Amara's pov :
I woke up to Sarah staring at me.
Not creepy, more like worried big sister. She sat on the edge of my bed with a coffee mug.
"You slept with the lights on."
I sat up and rubbed my face. "Did I?"
"Don't play dumb. You also didn't change." She gestured at my sweatpants and hoodie. "And your phone's on the nightstand, ringer full blast. You never do that."
"Maybe I was tired."
"Maybe you're lying again."
I looked at her. Sarah's face was set, not angry, just done.
"I'm fine."
"You're not, and I'm tired of pretending I believe you." She set her coffee down. "Something's wrong. Has been for days. And you won't tell me what."
"Sarah..."
"I live here too, Amara. So if something's making you sleep with lights on and check the locks three times, I deserve to know."
She'd noticed. Of course she had.
"It's nothing."
"It's not nothing. You're scared."
"I'm not."
"You're a terrible liar."
We stared at each other while morning light came through the window, too bright for how wrong everything felt.
"Someone was in here yesterday," I said. "While we were gone."
Sarah went still. "What?"
"Nothing taken, nothing moved. But I could feel it—someone was in our apartment."
"Did you call the police?"
"And say what? I have a feeling?"
"That's a break-in."
"Without proof it's paranoia."
Sarah stood and started pacing. "We're changing the locks. Today. And getting cameras."
"Sarah..."
"I don't care if you think it's overreacting, Someone was in our home." She grabbed her phone. "I'm calling a locksmith on my break."
"You don't have to..."
"Yes I do, because you won't. You'll just keep pretending everything's fine until something bad actually happens." She looked at me. "I can't lose you, so if you won't protect yourself, I will."
She left.
I sat there.
Sarah was right . I was scared, and I hated that she knew.
---
I got to work late with no makeup and my hair thrown up, hoping no one would notice the circles under my eyes.
Ethan noticed.
"You look like death."
"Good morning to you too."
"Seriously. You okay?"
"I'm fine."
"Third time you've said that this week, and you look worse every time."
I turned on my computer without looking at him. "Just tired."
"From what?"
"Work. The usual boring stuff Greg gives me."
"Right, because boring work makes you look like you haven't slept in days."
I looked at him then. Ethan's face was pure concern, the kind I couldn't handle because I couldn't give him answers.
"Drop it."
"Amara..."
"I said drop it."
He stared at me, then sighed. "Fine. But when this blows up, and it will, don't say I didn't warn you."
He walked away.
I opened the files David organized,everything sorted, cross-referenced, flagged.
I pulled up Dad's employment records.
That's when I saw it.
A meeting scheduled the day before Dad died: internal calendar, no location, no attendees, just a time: 6 PM.
Dad never took late meetings, always came home for dinner.
Who was he meeting?
I pulled up Vale's employee directory from sixteen years ago and started cross-referencing.
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
Everything in me went cold.
I didn't want to open it but did anyway.
A photo from this morning: me walking into work, taken from across the street, close enough to see my face clearly.
No message.
My hands shook.
I looked up,everyone was working, typing, on phones, just another normal day.
But someone had been out there this morning watching, taking pictures and now making sure I knew.
I shoved my phone in my bag and stood too fast, my chair hitting the desk behind me.
People looked.
I smiled. "Coffee run. Anyone want anything?"
Silence.
I grabbed my bag and left.
The hallway was empty, my footsteps too loud.
I needed air.
I took the stairs and pushed through the side exit into the alley.
And stopped.
A man stood at the end,tall, dark jacket, baseball cap pulled low—looking at his phone.
Normal.
Except it wasn't.
I backed up, hand reaching for the door.
He looked up.
Our eyes met.
He smiled.
I yanked the door open and ran, didn't stop till I hit the newsroom with my heart slamming and breath gone.
Ethan looked up. "Amara?"
"Fine." Automatic.
But I wasn't.
Someone was following me, and they wanted me to know it.
---
Roman's POV:
The board meeting was a disaster.
Morrison panicking again, demanding answers I didn't have and action I couldn't take without more information.
"The stock's still dropping—we've lost eighteen percent in less than a week. Investors are pulling out, the press is circling. We need to do something."
"We are. Identifying the source, handling it internally."
"Internally? This isn't internal anymore, Roman. This is a PR nightmare."
"Then handle the PR. That's what we pay communications for."
"They can't spin this without something to work with."
I leaned back and looked at him directly, didn't blink.
Morrison's face went red but he shut up.
The rest of the board shifted in their seats, no one spoke.
Good.
"Answers by end of week. Until then, business as usual." I stood. "Meeting adjourned."
They filed out.Silent and resentful.
I didn't care.
My phone buzzed the second the door closed.
*William: She just ran out of the newsroom. Looked scared. Following.*
I called him.
He answered immediately. "Went down a side exit, stood in an alley maybe thirty seconds, then ran back inside like something spooked her."
"See anyone?"
"No, but she definitely saw someone or thought she did."
I grabbed my jacket. "Where is she now?"
"Back at her desk but she's rattled, keeps checking around her."
"Stay close, don't let her see you."
"Roman, she's getting paranoid, she's going to notice..."
"Not paranoid if someone's actually following her."
Silence.
"You think someone else is watching her?"
"Know someone is, and it's not us."
"Why do you care?"
"Because she knows something, and if whoever's threatening her gets to her before I find out what it is, I lose my best lead." Kept my voice flat. "More useful alive."
William didn't sound convinced. "Right."
"Keep watching, report anything unusual."
Hung up.
My phone buzzed again, A notification from the monitoring software I'd installed on her phone two days ago.
New message, unknown number, photo attachment.
I opened it.
Amara walking into her building this morning, street level shot, clear view of her face.
No message.
Whoever was doing this wanted her scared, wanted her knowing they could reach her whenever they wanted, which meant they were escalating.
And if they escalated too fast, she'd be useless to me.
I called William back.
"Change of plans. Eyes on her apartment building, front and back."
"You're protecting her now?"
"Protecting my investment. She has information I need, can't get it if she's dead."
William didn't respond.
"Just do it, and if you see anyone watching her building, I want to know immediately."
"Got it."
Hung up.
I pulled up surveillance footage from this morning,I watched Amara walk into her building and check behind her twice before going inside.
Getting paranoid, which meant whoever was after her was doing their job, but if they pushed too hard she'd break or run or go to police.
And I'd lose my only connection to whoever leaked those documents.
Needed her functional and scared enough to cooperate but not so terrified she stopped digging.
Delicate balance.
My office door opened without knocking.
Alexander.
"Rough meeting?"
"Nothing I can't handle."
"Morrison's nervous, the board's losing confidence."
"Board panics every time stock drops, they'll calm down."
"When?"
I looked at him, my uncle, the man who raised me after Dad died.
"Soon."
He nodded, walked to the window.
"You'll get through this, you always do. Just like your father would have."
Mention of Dad made something twist but I ignored it.
"Thanks."
"Anything you need, I'm here. You know that."
"I know."
He left.
I pulled up the surveillance feed again.
Amara still at her desk, still working, still checking around her.
My phone buzzed.
*William: She just left the building. Heading home. Middle of the day.*
Checked the time: 3 PM.
She was running.
*Roman: Follow her. Don't lose her.*
*William: On it.*
Grabbed my keys.
She was about to do something stupid, and I needed to know what she knew before someone else silenced her permanently.