Chapter 28 Silent Moves
The morning was calm, but I woke up with a strange feeling like something is going to happen, although I don't know what it's going to be yet.
I rolled over and looked at Carson. He was already awake, lying on his back, staring at the ceiling.
“You didn’t sleep?” I asked.
“Barely,” he replied.
I reached for his hand under the blanket. “Still thinking about the names?”I asked.
He nodded. “Yes. Henry Clark, Laura Price and Fiona. Those names aren’t just names. They’re shadows. And we have to be careful,”he said.
I nodded slowly.
“Greg is already in prison,” Carson said. “He’s locked up. That part is over. But he wasn't at the top, he was just a piece in the game.”
I sat up in bed. “So now we’re after the players behind the scenes,"I said.
“Yes,” he said. “But not loudly, we need to be silent… and smart,”he added.
We got ready slowly that morning. Carson made toast while I brewed coffee, the news was still showing updates about Greg’s arrest.
They said he had been transferred to a high-security prison just last week. The trial was done and the sentence had been given. He was gone.
“They made it look easy,” I said, watching the screen.
“But it wasn’t,” Carson replied. “And what’s coming next… might be harder.”
I looked down at the toast on my plate.
“Let’s not talk about them today,” I said softly.
Carson looked at me and nodded. “Then we won’t.”he said.
Later that afternoon, we went out for a quiet walk.
There was a small path behind Carson’s house that led into a peaceful park. Not many people knew about it. It was hidden by tall trees and soft green grass. The kind of place you could go when the world felt too harsh.
We walked slowly, not saying much at first.
Then Carson stopped suddenly. “Wait,” he said.
I turned to him. “What?”i asked.
He smiled and bent down, picking a tiny yellow flower from the ground. Then he reached up and tucked it gently behind my ear.
“There,” he said. “Now you look like spring.”
I laughed. “That was so random."I said chuckling.
“But cute, right?” he grinned.
“Very cute,” I replied, and kissed his cheek.
We kept walking, fingers laced together. At some point, we sat on a bench near a small pond.
“Do you ever wonder how different life would’ve been if we never met?” Carson asked.
I looked at the water, then back at him. “Maybe quieter. But not better."I said.
He smiled. “Same. I would’ve been rich. Powerful. Alone.”he said.
“You’re still rich and powerful,” I teased.
“But not alone,” he said.
We sat there a long time, watching ducks move across the pond and it was peaceful even if it wouldn’t last forever, it was real in that moment.
That evening, we cooked together. Carson was in charge of the pasta, while I handled the sauce.
He tried to be serious, but kept making jokes.
“Chef Carson, at your service,” he said with a fake French accent, tossing the spaghetti too high and nearly hitting the ceiling.
“Focus, sir,” I said, laughing.
He winked. “Yes, ma'am,”he said.
When we finally sat down to eat, we lit a small candle in the middle of the table.
“I’m proud of you,” Carson said as we ate.
“For what?” I asked.
“For being strong. For going to the prison. For facing the truth,” he said.
I looked at him. “You were there too.”
“Yes,” he nodded. “But you were the brave one.”he said.
I smiled. “We’re stronger together,"I said.
He reached for my hand across the table. “Always.”
After dinner, we sat in the living room, close to each other, sharing a blanket.
“I don’t want to lose this,” I whispered.
“You won’t,” Carson replied. “Whatever comes next, we’ll face it.”he said.
I rested my head on his shoulder.
“We’ve been through so much,” I said. “Sometimes it feels like a dream,"I said.
“But it’s real,” he said. “You’re real.”
I looked up at him. “Say it again.”
“You’re real,” he said again. “And you’re mine.”
“I don’t know what tomorrow will bring,” he said quietly.
“Me neither,” I replied.
“But tonight… this is ours,” he said.
I turned around and kissed him gently.
“Yes,” I whispered. “It’s ours.”
And for the first time in a long time, we didn’t feel like people in the middle of a fight. We felt like two people just… in love.
Even if the world outside was falling apart, we still had this moment.
And it was enough.
“We should probably start putting some pieces together,” I said softly.
“I know,” he replied. “But we don’t have to do it all tonight,”he added.
I nodded slowly. “I’m just scared that if we wait too long, they might make the first move,"I added.
“We’ll move quietly,” he said. “We’ll gather more info. Stay ahead of them. But still live… still breathe.”he added.
I smiled. “You always say the right things,"I said.
He laughed a little. “ But honestly, I’m just learning every day,”he said.
“Carson?” I said softly.
“Yes?”
“If all this never happened—if there was no Greg, no company drama, no prison… do you think we’d still have found each other?"I asked.
He looked down at me with soft eyes. “I think we were meant to find each other—no matter what.”he replied.
After the day as we were getting ready to sleep, Carson’s phone buzzed.
He frowned and picked it up.
“What is it?” I asked.
He read the message slowly, then looked at me.
“It’s from Dean,” he said. “He’s one of our tech guys,”he said again.
“What did he say?"I asked.
Carson turned the screen toward me.
“Someone tried to access your office files tonight. They failed. But they’re looking.”
I sat up. “You think it’s them?”
“Maybe,” Carson replied. “Or someone connected to them,”he added.
My peaceful feeling from earlier started to fade.
“They’re not wasting time,” I whispered.
“No, they’re not,” he said. “Which means… we can’t either.”
We looked at each other for a long time.
The quiet night had changed.
“I think we should call Raymond,” Carson said after a moment.
“Your investigator friend?"I asked.
“Yes,” he nodded. “If someone’s trying to get into my files, we need someone tracking them,”he said.
“Do you trust him?”I asked.
“I trust him with my life,” Carson said.
“Then call him,” I said.
He picked up his phone again and walked out to make the call.
Deep down, I knew this was coming. The peace wouldn’t last forever.
When Carson came back, I looked at him.
“What did he say?"I asked.
“He’s coming by tomorrow,” he said. “We’re going to go over everything. From the flash drive to the names to the new alert.” he added.
I nodded. “Good.”i said.
Then I reached for his hand again.
“But just for tonight,” I said, “can we pretend again? That it’s just us?"I asked.