The Wrong Kind of Right

Chapter5

Chapter 5: The Weight of a Name

Nate did not answer his phone for the rest of the day.

Sophie tried twice, telling herself both times that she only wanted to make sure he was safe, though the truth ran deeper than that and she knew it. She had watched something shift behind his eyes on that bench, watched years of careful composure c***k just enough to reveal genuine fear underneath, and the image would not leave her alone no matter how hard she tried to focus on anything else.

By evening, Priya had noticed the change in her roommate’s mood immediately.

“Okay, you’ve checked your phone about forty times in the last hour,” Priya said, setting aside her own homework. “What happened with Nate?”

Sophie recounted the conversation slowly, the photograph, the warning, the way Nate’s expression had shattered the moment he saw it, the abrupt way he had left without explanation. Priya listened with growing concern, her usual humor entirely absent by the time Sophie finished.

“That’s not normal,” Priya said finally. “People don’t just disappear like that unless something’s actually wrong.”

“I know.”

“Do you think he’s in danger?”

Sophie hesitated. “I don’t know what to think anymore.”

Her phone buzzed at exactly that moment, and both girls startled at the sound. Sophie snatched it up immediately, relief flooding through her chest when she saw Nate’s name on the screen.

I’m sorry about earlier. Can we talk tomorrow? In person.

Sophie’s fingers hovered over the keyboard for a long moment before she finally responded.

Are you okay?

The reply took longer than usual to arrive.

Not really. But I will be. I owe you an explanation.

Sophie read the message twice, something heavy settling in her chest. Whatever Nate was preparing to tell her, it clearly was not going to be simple.

The next morning arrived beneath grey skies, clouds hanging low over campus in a way that mirrored the uncertainty Sophie had carried with her since the day before. She met Nate outside the library shortly before noon, finding him seated on the front steps, looking noticeably more tired than she had ever seen him.

“Hey,” she said softly, sitting beside him.

“Hey.” He offered a small, tired smile. “Thanks for coming.”

“Of course.”

For a long moment, neither of them spoke, the silence between them heavy but not entirely uncomfortable. Finally, Nate exhaled slowly and turned to face her.

“My family isn’t just wealthy,” he began. “We run one of the largest hospitality companies in the country. Hotels, resorts, real estate. The Calloway name opens almost every door imaginable.”

“I gathered that much,” Sophie said gently.

“What people don’t know is what it costs.” His jaw tightened. “My father built the company from almost nothing, but he wasn’t exactly careful about how he did it. There are people from his past, business partners, rivals, people he wronged along the way, who still carry grudges even now.”

Sophie’s mind immediately returned to the photograph, the anonymous warnings. “Do you think one of them sent those messages?”

“Maybe. Or it could be someone closer to home.” Nate’s expression darkened. “My older brother, Julian, has never made peace with the idea that I might inherit more responsibility within the company than he thinks I deserve. He’s been distant for years, mostly living overseas, managing our international properties. But he’s back in the country now, and the timing feels too convenient to ignore.”

“You think your own brother is behind this?”

“I don’t know for certain. But whoever sent that photograph knew exactly where to find us, exactly when to strike. That takes resources most random strangers don’t have.”

Sophie absorbed this slowly, pieces beginning to form a picture she did not entirely understand yet. “What about Camille? The tension between you two seemed like more than just an old friendship.”

Nate’s expression shifted, something more vulnerable slipping through. “Camille and I grew up together. Our families have known each other for years, and there was always this unspoken expectation that we would eventually end up together. Business alliance disguised as romance, more or less. I never felt that way about her, not really, but she never quite let go of the idea.”

“Does she know that?”

“She does now. I told her clearly, more than once. But some people struggle to accept an answer they don’t want to hear.”

Sophie considered this, an uncomfortable knot forming in her stomach. “Do you think she could be involved?”

“I don’t want to believe that,” Nate admitted. “But I can’t entirely rule it out either.”

