Raven remained completely still.
Andrea's voice was still coming through the phone.
"Raven?"
She finally spoke.
"Say the name again."
Andrea took a breath.
"Jeffrey Hale."
Silence.
Raven's fingers tightened around the phone.
"That's impossible."
"I know what you're thinking."
"Jeff isn't the leader of that organization."
"We don't have proof that he is."
Raven walked toward her desk.
"Then why did his name come up?"
Andrea opened the folder in front of her.
"Because someone connected to the organization has been communicating with him."
Raven's eyes darkened.
"How long?"
"We're still tracing it."
"Find out everything."
"I will."
"Andrea."
"Yes?"
"Don't let anyone know we're investigating."
"Understood."
The call ended.
Raven stared at the city through the glass window.
Jeff.
The man she had spent two years trying to erase from her life.
The man who had stood beside Bella while her mother was taken from her.
The man who had helped destroy her marriage.
Now his name had appeared again.
But this time, something was different.
Someone was hiding behind a mask.
And Raven needed to know why.
Across Chicago, Jeff sat alone in his office.
His hands were shaking.
Another call had come from one of his creditors.
Another demand.
Another deadline.
He poured himself a drink and stared at the financial documents scattered across his desk.
Then his phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
Stop looking into the properties.
Jeff frowned.
He typed back.
Who is this?
The reply came almost immediately.
Someone who knows what happens when you dig too deep.
Jeff stared at the screen.
His breathing became heavier.
He typed again.
What do you want?
No response.
He threw the phone onto the desk.
For the first time, Jeff felt something he hadn't felt in years.
Fear.
Bella stood outside his office.
She had heard him talking.
"Who was that?"
Jeff immediately turned.
"No one."
"You've been getting strange calls all week."
"It's business."
Bella looked at the papers on his desk.
"Is this about the properties?"
Jeff's expression changed.
"What do you know?"
"I know you're losing them."
Jeff stood.
"Stay out of it."
Bella didn't move.
"Some of those properties belonged to Raven's mother."
Jeff's face hardened.
"Don't mention her."
"Why?"
"Because I said so."
Bella stared at him.
"Are you afraid of her?"
Jeff laughed.
But there was no humor in it.
"Raven is gone."
Bella looked at him.
"Are you sure?"
Jeff didn't answer.
The next morning, Eleanor arrived at Vance Capital early.
She had barely entered her office when Sebastian followed her.
"You have a meeting with Apex Raven Global at ten."
Eleanor smiled.
"Raven?"
"Yes."
She tried to hide her excitement.
Sebastian noticed anyway.
"You're smiling."
"No, I'm not."
"You are."
"Sebastian."
He laughed.
"Fine."
Eleanor sat down.
Then her phone vibrated.
A message from Raven.
I'll see you at ten.
Eleanor stared at it for a moment.
She typed:
I'll be waiting.
She put the phone down.
Then picked it up again.
She reread the message.
A small smile appeared.
At ten exactly, Raven entered the building.
Jane followed behind her with several documents.
Eleanor was waiting.
"You're on time."
Raven looked at her.
"I told you I would be."
They entered the conference room.
The meeting began normally.
Contracts.
Investments.
Expansion.
But after everyone else left, Eleanor noticed Raven hadn't moved.
"Something's wrong."
Raven looked at her.
"Why do you always notice?"
"Because I pay attention to you."
Raven went silent.
Eleanor realized what she'd said.
"I mean…"
Raven smiled faintly.
"I know."
Eleanor looked down.
"Is it something serious?"
Raven hesitated.
"There are some things happening in Blackwood Heights."
"Business?"
"Partly."
Eleanor studied her.
"Can I help?"
Raven shook her head.
"I don't want you involved."
"Raven—"
"I mean it."
Her voice was gentle but firm.
Eleanor sighed.
"Fine."
Raven looked at her.
"Thank you."
Eleanor smiled.
"But I'm still going to worry."
Raven's expression softened.
"I know."
That evening, Andrea arrived at Raven's office.
She placed another file on the desk.
"We traced one of the calls."
Raven opened it.
"And?"
"The call came from a private number."
"Who owns it?"
"No one officially."
Raven looked up.
"What does that mean?"
"It means whoever is behind this knows how to disappear."
Andrea paused.
"But we found something else."
She handed Raven a photograph.
It showed a warehouse in Blackwood Heights.
Raven studied it.
"What am I looking at?"
"Someone has been meeting there."
"Who?"
Andrea pointed toward the photograph.
A masked figure stood near the entrance.
"We don't know."
Raven's eyes narrowed.
Then she noticed something else.
A small silver emblem attached to the figure's jacket.
Raven recognized it.
Not the organization.
Not the person.
But the symbol.
She had seen it before.
In one of her mother's old documents.
Raven slowly stood.
"Get me every file my mother ever kept concerning this symbol."
Andrea stared at her.
"You think your mother knew about them?"
Raven looked at the photograph.
"I don't know."
She folded the picture.
"But I'm about to find out."
Across the city, Eleanor sat alone in her apartment.
Her phone rang.
Raven.
She smiled.
"You're calling early."
"I wanted to hear your voice."
Eleanor went silent.
Raven realized what she'd said.
Neither corrected it.
Then Eleanor smiled.
"I wanted to hear yours too."
For the first time in a long time, Raven felt something other than anger.
Something warm.
Something dangerous.
Because Raven was beginning to realize that Eleanor was becoming the one person capable of reaching the part of her she had buried years ago.
And that frightened her more than any enemy ever had.
To be continued…