Chapter 127 Chapter 127
Chapter 127
The meeting ended on a good note.
Everyone seemed satisfied. Agreements had been reached, numbers aligned, and hands were shaken with polite smiles that carried quiet confidence. To anyone watching, it looked like another successful day for Ethan Castellan.
But Ethan barely registered any of it.
His responses had been sharp, his decisions precise, but the moment the final words were exchanged, his mind was already elsewhere.
“Have a good day, gentlemen,” he said, standing as the investors gathered their things.
“You as well,” one of them replied, clearly impressed.
Ethan gave a small nod, but he didn’t stay to entertain any further conversation. The second they stepped out, his expression shifted slightly. Not dramatically, just enough to show that his attention had moved on.
His assistant approached him almost immediately. “Everything went well, sir.”
“It did,” he replied, already reaching for his phone.
“Do you need anything else scheduled for—”
“No,” he cut in gently but firmly. “Clear the rest of my day.”
She blinked slightly, surprised, but nodded. “Alright, sir.”
Ethan didn’t explain. He rarely did.
Instead, he turned and headed toward the elevator, his steps calm but purposeful. To anyone else, it would look like he was simply moving on to his next task.
But this wasn’t routine.
Not this time.
As the elevator doors closed, his reflection stared back at him from the mirrored walls. Calm. Collected. Unreadable.
Yet his mind was anything but still.
Something wasn’t adding up.
Amelia’s message.
The accident.
The way everything had been executed.
It was too deliberate to be random.
And if she had really been behind it, then there had to be a moment… a point where she identified Celine.
A moment he missed.
That thought didn’t sit well with him.
The elevator reached the basement level, and the doors slid open quietly.
The air down there was cooler, quieter. The hum of machines replaced the usual office noise. Security staff moved around with focused attention, their voices low as they monitored different screens.
The moment Ethan stepped in, the atmosphere shifted slightly.
“Good afternoon, sir,” one of the guards greeted quickly, straightening.
Ethan gave a brief nod. “I need access to the CCTV recordings.”
“Of course, sir. Which date?”
“The day before yesterday,” he said without hesitation. “From the evening.”
The guard didn’t question it. He simply gestured toward one of the stations. “This way.”
Ethan walked over, his gaze already fixed on the monitors as they began pulling up the footage. Rows of screens lit up, each showing different angles around the building—entrances, exits, parking areas, surrounding roads.
“Start from when staff began leaving,” Ethan instructed.
“Yes, sir.”
The footage rolled.
At first, everything looked normal.
Employees walking out in small groups, some talking, some on their phones. Cars pulling in and out. Security opening doors, closing them again. The usual rhythm of a workday ending.
Ethan watched closely, his eyes moving from one screen to another.
Then—
“There,” he said quietly.
The guard paused the footage.
On the screen, the black SUV came into view.
Ethan leaned forward slightly, his focus sharpening.
“Play it.”
The video resumed.
He watched as the SUV pulled up near the entrance, smooth and familiar. A security guard approached immediately, opening the door.
Celine stepped out.
But just like that—
Her back was turned.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Zoom in.”
The guard adjusted the frame, bringing the image closer.
Celine adjusted her bag slightly, saying something to the security before stepping away from the car. Her movements were calm, natural. Nothing out of place.
Nothing unusual.
From this angle, her face still wasn’t visible.
Ethan’s jaw tightened just a little.
“Switch to the outer cameras,” he said.
The screens changed, now showing the perimeter of the building, the parking areas, the road just outside.
Again, everything looked normal.
Cars parked in their usual spots.
A few vehicles passing by.
Nothing suspicious.
Nothing that stood out.
Ethan watched every second carefully, his eyes scanning each frame, each movement, each shadow.
Minutes passed.
Then more.
But there was nothing.
No lingering car.
No suspicious figure.
No one watching from a distance.
No sign that anyone had been paying special attention.
It didn’t make sense.
Ethan leaned back slightly, his expression hardening just a bit.
“Rewind,” he said.
The guard did.
They watched again.
Same result.
Everything looked clean.
Too clean.
Ethan exhaled quietly, his mind working through it again.
If Amelia had been there… she hadn’t made it obvious.
Which meant she either stayed far enough to avoid the cameras…
Or she knew exactly where not to be seen.
Neither option sat well with him.
Because both meant the same thing.
This wasn’t careless.
This was planned.
Carefully.
Patiently.
He rubbed his jaw lightly, his gaze still fixed on the screen even though the footage had stopped moving.
“How far do the cameras cover outside?” he asked.
The guard hesitated slightly. “Not too far beyond the main road, sir. Just the immediate surroundings.”
Ethan nodded slowly.
That explained part of it.
If someone stayed just outside that range…
They wouldn’t be seen.
And if they were watching from there—
They could still observe enough.
The SUV.
The security.
The routine.
That was all it would take.
Ethan’s expression grew more serious.
So Amelia didn’t need to see Celine’s face.
She just needed to see enough.
Enough to connect the dots.
Enough to know that whoever was being driven in that car, with that level of security…
Mattered.
His fingers curled slightly at his side.
That realization didn’t calm him.
If anything, it made things worse.
Because it meant Celine had been chosen without even being properly seen.
Targeted… just for being close to him.
Ethan looked back at the frozen frame on the screen.
Celine stepping out of the car.
Unaware.
Unprotected in ways he hadn’t considered.
His jaw tightened again.
“Alright,” he said finally, his voice steady but firmer now. “That’s enough.”
The guard nodded, stopping the playback completely.
Ethan straightened, adjusting his suit slightly as he stepped away from the monitors.
“Make sure all external coverage is reviewed again,” he added. “And increase surveillance around the building.”
“Yes, sir.”
He didn’t wait for anything else.
As he walked out of the security room, one thought stayed firmly in his mind.
This wasn’t over.
Not even close.
And Amelia…
Had just made herself a problem he wasn’t going to ignore.
By the time he reached the elevator again, his decision was already made.
He wasn’t going to sit back and wait for another move.
He was going to act.
But first—
His mind shifted again, softer this time, more instinctive than strategic.
Celine.
He needed to see her.
Not later.
Now.