Chapter 29 Twenty eight

Chapter 29 Twenty eight
Eric pov

The elevator doors opened onto the underground level of the building. The security office sat at the far end of the hall, and the guard stationed near the door straightened when he saw us approaching.

The room held several monitors across the front wall. Camera feeds displayed every angle of the building and the surrounding areas. The head of security stepped forward as soon as we entered.

“We pulled the footage,” he said. “The intruder’s vehicle stopped at the gate for ten seconds before attempting to enter.”

“Show me,” I said.

He tapped a few keys, and the monitor flickered to a view of the entrance. A dark sedan rolled into frame. The license plate matched Cassandra’s old registration. The one she abandoned when she disappeared four years ago.

The guard zoomed in. The window was tinted, but not completely. A face could be seen inside. The line of a jaw. The shape of the eyes. A short beard. The angle was not perfect, but it was enough to recognize deliberate confidence.

The man stared up at the gate camera as if he wanted to be seen.

My voice tightened. “Do we have another angle?”

“Yes.” The guard switched the view. A side camera captured the profile more clearly. The stranger looked up again, calm and expressionless. He waited a moment, then backed the car away and drove off before the guard reached him.

Cassandra stepped closer to the screen. Her breath caught slightly, but she steadied herself.

“I do not know him,” she said softly.

But she said it like she was not entirely sure.

I studied the image. “Check the plates. Find out what vehicle the registration is attached to now.”

“It will take a few minutes,” the security chief said.

“Do it.”

Cassandra turned toward me. “Why would he use my old name?”

“To provoke us,” I said. “To confirm we are watching. To show that he knows more than he should.”

The guard spoke again. “There is one more thing. The car stopped across the street before coming to the gate. We checked city camera feeds.”

He switched to another monitor. A grainy street camera showed the sedan idling for several seconds at the curb. A woman appeared at the driver’s window. She leaned down and spoke to the man. Her face was turned away from the camera, but her hair was pulled back in a tight style that looked familiar.

It took Cassandra only one second to react.

“I know that posture,” she whispered. “That way of standing.”

She stepped closer to the screen. The woman lifted her head just enough for the side of her face to show. Only a partial outline. A cheekbone. A shadow of an eye. But it was enough for Cassandra to stiffen.

“That looks like Tessa,” she said.

Tessa was her former coworker. Someone who had always watched too carefully and asked too many questions. Someone who knew part of Cassandra’s past but pretended not to.

I kept my voice even. “Are you certain?”

“Not completely,” she said. “But the way she holds her shoulders looks identical.”

The guard added, “The woman passed something through the window. Possibly a card or a folded document.”

I watched Cassandra’s expression shift. Her breathing changed. A cold understanding settled behind her eyes.

“She helped someone hide me once,” Cassandra said quietly. “Someone told her what to say when you came looking for me.”

She paused.

“She told me later that she never understood why the request came from inside your company.”

The room grew still.

The security chief turned from the monitors. “Sir, the plate results are back. The car is registered under a shell corporation created three months ago. No physical office. No employees listed.”

That confirmed it. Someone had resources. Someone was investing time, money, and precision to stay hidden.

I stepped closer to the main screen. “Pull every angle of the woman. Enhance it as much as the software allows. I want to know if it is Tessa or someone using her appearance.”

“Yes, sir.”

Cassandra folded her arms, but it was not a defensive gesture. It was controlled, focused, and steady.

“I want to speak to her,” she said.

“No,” I replied.

She lifted her eyes sharply. “She might know something.”

“She also might be working with whoever orchestrated this.”

“That is exactly why I want to speak to her,” she said.

Her voice carried a quiet strength. Not reckless. Not emotional. Determined.

I weighed it for a moment.

Before I could respond, the guard interrupted. “Sir, the sedan returned to the area.”

He pulled up a live feed of the street outside the building. The same dark sedan was parked across the road. The windows were up. The engine was running.

Cassandra inhaled quickly, but she did not move.

“Zoom in,” I said.

The camera tightened on the driver’s side window.

The man was looking directly at the camera.

Not blinking. Not moving. Watching us.

A confrontational stillness filled the room.

Then he raised a folded piece of paper and held it against the glass. The camera resolution was low, but the printed text was clear enough.

Two words.

Ask her.

Cassandra’s breath hitched. I stepped in front of her instinctively.

The man lowered the paper, put the car in motion, and drove away.

No rush. No panic. Calm departure. Full control.

I turned to Cassandra.

She was pale, but her eyes were sharp.

“I know what that means,” she said.

I waited.

She took a slow breath.

“I know who he works for.”