Perfect. Here's where we take the story next:
Chapter 5: Shadows of the Past
Goal: Start entwining the past with the present. Rina gets a lead on what really destroyed her father's company, drawing her closer to danger—and to Eliot
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Chapter 5: Shadows of the Past
Rina sat on the bus, fingers trembling around a faded business card. "G. Bennett – Corporate Affairs." She found it buried in one of her father's old storage boxes the night before, tucked inside a manila envelope labeled "Kane – July."
The Kane Corporation again.
Her gut tightened. Her father had always kept her out of the boardroom. "Too messy," he said. "Too dangerous."
Now she was starting to understand why.
She typed the name into her phone.
No results.
Buried. Scrubbed. Erased.
Just like her family's reputation.
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At the same time, Eliot watched Rina's résumé light up the CorePath hiring portal. A ping notified him: "Rina Maxwell — approved for onboarding."
He hadn't meant to interfere. Not really.
But he couldn't let her fall through the cracks. Not again.
He stared out the high-rise window, jaw clenched. Uncle Richard's voice echoed in his memory: "Let the past die, Eliot. There's too much at stake."
Too late. The past was back. And it had Rina's eyes.
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That night, Eliot stood in his father's study. Everything remained untouched. The scent of cedar. The old leather chair. The same painting of the ship in stormy seas.
He opened the bottom drawer of the desk and pulled out the one thing he'd never dared touch:
A sealed envelope.
His name written in ink.
His father's handwriting, unmistakable.
He hadn't opened it. Not yet.
Some part of him feared what it might say.
Another part already knew.
Outside, lightning split the sky.
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