. "We need to be careful," he said finally. "This is a warning and we all need to be careful."

Jen looked at Madelyn but Madelyn's mind raced as she tried to process what Mr. Lane was saying. A warning? What did that mean?

Just as if he was reading my mind, Drew went on. “There are people who do not want this project to succeed-who believed Veronica’s novels are a curse to their writing business. They would go as far as tampering with it. Veronica received a lot of cryptic messages before she fell ill”

Madelyn's eyes widened as she realized the gravity of the situation. She had stumbled into something much bigger than she had ever imagined. She might end up like Veronica who the blogs still write as being held captive by her husband. She looked up with a sense of determination. "I'm not going to let them win, whoever they are" she said, her voice firm. "I'll do whatever it takes to make this project a success."

Jen’s eyes smiled, and for a moment, Madelyn saw a glimmer of approval. "I knew you were the right person for this job," she said. "Together, we'll make sure that this project succeeds, no matter what obstacles come our way, right Boss."

“Right” Drew answered looking at Madelyn

Madelyn hesitated, unsure if she should reveal the details. As they stood there, Madelyn's determination evident on her face, she remembered something important. "Mr Lane, this isn't the first message I've received," she said, her voice steady.

Drew's eyes narrowed, his gaze intensifying. "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice worried and urgent.

Something about Drew's expression made Madelyn trust him. "I received a message more mysterious than this yesterday, too," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "It said to ‘Meet at the old oak tree in the park at midnight. Come alone as they knew my house .'"

Drew's expression turned grave, his eyes flashing with concern. "And what did you do, you didn't go, did you?" he asked, his voice firm.

Madelyn shook her head. "No, I didn't. I was too scared." She internally fought within herself to share with him that she went for a run at the opposite direction that day and got scared

Drew nodded, his eyes still serious. "Good. You did the right thing. These messages are not to be taken lightly."

Madelyn's mind raced as she tried to process what Mr Lane was saying. “But I did go for a run at the opposite direction and felt someone watching me as I ran back home” she said almost in a whisper tone. She watched as he didn't speak rather shook his head at her. She wondered internally What the messages mean? And who was behind them?

As if reading her thoughts, Drew continued, "We need to investigate this further. I'll make some calls, see if I can trace the messages. In the meantime, you need to be careful. Don't go anywhere alone, especially in the evenight, and also don't respond to any more messages."

Madelyn nodded, feeling a sense of relief wash over her. "I will, Mr. Lane," she said, her voice steady. "Thank you for your help."

Drew's eyes smiled, and for a moment, Madelyn saw a glimmer of warmth in his expression. "Call me Drew, Madelyn," he said, his voice softening. "We're in this together now."

Madelyn smiled, feeling a sense of gratitude towards him. "Okay, Drew," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

At the close of the work, Madelyn hoped that she had not stumbled into something much bigger than she had ever imagined. She also knew this story was going to be big, but she internally prayed that it was not a life story because it would make sure a little harder than expected.

The following day, Madelyn decided to work from home. She was currently sitting at her home office desk which had purple designs and the word “WRITER” on it. It was given to her by her best friend Emily who helped her get her first book published. Although her heart was still racing from the cryptic messages she had been receiving, she tried to wave it away by researching more crime scenes.

However, she was afraid but she would write the story. She had always been a talented writer even though she wrote mostly fantasy and kids' books - plus, she is not ready to back off now just because of this weird message.

Madelyn's heart skipped a beat as a call came in almost too quickly. Is the mysterious person calling me?

“Hello, may I know who I’m speaking with” she answered proudly, her voice laced with fear.

“Hello, it's Drew, Drew Lane - your indirect Boss,” the caller responded, putting an ease in Madelyn’s face

“Oh, hey Drew, to what do I owe this call?”

“I just wanted to know how writing is going.”

"It's going great, Drew," she said, her voice steady. "I'm getting into it."

"Good," Drew said. "I just wanted to check up on you after that incident. Just remember, the truth is stranger than fiction."

Madelyn's mind raced as she tried to process what Drew was saying. What did he mean? And why was he being so cryptic? Was he the one who sent the message but pretended to be a good person? Is he the one Veronica was writing about but got caught?