Chapter 28 : Night of Shadows

Chapter 28 : Night of Shadows
Emma felt her stomach tighten but nodded. “I understand.”

Cole’s jaw flexed. He leaned back slightly, arms crossed. “Fine, i want hourly updates, no mistakes. If anyone asks, you don’t share anything yet. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” she said again.

“Good.” He paused, then added, almost quietly, “Be careful who you trust. This isn’t just about work anymore.”

Emma’s mind raced. “I understand,” she said again, though her pulse quickened. She didn’t need Cole to see how rattled she was.

He straightened and started to walk away, then stopped. “Oh, and Emma?”

She looked up. “Yes?”

“Don’t think you’re alone in this. I’m watching,” he said, voice low. “But you need to handle it, prove yourself. Otherwise…”

The silence he left hanging was heavy.

Alone, Emma stared at the folder again. Someone had set her up, and the evidence pointed directly at her. But she couldn’t panic, she had to start somewhere. She picked up the phone and called the IT department.

“Hi, this is Emma,” she said quickly. “I need a full access log for the financial system. All user activity from yesterday and today. It’s urgent.”

The technician promised to email it immediately. She hung up and sat back, staring at the screen, chewing on her bottom lip. She needed to stay calm, someone was trying to destroy her, and she couldn’t let it happen.

Hours passed. She cross-referenced timestamps, noted unusual logins, and traced IP addresses. Every now and then, Cole would appear, standing behind her, silent but watching. She could feel the weight of his gaze, the intensity of it pressing against her, but she didn’t let it distract her.

Around five, she finally found something, a small anomaly. A login from an account she didn’t recognize, timed perfectly to make it look like she’d altered the numbers herself.

“That’s it,” she whispered, relief and anger mixing. “That’s the mistake. Someone did this.”

Cole appeared behind her almost immediately. “Found something?”

“Yes,” she said, keeping her voice steady. “Look here. This login doesn’t belong to me. Someone used a company account to access the files during my shift.”

He leaned closer, examining the screen. His eyes narrowed slightly. “Good work.”

“I need to trace it back to the person,” she said. “And then..”

Cole held up a hand. “First, we make sure no one notices you digging around. We can’t tip them off.”

“I understand,” she said. “I’ll be careful.”

He studied her for a long moment. “This is your chance, Emma. Prove yourself or this could end very badly.”

“I won’t fail,” she said firmly. “I won’t let them win.”

Cole gave a brief nod, then walked back to his office.

Emma walked out of the office later than she meant to. The whole building was already shutting down, lights dim in the hallways, the echo of her own shoes following her as she pushed through the glass doors into the street. The city wasn’t completely empty, but at that hour, it felt quieter, like everything had slowed down. She pulled her bag higher on her shoulder and muttered, “Great. Another late night. Just what I needed.”

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and saw it was just a notification about some random app update. She sighed. “Not even a message. Figures.”

The cool night air made her hug her coat tighter. She started walking faster, shoes tapping against the sidewalk. A bus passed by, rattling loud enough to shake her out of her thoughts, and then it was gone again, leaving her with the sound of her own steps.

“Okay, nothing weird. Just walk. Get home, shower, sleep. Easy,” she whispered to herself.

She turned the corner onto a quieter street. That’s when she noticed it. Another sound.

Not right behind her, but not far either. Heavy enough that she could tell it wasn’t just her imagination.

She frowned and slowed her pace just a little. The sound slowed too. She stopped completely, pretending to check her phone. The steps stopped.

Her throat went dry. She whispered under her breath, “Nope, it could be anyone just someone walking home too.”

She started moving again, this time faster. The steps followed, steady, almost matching her pace.

Emma clenched her jaw and kept walking, trying to stay calm. She passed a small shop that was still open, its lights spilling onto the sidewalk. The shopkeeper was standing outside, smoking. Emma gave a quick nod as she walked past. He didn’t say anything back, just flicked the ash off his cigarette.

Once she was past the light, the darkness felt heavier again. The footsteps were still there.

She muttered, “Okay, this is not funny.” Her hand went into her bag, feeling around like maybe she had something she could use as a weapon. All she found was a pen and her old keychain. “Yeah, like that’s gonna help.”

She took another turn, heading toward a street she knew would bring her closer to her apartment. Her heart was beating too fast now. She wanted to look back but forced herself not to.

“Don’t look. If you look, it gets worse,” she whispered to herself.

Her footsteps grew quicker, sharp against the pavement. The sound behind her did the same.

Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. She spun around.

The street was empty.

Her breath caught in her chest. Her eyes darted left, then right. Nothing. Just the shadow of a trash bin, a couple of parked cars, and the flicker of a streetlight that looked like it was about to die.

She stood there for a moment, frozen, clutching her bag tighter. “You’re imagining things. That’s it.”

She turned back and nearly collided with someone.

Emma gasped and stumbled back, her bag slipping down her shoulder. A man stood there, too close, like he had appeared out of nowhere. She hadn’t heard him approach.

“Sorry,” she blurted, trying to step around him.

But he didn’t move.

His face was shadowed, most of his features hidden by a dark hoodie pulled low. He leaned in just enough that she could hear him clearly.

And then, he whispered her old name.

The name she hadn’t used in years. The one nobody here should know.

Emma froze. Her blood felt like it stopped moving. She stared at him, her mouth open but no words coming out.

“What… what did you say?” she finally managed, her voice shaking.

The man didn’t answer. He just straightened up, turned, and walked quickly down the street like nothing had happened. Within seconds, he slipped into the shadows, gone.

Emma stood there, her hands trembling so hard she almost dropped her bag.

Her voice cracked as she whispered, “No. No, no, no. He didn’t just say that.”

She spun around, eyes scanning every corner, every shadow, but there was nothing. Nobody.

Her knees felt weak, but she forced herself to keep moving. She walked fast, almost running now, whispering to herself with every step.

“This isn’t real, nobody knows. You changed everything. You started over. Nobody
knows that name.”

But deep down, she knew she hadn’t imagined it. Someone had whispered her past back into existence.