The weight of everything settled heavily between them. Sophie studied Nate’s face, searching for any sign that the man sitting beside her was someone other than who he claimed to be. All she found was exhaustion, and something that looked remarkably like fear.

“Why are you telling me all this now?” she asked quietly. “You could have kept avoiding the subject.”

Nate turned to face her fully, his grey eyes holding hers with unusual intensity. “Because I don’t want to lie to you. And because whatever this is, whoever is behind it, I don’t want you caught in the middle of something you don’t understand. You deserve to know what you’re dealing with, even if it means you decide this isn’t worth the trouble.”

Something in his voice, raw and uncertain in a way she had never heard from him before, made Sophie’s chest tighten.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she said softly, surprising herself with how much she meant it.

Relief flickered across his face, followed quickly by something warmer, something that made her pulse quicken despite everything.

“You should be more careful about who you trust,” he said quietly. “I’m not exactly a safe bet right now.”

“Maybe I don’t want the safe bet.”

The words left her mouth before she fully considered them, and for a moment she wondered if she had said too much. But Nate’s expression softened entirely, the exhaustion in his features giving way to something closer to hope.

“Sophie.”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you. For not running.”

She smiled, though a flicker of uncertainty remained buried beneath it. “Don’t thank me yet. We still don’t know who’s behind this.”

“No,” he agreed. “But we’ll figure it out together.”

That afternoon, Sophie walked to her next class with her mind still spinning from everything Nate had revealed. A hidden brother with resentment simmering beneath the surface. An old family friend nursing years of unrequited feelings. A business built on ambition sharp enough to make enemies.

Any one of them could be behind the messages. Perhaps all three, working together in ways neither she nor Nate yet understood.

She was so absorbed in thought that she nearly missed the figure waiting near the entrance of her next lecture hall.

Camille.

“Sophie, right?” Camille said, her tone pleasant enough on the surface, though something colder lingered beneath it.

“That’s me.”

“I wanted to introduce myself properly. We didn’t get much of a chance yesterday.” Camille’s smile did not quite reach her eyes. “You and Nate seem close.”

“We’re friends,” Sophie said carefully.

“Interesting.” Camille studied her for a long moment. “Be careful, Sophie. Nate has a habit of pulling people into things they don’t fully understand. I would hate for you to get hurt because of it.”

The warning landed with unsettling familiarity, echoing almost exactly the messages Sophie had received over the past two days.

“Is that a threat?” Sophie asked, keeping her voice steady despite the unease coiling in her stomach.

Camille’s smile widened slightly, though it carried no real warmth. “Of course not. Just friendly advice.”

Before Sophie could respond, Camille turned and walked away, disappearing into the crowd with the same effortless grace Sophie had noticed the day before. Sophie stood frozen for a long moment, replaying the conversation over and over, searching for anything that might confirm or deny her growing suspicions.

Her phone buzzed suddenly in her pocket.

Another unknown number.

Sophie’s stomach dropped as she opened the message, bracing herself for whatever waited on the screen.

This time, there was no photograph. No warning about staying away.

Only a single sentence, colder and more direct than anything before it.

You should ask Nate about the fire.

Sophie stared at the words, confusion and dread twisting together in her chest. She had no idea what fire the message referred to, but judging by the sheer specificity of it, whatever happened was something Nate had never once mentioned, something buried deep enough that even the anonymous sender seemed to think it was worth using as a weapon.

Her hands trembled slightly as she typed out a response to Nate, unsure how to even phrase the question building rapidly in her mind.

Before she could send it, her phone rang.

Nate’s name flashed across the screen, and something about the timing made her stomach twist even tighter.

She answered immediately. “Nate?”

His voice, when it came, sounded strained in a way she had never heard before.

“Sophie, listen to me carefully. Whatever you do, don’t believe anything you hear about a fire. Not yet. I need to explain it myself.”

Sophie’s breath caught. “How did you know I would ask about that?”

Silence stretched over the line, heavy and unmistakable.

“Because,” Nate said fina

lly, his voice barely above a whisper, “I just received the exact same message.