Chapter 51 WHO’S RACHEL
Alex
Alex stared at his phone. His heart was pounding so hard he could hear it.
“Who’s Rachel?” he asked again.
The woman on the other end laughed. Cold and sharp. “You really don’t know? That’s precious. Ask your boyfriend. Ask him about the coworker he’s been getting close to. The one going to Chicago with him.”
“You’re lying.”
“Am I? Check his work calendar. See who else is registered for the conference. Then ask yourself why he didn’t mention her.”
The line went dead.
Alex sat in the dark bedroom. Hevis troubled. Elias is asleep next to him. Completely unaware.
He could wake him up. Ask him right now. Get the truth.
Or he could check first. See if this Rachel person was real. See if there was anything to worry about.
He grabbed his laptop from the desk. Opened it in the bathroom with the door closed. Searched the magazine’s website for staff.
There she was.
Rachel Torres. Junior editor. Pretty. Professional photo. Smiling.
Alex’s stomach dropped.
He searched the conference website. Found the attendee list. Scrolled through names.
Elias Reed. Editorial Assistant.
Rachel Torres. Junior Editor.
They were both going. Elias hadn’t mentioned it.
Alex closed his laptop. Pressed his palms against his eyes. Tried to think rationally.
This could be nothing. Just a coworker attending the same conference. Standard work stuff.
Or it could be something. Something Elias was hiding.
He went back to bed. Lay there staring at the ceiling. Elias’s breathing was steady and peaceful beside him.
At 6 AM, Elias’s alarm went off. He stirred. Reached for Alex.
“Morning,” Elias said. Voice rough with sleep.
“Morning.”
“You okay? You feel tense.”
“I’m fine. Didn’t sleep well.”
“Bad dreams?”
“Something like that.”
Elias kissed his shoulder. “Want to talk about it?”
“Who’s Rachel?”
Elias went still. “What?”
“Rachel. From work. The one going to Chicago with you.”
“How do you know about Rachel?”
“Someone called me last night. Told me to ask you about her.”
Elias sat up. Turned on the light. “Who called you?”
“I don’t know. A woman. Unknown number. She said I should ask you why you didn’t mention Rachel.”
“Because there’s nothing to mention. She’s a coworker. We work on the same projects sometimes.”
“Is she going to Chicago?”
“Yes. So are three other people from the office. It’s a work conference.”
“You didn’t tell me other people were going.”
“Because it didn’t seem important. Alex, what’s this really about?”
“I’m trying to figure out if you’re lying to me again.”
The words hung heavy between them.
Elias’s face went carefully blank. “I’m not lying.”
“Then why didn’t you mention her? Why didn’t you say other people were going?”
“Because I didn’t think about it. I told you about the conference. About the work stuff. The who-else-is-going part didn’t seem relevant.”
“It’s relevant when someone calls me at 3 AM to tell me about her.”
“Someone is messing with us. Again. Can’t you see that?”
“I see that you keep information from me. That every time I think we’re being honest, something new comes up.”
Elias got out of bed. Started getting dressed. His movements are sharp. Angry.
“I have to get ready for work,” he said.
“That’s it? That’s all you’re going to say?”
“What do you want me to say? Does Rachel exist? She does. Is she going to Chicago? She is. That I have feelings for her? I don’t. That I’m cheating on you? I’m not. What else is there?”
“You could apologize for not telling me.”
“For not mentioning every single coworker who’s attending a work event? That’s what you want?”
“I want you to understand why this bothers me.”
“I understand. Carter or whoever is calling you is trying to make you doubt me. And it’s working.”
“Because you keep giving me reasons to doubt.”
Elias stopped. Turned around. “Do I? Or are you looking for reasons because you’re scared this won’t work?”
“That’s not fair.”
“Isn’t it? Every time something comes up, you assume the worst. You don’t trust me. You never have.”
“I’ve been trying to trust you. But you keep hiding things.”
“I’m not hiding Rachel. I just didn’t think to mention her because she doesn’t matter.”
“Then why did someone call to tell me about her?”
“I don’t know. But I’m going to find out.”
Elias grabbed his phone. Texted someone. Waited. His jaw is tight.
A response came through. He read it. His face went pale.
“What?” Alex asked.
“Jordan. I asked if anyone else knew about Rachel going to Chicago. He said the whole office knows. It’s public information. Conference registration is on the website.”
“So anyone could have found it.”
“Yeah. Including whoever called you.”
“Carter.”
“Probably. Or someone he’s working with.”
Alex sat on the edge of the bed. His head in his hands. “I’m so tired.”
“Of what?”
“Of this. Of fighting. Of not knowing what to believe.”
Elias sat next to him. Not touching. The space between them felt like a canyon.
“Do you want to break up?” Elias asked quietly.
“No.”
“Are you sure? Because it feels like you’re waiting for me to give you a reason.”
“I’m not waiting for anything. I’m just scared.”
“Of what?”
“That this woman's calling is right. That you’re going to Chicago and realize there’s someone better. Someone easier. Someone who doesn’t come with all my baggage.”
“There’s no one better. And your baggage is my baggage now. That’s how this works.”
“Is it? Because it feels like we’re barely holding on.”
Elias reached for his hand. Alex let him take it.
“We’re going to get through this,” Elias said.
“How do you know?”
“Because we’ve gotten through everything else. Carter. The news. The stares. We can get through this too.”
“What if we can’t?”
“Then we’ll deal with it. But I’m not giving up on us. Are you?”
Alex looked at their joined hands. At Elias’s face. Tired and worried and still here.
“No. I’m not giving up.”
“Good. Then let’s figure this out. Together.”
Elias called in sick to work. They spent the morning talking. Really talking. About Rachel. About Chicago. About trust.
“I’ll introduce you to her,” Elias said. “Before I leave. You can meet her. See that she’s just a coworker.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to. I want you to feel secure. To know there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“And I’ll call you every night from Chicago. Morning and night. Whenever you want.”
“That’s a lot.”
“I don’t care. I want you to know where I am. Who I’m with. What I’m doing.”
They ordered breakfast. Ate it in bed. Tried to pretend everything was normal.
But Alex’s phone kept buzzing. Unknown numbers. He stopped looking.
At noon, Elias finally checked his messages.
His face went white.
“What?” Alex asked.
Elias showed him.
Unknown: Did you tell him about the hotel? About sharing a room with Rachel? About the cozy late-night drinks you have planned?
“I’m not sharing a room with her,” Elias said immediately. “I have my own room. I checked. Look.”
He showed Alex the hotel confirmation. Single room. One bed. Just Elias.
“This is insane,” Alex said.
“This is Carter. Or someone he hired. Someone who’s making things up to destroy us.”
Another message came through. This time to Alex’s phone.
A photo. Elias and a woman at work. Sitting close. Laughing.
Unknown: Still think nothing is going on?
“That’s from last week,” Elias said, looking at the photo. “Team lunch. Everyone was there. Someone cropped the photo to make it look like just us.”
“How are they getting these photos?”
“I don’t know. But this has to stop.”
Elias called the police. Again. Showed them everything. The messages. The photos. The escalation.
“We’ll look into it,” the detective said. “But without proof it’s the same person, it’s hard to build a case.”
After they hung up, Elias looked at Alex.
“I’m not going to Chicago,” he said.
“What? No. You have to go. It’s your job.”
“My job doesn’t matter if I lose you.”
“You’re not going to lose me.”
“Are you sure? Because I’m not.”
They sat in silence. The weight of everything pressing down.
Then Alex’s phone rang. Not a text. A call.
He answered.
“Alex?” A familiar voice. “It’s Katie. Elias’s sister. We need to talk.“