Chapter 157 *
Scarlett's POV
My brain was screaming at me. I could disassemble this gun in under thirty seconds. I could hit a moving target at three hundred yards.
But I couldn't let him know any of that.
"I don't want to." I took a step back. Let my voice shake. "I've never touched a gun before. I don't think I should."
Mitchell's eyes narrowed. "This is a required component of the program."
"I understand, but I'm really uncomfortable with this." I wrapped my arms around myself. "Can I skip this part?"
"No."
"I'll do extra rope climbing. Or more rock climbing. Anything else."
"Take the gun." His voice went cold.
I shook my head. Tried to look scared. "I can't. I'm sorry. I just can't."
The other students were watching now. Some looked relieved I was refusing. Others looked curious about what would happen next.
Mitchell stepped closer. His voice dropped low enough that only I could hear.
"I've been watching you all week. Your movements are too precise. Your reflexes are too fast. You're not like the others."
My stomach dropped.
"I don't know what you're talking about." I forced myself to meet his eyes. "I'm just a college student."
He held the gun out again. His expression didn't change. "Last chance. Take it."
"No."
Mitchell's jaw tightened. Then he turned to address the entire group.
"When you refuse to follow orders in the wilderness, people die." His voice carried across the clearing. "Scarlett just demonstrated what not to do. As a result, she's going to run ten laps around the perimeter trail. Each lap is one mile."
Lily's mouth fell open. "Ten miles?"
"Starting now." Mitchell pointed at the trailhead. "Move."
I looked at the trail. Then back at him. "You're serious."
"Completely serious."
Fine. If he wanted me to run, I'd run.
I dropped my jacket on the ground and started jogging toward the trail.
The first eight laps went by easily. I kept my pace steady. Not too fast. Not too slow. I made sure to wipe my forehead every so often like I was sweating.
By lap nine, I started the performance.
I slowed down. Let my breathing get heavier. Made my steps look less stable.
On the final lap, I really committed to the act.
I stumbled twice. My face was burning red from holding my breath to make myself look exhausted. I was gasping for air by the time I crossed the finish line.
My legs gave out and I collapsed onto the grass.
Lily ran over immediately. "Oh my God, are you okay?"
"Fine." I wheezed out the word. "Just need a minute."
Mitchell walked over. He looked down at me with an unreadable expression.
Lily helped me sit up. "That was insane. I can't believe he made you run ten miles."
"Yeah." I wiped my face. "Totally insane."
The last day of COOP was mercifully gentle. Mitchell seemed to recognize that everyone was completely destroyed.
We did some basic review sessions. Talked about what we'd learned. Packed up our gear.
By the time the buses pulled into the parking lot, half the group was already asleep.
I spent the entire ride back staring out the window and trying not to think about Mitchell's suspicious eyes.
When we finally got back to campus, Arthur was waiting outside in the BMW.
"Mrs. Wolfe." He opened the door for me. "How was the wilderness training?"
"Exhausting." I threw my bag in the back seat. "Can we just go home?"
"Of course."
The drive back to the estate took twenty minutes. As soon as I got inside, I dropped everything and went straight to my laptop.
The phone number from those thugs in the park was still haunting me. I'd been too busy with COOP to dig deeper. But now I had time.
I pulled up my tracking programs and started working.
The signal bounced through servers in Monaco, then Liechtenstein, then somewhere in Eastern Europe. Whoever set this up knew what they were doing.
But they weren't perfect.
I found a gap in the proxy chain. A momentary connection to a server in Manhattan. Just for three seconds. But that was enough.
I traced it back to a physical location.
An office building on the Upper East Side.
I cross-referenced the address with property records. The building was owned by a shell corporation. Which was owned by another shell corporation. Which was owned by—
My eyes widened.
Romano Enterprises.
I sat back in my chair and stared at the screen.
So it was someone in the family. Someone with access to their corporate infrastructure.
The question was who.
Zelda was the obvious choice. But would she be smart enough to route the payment through the family's business accounts?
Viviana maybe. She controlled a lot of the financial operations.
Or it could be someone else entirely. Someone I hadn't even considered yet.
I closed the laptop and rubbed my eyes.
Tonight had been productive. Someone in the Romano family was coming after me.
Zelda was the most likely candidate. She had motive. And she was desperate enough to do something stupid.
But Viviana couldn't be ruled out either. She'd made it clear she wanted me gone. And she had direct access to Romano Enterprises' financial systems.
Or maybe it was someone else. Someone I hadn't considered yet.
Didn't matter.
Whoever it was had just made a huge mistake. They'd shown their hand. They'd revealed they were willing to escalate to violence.
And now I knew exactly what I was dealing with.
It was four in the morning. I needed sleep.
_ _ _ _ _ _
Arthur pulled the BMW to a stop near Columbia's back entrance.
"Mrs. Wolfe, we've arrived."
Scarlett blinked and lifted her head from where it had been resting against the window. Her eyes were bloodshot. Dark circles sat under them like bruises.
"Thanks, Arthur." She grabbed her backpack from the seat beside her. Pushed open the door.
And immediately slammed her head into the door frame.
"Ow. Fuck."
Arthur was out of the car in seconds. He rushed around to her side. "Mrs. Wolfe, are you alright?"
Scarlett pressed her hand to her forehead. "I'm fine. Just tired."
"Let me see." Arthur gently moved her hand away. He examined her forehead with concern. "There's no blood. But you might have a bruise."
"It's fine. Really." She waved him off. "I just need coffee and approximately eight hours of sleep."
Arthur frowned. "Perhaps you should take the day off. Rest properly."
Scarlett adjusted her backpack. "I'll survive."
She turned and started walking toward campus. Arthur watched her go for a moment, then got back in the car.
He never noticed the man watching from across the street.
Lorenzo had been sitting in his car for the past hour. Parked in a spot with a perfect view of the back entrance.