Chapter 7: Secrets Revealed

The next morning brought bad news wrapped in an expensive envelope.

I was sitting at my kitchen table, trying to eat breakfast while my shadows played with the morning light streaming through the windows, when someone knocked on my apartment door. Not the casual rap of a neighbor or the impatient pounding of a delivery person—three measured knocks that somehow managed to sound both polite and threatening.

Through the peephole, I saw a woman in a dark suit holding a manila envelope.

"Jessica Brooks?" she said when I opened the door, keeping the chain lock engaged. "My name is Agent Sarah Chen. I need to speak with you about your employer."

My blood turned to ice water. Sarah Chen—the woman Rebecca had kidnapped, the assistant who was supposed to be dead or worse. But here she was, standing in my hallway like nothing had happened.

"I'm sorry," I said carefully, "but I think you have the wrong person."

"I know about Morrison & Associates. I know about Rebecca Morrison's true nature. And I know what you are, Miss Brooks." Her voice was calm, professional, but there was something in her eyes that made my shadows stir restlessly. "We need to talk."

Against my better judgment, I unlatched the chain and let her in. She moved through my small apartment like she was cataloging every detail.

"You're supposed to be dead," I said bluntly.

"I'm supposed to be a lot of things." She settled onto my couch without invitation, crossing her legs and regarding me with cool assessment. "The question is whether you're going to help me stop Rebecca, or if I'll have to find another way."

"Stop her from what? And how are you even alive?"

Sarah's smile was thin and didn't reach her eyes. "I'm alive because Rebecca made a mistake. She assumed I was just another ordinary human she could drain and discard. What she didn't realize is that I've been hunting her for three years."

She reached into her jacket and pulled out a leather folder, flipping it open to reveal a federal badge and ID. "Agent Sarah Chen, Department of Supernatural Affairs. We're a small division within Homeland Security that deals with threats normal law enforcement can't handle."

"There's a government department for supernatural stuff?"

"There has to be. People like Rebecca don't operate in a vacuum, Miss Brooks. There's an entire underground economy built around supernatural abilities—trafficking, harvesting, exploitation. We try to keep it from spilling over into the civilian world."

I sank into my armchair, trying to process this new information. First Victoria and Michael, now a federal agent. How many people knew about the supernatural world that I'd been oblivious to my entire life?

"How long have you been watching me?" I asked.

"Since the incident with the shadow feeder. Untrained manifestations of that magnitude don't go unnoticed." Sarah leaned forward, her expression intense. "Jessica, Rebecca has been planning this ritual for decades. She's collected power from dozens of gifted individuals, but she was missing one crucial component."

"A shadow walker."

"The most powerful shadow walker born in over a century." Sarah's tone was matter-of-fact, but I could see the concern in her dark eyes. "The ritual she's planning won't just open a gateway to the shadow realm. It will tear a permanent hole between dimensions, and she'll use your power to keep it stable."

My shadows were getting more agitated by the minute, pooling around my feet like worried pets. "Victoria said the same thing. But if you're a federal agent, why haven't you arrested her?"

"Because until three days ago, we had no proof. Rebecca's been very careful to keep her activities below the radar. The disappearances could be explained as people relocating, the deaths looked like accidents or natural causes." Sarah's jaw tightened. "But kidnapping me was sloppy. She's getting desperate."

"How did you escape?"

"I didn't. She let me go."

The words hung in the air between us like a loaded gun. I stared at Sarah, looking for signs of deception, but her expression was calm and steady.

"Why would she do that?"

"Because she wanted me to deliver a message." Sarah reached into the manila envelope and pulled out a single sheet of paper. "She wants to meet with you. Tonight. Alone."

I took the paper with trembling hands. It was expensive stationery, the kind Rebecca used for important clients, with her personal letterhead at the top. The message was written in her precise handwriting:

Jessica,

By now you know what you are and what I need from you. Come to the Morrison building tonight at midnight. Come alone, or Sarah Chen dies, along with anyone else you care about.

You have something that belongs to me. It's time to give it back.

R. Morrison

"This is a trap," I said.

"Of course it's a trap. But it's also an opportunity." Sarah stood up, smoothing down her suit jacket. "Rebecca thinks she's in control of the situation. She doesn't know about Michael Stone's true abilities, she doesn't know about Victoria Sterling's involvement, and she certainly doesn't know that the Department of Supernatural Affairs has been building a case against her for three years."

"You want to use me as bait."

"I want to end this before she kills more innocent people." Sarah's voice was steady, but I could see the pain hidden behind her professional mask. "Jessica, I've seen what Rebecca does to the people she harvests. Death would be a mercy compared to what she has planned for you."

My phone buzzed with a text message. Michael.

Training session moved to 2 PM. Victoria says it's urgent.

I showed Sarah the message. She frowned, reading it twice.

"They don't know I'm here," she said. "And they can't know about tonight's meeting until we're sure of the plan."

"Why not?"

"Because Michael Stone isn't who he says he is."

The words hit me like a physical blow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean his background doesn't check out. No birth records, no educational history, no paper trail before he appeared in Chicago five years ago. Either he's very good at creating false identities, or he's not human."

"He's not human. He told me that himself."

Sarah's eyebrows rose. "Did he tell you what he is?"

"He has shadow abilities like me, but different. Older."

"Jessica, there are creatures that can mimic supernatural abilities, that can make you believe they're protecting you when they're actually grooming you for something else." Sarah's voice was gentle but firm. "I need you to consider the possibility that Michael Stone is working with Rebecca, not against her."

"That's impossible. I've seen his memories, felt his emotions. My shadows read him."

"And what if he wanted them to? What if everything you've sensed from him was carefully constructed to make you trust him?"

The doubt Sarah was planting felt like poison in my veins. I thought about Michael's pale blue eyes, the way he'd looked at me during training, the warmth I'd felt when my shadows had explored his emotions. Could all of that have been fake?

"I have to go to the training session," I said finally. "If Michael is lying to me, I need to know."

"Be careful. And Jessica?" Sarah handed me a small silver pendant on a chain. "Wear this. It will mask your supernatural signature, make it harder for anyone to track you through magical means."

The pendant was warm against my palm, and the moment I touched it, the restless energy of my shadows calmed slightly.

"What happens tonight?"

"Tonight, we end this. One way or another." Sarah moved toward the door, then paused. "Jessica, there's something else you should know about shadow walkers."

"What?"

"They don't just guard the barriers between dimensions. In extreme circumstances, they can close rifts that have already been opened. But the process..." She hesitated.

"What about the process?"

Sarah's expression was grim. "It usually kills them."

After she left, I sat in my apartment for a long time, staring at the letter from Rebecca and turning Sarah's words over in my mind. Everything I thought I knew about my situation had just been thrown into doubt.

Was Michael really trying to protect me, or was he part of Rebecca's plan? Was Victoria genuinely trying to help, or was she grooming me for some other purpose? And if Sarah was right about shadow walkers being able to close dimensional rifts, was I walking into a situation where the only way to save everyone was to sacrifice myself?

My shadows swirled around me like they could sense my turmoil, offering what comfort they could. But for the first time since this all began, their presence wasn't enough to calm my fears.

Because I was starting to realize that in the world of supernatural politics and ancient powers, trust was a luxury I couldn't afford.