Chapter 30 Twenty nine

Chapter 30 Twenty nine
Cassandra pov

The room felt colder after the sedan disappeared. The monitors still glowed, but the silence created a weight that pressed on my chest. Eric stood beside me, waiting for my answer. The guards kept a respectful distance, pretending not to listen even though every person in the room was alert.

I lifted my hand to steady my breathing. “I need a moment.”

Eric nodded. His expression was controlled, but the tension in his jaw told me he was holding back a dozen questions. I took a slow step away from the monitors and leaned lightly against the edge of the desk. My thoughts formed one at a time, each one heavy and unwelcome.

“I never told you everything about the months before I left the city,” I said. “Not because I wanted to hide anything from you. I was trying to forget the things that happened after I discovered I was pregnant.”

Eric stepped closer. “Tell me now.”

His tone was gentle, but the command beneath it was unmistakable. I did not resent it. I needed the push. I needed to stop avoiding the truth that had been circling me since the first anonymous call.

“I worked at a small administrative office,” I continued. “Nothing special. I needed money. I needed to stay anonymous. I did not make friends there, but people knew enough about me to guess that something was wrong. I kept to myself. I stayed late most nights. I covered shifts others did not want.”

I looked down at my hands.

“One afternoon a woman came to see me. She did not work at the office. She said she had been hired to confirm an address for a private client. She asked if I knew anyone named Cassandra Cole.”

Eric froze beside me.

I nodded. “That was when I realized someone was looking for me. I did not know it was you. I only knew that I needed to protect my son. I panicked. I told the woman that I did not know anyone with that name. She left without pushing the issue.”

The memory felt distant, but the fear had never fully faded.

“That same week I learned that someone had checked my employment records. Someone had paid for a background pull. The receptionist whispered about it. She thought it was strange because only corporations did those checks. I did not understand it then.”

Eric’s steady composure began to crack. “Someone inside Kingston Enterprises requested your information.”

“Yes,” I said. “And I believe it was the same person who made sure the hotel staff could not connect our names. Someone who wanted me to disappear before you could find me.”

The guard shifted in the corner, but Eric raised a hand to silence him before he could speak.

I went on. “After the background check, I confronted Tessa. She was one of the few who stayed late like me. I asked her if she knew anything. She denied everything at first. But a week later she told me that someone had visited the office again. A tall woman. Expensive clothes. Perfect posture. She asked questions about me. She also asked whether anyone had tried contacting me recently.”

Eric’s eyebrows pulled together. “A woman.”

“Yes.” I looked directly at him. “And that woman left Tessa with strict instructions. If anyone came to the office asking about me, Tessa was told to say that I had moved away. No details. No forwarding address. Nothing.”

His voice hardened. “What else did she say?”

I swallowed. “She said the woman spoke confidently about you. She knew your schedule. She knew your habits. She knew your habits too well for someone who was not close to you. And she told Tessa something else.”

Eric waited.

“She said I was a problem that needed to be kept away from you.”

His expression turned sharp. Not angry. Focused.

“Describe the woman,” he said.

“Tessa said she had light eyes. Pale hair. A calm way of speaking. Professional. Polished. She wore a suit without any obvious brand markings. Everything about her felt controlled.”

The description hung between us.

A few names inside the company matched it. Only a few.

Eric lowered his voice. “I know who that sounds like.”

I did too.

A strange quiet filled my thoughts. It was not panic. It was clarity.

“She met the man in the car,” I said. “She handed him something. She is not working alone.”

Eric studied me again, searching for anything I might be holding back.

“I want to hear every detail you remember,” he said.

“There is one more thing,” I replied.

His posture shifted.

“The woman warned Tessa that if she ever spoke about the visit, she would lose her job. They made sure no one would help me. They made sure I stayed invisible.”

Eric exhaled slowly. The sound was steady, but I recognized the tightness in it.

“They were not just trying to keep you away from me,” he said quietly. “They wanted to control the situation entirely. They wanted to control what I believed.”

He turned toward the monitors again, studying the paused image of the sedan and the partial outline of the woman speaking to the driver.

The guard spoke carefully. “Sir, what are your orders?”

Eric did not answer immediately. His gaze stayed on the screen as if he could pull the truth out of the pixels.

When he finally spoke, the room felt smaller.

“We identify her. We track the man. We find out exactly how far this goes.”

I felt a chill move up my spine.

Eric looked back at me. His eyes were steady, but something deeper had settled in them. Not fear. Not confusion.

Resolve.

“You are not dealing with this alone anymore,” he said.

I nodded, but my pulse remained uneven.

Because for the first time, we both understood something clearly.

The person watching us was not finished.

And they were much closer than we had imagined.