Chapter 28 Twenty seven

Chapter 28 Twenty seven
Cassandra pov

Eric called me before I left work. His voice was steady, but not in the usual way. He sounded measured, like he was choosing each word with care.

“Come to my office,” he said. “Now.”

The tone made my pulse shift. I grabbed my bag and went straight to the elevator. When I reached the executive floor, the atmosphere felt different. The hallway looked the same, but the air carried a tension I could not name. I walked quickly to his door and stepped inside without knocking.

He stood near the window with a file in his hand. He looked at me right away, and the intensity in his eyes made my breath tighten.

“What happened?” I asked.

He handed me the file. I opened it and saw the photograph. A grainy hallway. A view of the hotel where everything changed. My fingers froze above the paper.

“Where did this come from?” I whispered.

“It was dropped off at the front desk,” Eric said. “No name. No message.”

I stared at the image. The hallway looked exactly as I remembered. Clean walls. Dim lighting. A quiet space where nothing seemed dangerous. Yet I knew better. That hallway marked the moment my life split into before and after.

“Why show this to you?” I managed to ask.

“Because they want us to know they have the footage,” Eric said. “The same footage that was supposed to be erased.”

My stomach twisted. “Someone saved it.”

“Yes.”

“And now they are taunting you with it.”

He nodded slowly.

I set the photograph on the table, but my hand trembled slightly. I did not want to show fear, yet I could not hide what the image meant. Someone had taken something from my past and placed it right in front of him.

“This is not just a threat,” Eric said quietly. “It is a message. They want to make sure we understand that they are close.”

I took a slow breath and tried to steady myself. “What else do they want Eric?”

He met my eyes again. “Control.”

I looked away. The room felt smaller. The walls seemed closer. My heartbeat thudded against my ribs. Whoever had done this was confident enough to walk into this building and leave the file without hesitation.

“What about Liam?” I asked softly.

Eric’s expression changed. The controlled calm shifted into something sharper. “He will not be touched,” he said. “I have added additional security at the school and the house. They will not get near him.”

I felt a small sense of relief, but it did not fully settle. I walked to the edge of the desk, running my fingers lightly along the surface as I looked at the photo again.

“What are they planning next?” I asked.

“That is what I intend to find out,” Eric said. “This was meant to provoke us. They want to push us into reacting before we understand their full reach.”

I swallowed. “Do you know who did it?”

“Not yet,” he said. “But I have two names in mind.”

The way he spoke told me he was not making assumptions. He was calculating, observing, and narrowing the possibilities with precision.

I turned back to him. “You need to tell me everything you learn. Every detail. I cannot be left in the dark again.”

His jaw tightened. “You will not be. I promised that.”

I took a few steps toward him. The tension between us felt charged, not romantic, but protective and wary at the same time. The presence of danger always brought a strange closeness.

“I want to help,” I said.

“You are helping,” he replied. “You are the reason they are revealing themselves. They see you as a threat to whatever they planned in the past. If they come forward now, it is because they believe they are losing control.”

I looked at the photograph one more time. “Four years ago, they erased me. Now they are bringing me back into the picture.”

“Yes,” he said. “And that means they want you visible. That means something is changing.”

A sharp knock hit the door. Both of us lifted our heads. Eric walked over and opened it halfway.

His assistant stood there, breathless, holding her phone.

“There is an issue,” she said. “Security contacted me. Someone tried to enter the garage without authorization. They used a car registered under Cassandra’s old name.”

My heart dropped.

Eric’s expression hardened. “Is the person still on the property?”

“No,” she said. “They left when the guard approached.”

Eric looked back at me. The room seemed to shift. The tension that had been slowly building now snapped into something immediate.

“Come with me,” he said quietly.

I followed him out of the office. My legs felt steady, but my chest tightened with every step. Whoever this person was, they were not watching from a distance now. They were here. Close enough to test his building. Close enough to use my past identity.

Eric pressed the elevator button firmly. “The game changed,” he said.

The doors opened, and we stepped inside.

“They want you to know they are not afraid to show themselves,” he said.

I took a slow breath. “Then we do not get afraid either.”

He looked at me and gave a single short nod.

The elevator doors closed.