CHAPTER 75

CHAPTER 75
Chapter 75:
Caroline's POV

The door clicked shut behind Gina.

Silence.

I didn’t move at first. Just stared at the space she’d been standing in seconds ago.

The hug still lingered on my skin, like old perfume I couldn’t wash off.

Kane stood a few feet away, arms crossed, face unreadable. But I knew him. He was a hurricane holding his breath.

“She’s lying,” he said.

I turned to him slowly. “Maybe.”

His eyes narrowed. “You don’t believe her.”

“No,” I murmured, walking back to the living room. “But I wanted to.”

I sat on the edge of the couch, her pen—that damn silver pen—still clutched in my palm. It felt heavier now.

“She cried,” I said quietly.

Kane didn’t answer. Just stalked to the corner of the room and began checking the cameras on the monitor wall.

“She didn’t shake when she hugged me,” I continued. “She didn’t hesitate either. And her breathing was wrong.”

He glanced over his shoulder. “You scanned her?”

“Every second.”

He came closer, crouched in front of me. His hand brushed mine, gently pulling the pen from my grip.

“I’ll have it taken apart,” he muttered. “If there’s even a whisper of a transmitter—”

“There is,” I said, voice sharper than I meant. “She came here for a reason. But I think it’s bigger than us.”

He paused.

“She doesn’t want to destroy me,” I added. “She wants you.”

Kane’s jaw tightened.

I leaned forward, elbows on my knees. “She said something strange. About Jayson. Said I was right about him. But I never told her what I found.”

Kane stiffened. “Which means someone else did.”

“She could be working for him.”

“Or with him,” Kane muttered.

We both stared at the pen for a beat.

“She used to tell me everything,” I whispered. “Now I can’t tell if she’s even still in there.”

Kane touched my wrist, gently. “Don’t do that.”

I looked at him.

“Don’t look for the girl you loved in someone who’s already chosen a side.”

My throat tightened. “She used to sleep on my couch after every heartbreak. We used to plan fake weddings and dance around to bad music in pajamas.”

He gave me a sad smile. “And now she’s planning to kill us in tailored coats and red lipstick.”

I laughed—bitter, hollow.

Then I stood. “I’m going to check the windows. If they planted this, they could’ve planted more.”

He caught my hand. “Caroline.”

I stopped. Turned.

“She got in,” he said. “But she won’t get out next time.”

I nodded. “Next time, I won’t hesitate.”

We both knew this wasn’t just about old friends anymore.

This was war.

And every piece on the board was moving.

Even the ones shaped like memories.

Kane placed the silver pen on the coffee table like it was something radioactive.

“She never carried pens,” he muttered finally, crouching down. “Not even in the office. You remember that?”

I did. Gina hated writing anything by hand. Always said her thoughts moved faster than her pen ever could.

“She looked scared,” I said quietly, sitting cross-legged on the couch. “Not like she was faking it.”

“Scared people don’t carry bugs disguised as pens.”

He grabbed a small toolkit from the drawer… of course he had one.. and started to carefully pry the pen open. I watched the tension in his shoulders grow tighter with every click of metal.

“Maybe she didn’t know,” I offered. “Maybe someone gave it to her.”

He didn’t look at me, just kept unscrewing. “Maybe. But that means someone’s playing a bigger game—and they’re using your ex best friend to do it.”

The casing finally gave way with a soft snap. Inside the sleek barrel, beneath the spring and ink cartridge, was a small black chip.

Kane cursed under his breath. “Signal amplifier. This isn’t just a recorder—it’s a transmitter. One that hooks into nearby networks.”

He placed the piece gently on the table like it might detonate. “If I hadn’t guessed, it would’ve shut down every security feed in this apartment.”

My stomach dropped. “Gina gave that to me.”

Kane stood and turned to me, eyes sharp but not unkind. “I know. And I don’t think she wanted you hurt.”

“But someone did.”

“Someone still does,” he muttered. He crossed the room, grabbed his phone, and dialed a contact I didn’t recognize. “Nathaniel. I need a scan and mirror on a microchip. Sending it now.”

I leaned forward, staring at the small, traitorous object on the table. It looked so ordinary.

“She cried when she hugged me,” I whispered. “And I… I wanted to believe she meant it.”

He glanced at me. “You believe she did?”

“I don’t know.” I met his gaze. “But even if she did… she’s part of something now. And we’re the target.”

His jaw ticked. “Exactly.”

The phone buzzed. Kane answered instantly.

“Yeah?” A pause. “Okay. Good. Send me everything.”

He hung up.

“Well?” I asked, heart thudding.

“The chip’s unique. One of Diane’s models. It links to a rotating surveillance system—something designed to piggyback off existing signals. Meaning…”

“They would’ve been watching us. Everything,” I finished.

Kane nodded, grim. “Gina might be the key to the door—but Diane’s the one holding the gun.”

I exhaled slowly, spine pressing into the couch. “This never ends, does it?”

“No,” he said, walking over and kneeling in front of me. His voice softened. “But I promise you—we’ll finish it before it finishes us.”

I placed my hand on his. “We’re not running?”

He smirked faintly. “We’ve already been hunted. Might as well start hunting back.”

And somehow…
That made me feel safer than any lock ever could.

The pen lay disassembled on the coffee table like a dissected secret, wires and metal guts exposed to the light. Kane’s eyes stayed locked on it, jaw tight, mind turning faster than his lips could follow.

I didn’t interrupt him.

Not until his phone rang.

We both stiffened.

Unknown Number.

Kane narrowed his eyes and picked it up without hesitation. “Kane.”

Silence at first.

Then a low, familiar voice, smooth as silk, sharp as broken glass.

“Miss me?”

Kane froze.

His spine went straight. His hand trembled just once.

My heart stuttered at the look on his face.

Like he’d seen a ghost.

“…Jayson?” he breathed, voice raw.

A dark chuckle crackled through the phone. Then the voice changed.

“You didn’t think it’d be that easy, did you?”

I sat up straighter. “Who is it?” I asked quietly.

Kane didn’t answer. He couldn’t. His lips parted but no sound came.

“Thought Robertson’s death would give you some peace,” The caller used Jayson’s voice and continued, mocking, “but you of all people should know, peace doesn’t last in our world. And neither do the people you love.”

Kane’s hand clenched around the phone. “You’re dead.”

“Apparently not.” There was a smile in his voice now. Cruel. Confident. “But thanks for mourning me so dramatically. You almost made me blush.”

“Kane,” I whispered again, moving to him, touching his arm.

His knuckles were white.

“You’re going after Caroline next, aren’t you?” he growled, low and deadly. “Raymond….”

“Going after?” Raymond mused. “I'm targeting her.”

The call ended.