CHAPTER 23: CONFIRMATION
1208 Words
MORRISON
“...was deliberately erased.”
I blinked rapidly, eyebrows shooting up in astonishment.
That was intentional; someone didn’t just hide her, they removed her.
The questions didn’t come all at once; they lined up one after the other. Who erased her? Why? And more importantly, who had the power to do something like that and stay invisible?
And then, I thought of the female voice on the call. Could it be she was the person behind everything? I doubted!
For whatever reason, Quinn was being haunted; it would connect either to power or money. And all that was going on now was organized crime.
This wasn’t personal revenge; it was structured. The kind of operation that didn’t leave traces unless it wanted to. A syndicate!
I tapped my foot gently across the floor. “Explain,” I said to Alex.
Alex hesitated a little, just for a second, then he spoke.
“It’s not just missing records, Sir,” he said carefully, “there is nothing. No birth certificate, early education or medical history until a certain year. Same year we saw on the screen earlier.”
I turned back. Quinn was still there, standing with hands akimbo and watching.
Alex continued, “It’s like she didn’t exist until a certain period, and that means, a part of her is being hidden.”
Now, everything was clear. It just started to make sense. Quinn was not the person we all thought she was.
I looked at her again, she looked the same, quiet, composed and almost fragile. But looking more, I saw no fear or weakness, but something powerful enough to get men killed.
Hidden well enough to fool everyone, including me.
“Is that all?” I asked Alex.
“Yes. For now, Sir! Her identity isn’t just hidden but protected.”
That particular word, 'protected', wasn’t new to me. Of course, I witnessed it happen.
“Keep digging,” I said.
“Yes, Sir.”
I ended the call without another word.
Slowly, I lowered the phone, one hand in my pocket. A vein pulsed in my neck as I turned back to Quinn once more.
Her hands were crossed tightly against her chest. I walked up to her.
Without warning, I asked again, “Who are you?”
This time, it wasn’t a question but a demand.
She rubbed her jaw, as if searching for the appropriate answer.
This time, the question wasn’t as bare as before. It came with power, evidence and strong suspicions. And somehow, I knew she was aware it was no longer game as usual.
“I told you,” she said quietly, “that doesn’t matter.”
My lips curved slowly in amusement. I was appalled. “It matters now,” I said firmly. “You have a hidden identity. Quinn Ledger is not real!”
Her lower lip quivered as she stepped back rapidly.
“Because of you,” I continued, “people are being killed in my building.” I paused, “Do not become my enemy. You will not like it!”
She hesitated, then: “I didn’t erase myself…”
“Then who did?” I asked immediately.
Her expression dulled. “If they are here, then it is time.”
“Time for what?”
She exhaled suddenly. “You shouldn’t be involved in this.”
I stepped closer to her, took her hands in mine and handed the notes to her.
“See that?” I asked, “I am involved. I am being haunted. They know I am protecting you—”
“Then stop protecting me,” she cut in.
I retreated backward rapidly as if she were about to stab me. But before she even did, the words had.
“You think you are protecting me?” she added defiantly.
My jaw clenched in rage. “Of course I am. I protected you from Jasper. I saved your life when you stood lifeless on that street.”
I paused for impact.
“I protected you when my private residence was breached. When my security was killed. Do not be an ingrate. You don’t get to decide when I stop.”
“Morrison,” she called, “I am grateful for all that you have done. But I would like you to step away from this. Go get all that Jasper took from you—”
“Because you brought me back for that, to suit your ego.” I snapped.
“You are just stepping into something you don’t know,” she said, calmer than before.
“Then let me know, Quinn. Let me know!”
Suddenly, the receptionist’s voice cut through my earpiece.
“Sir, security breach at the lower level.”
My body went still. “What now?”
Quinn came closer, trying to eavesdrop. I didn’t shift.
“Unauthorized entry attempt, we are trying to contain…”
“I am coming down,” I said, before she could complete her last words.
“What again?” Quinn asked.
Her face drained of all colour. Fear.
I didn’t respond. I just moved. She knew exactly what to do because she followed me immediately.
The elevator ride was slow and quiet. By the time we stepped out, the lobby was already locked down, security stationed, and thick tension filled the air.
I called Alex.
“Clean up the mess upstairs quickly.”
“Sir. Done right now.”
I ended the call.
Stepping further, I saw him, Jasper Finn.
Standing just beyond the cordon like he owned the space, calm and unbothered.
I turned to Quinn, but she said no word. He noticed us at the same second. When our eyes met, I could see a smile on his face.
“Interesting,” he said.
I stopped a few feet away. Quinn did the same.
‘What are you doing here, Jasper?” she asked.
He tilted his head in amusement. “I could ask the same,” he said, “I mean, a woman who is on the run with her husband’s child is in a hotel room with a man she rejected in the past.”
My fingers twitched by my side, not from anger but restraint.
“You will be thrown out by the security,” I said firmly.
He ignored me. “So this is where you have been hiding.”
I took out my phone from my pocket. “Alex, send the security to the first floor. There is a situation.”
“Yes, sir. Sir, we also found another thing.”
“What?”
“We found a file. Quinn Ledger is not her birth name.”
I swallowed.
“We will talk about this properly. Send them over.”
I hung up.
Jasper let out a short laugh. “What? You think I am scared of your security?”
“Leave,” I said quietly.
“Jasper, just leave,” Quinn added.
But Jasper, standing there, was not the problem. The problem was the information I just received from Alex.
Suddenly, the woman standing in the center of all this wasn’t Quinn Ledger.
So the real question wasn’t who she was.
It was what she had been running from all this time.
- Writer
