Chapter 88 Chapter 88
Chapter 88
Richard Hales’ call came in around four-thirty, just when the afternoon light was starting to slant hard across Amelia’s bedroom floor. Her phone buzzed on the nightstand. She snatched it up so fast the screen almost slipped out of her fingers. His name lit up and she hit accept before the second ring.
“Hello?” She tried to sound normal. Calm. Like this was just another Tuesday call.
“Amelia,” Richard said, voice even, the way it always was. “I’ve got something on the woman you asked about. Partial, but it’s a start.”
Her pulse kicked up. “Tell me.”
“The new hire at Castellan Enterprise. Name’s Celine. That’s what I’ve confirmed so far. No last name yet, no address, no family details, nothing deep. She’s kept a low profile. I’ll keep pushing, but this is where we’re at right now.”
Amelia’s mouth curved. Not a full smile, just the corners lifting. “Celine,” she said slowly, tasting the word. “Celine. Okay. That’s good. That’s really good.”
Richard paused. “You sound… pleased.”
“I am.” She stood up, started walking small circles around the foot of her bed. “I knew she was real. I knew Ethan wasn’t just working late for nothing. Now I have proof. A name.”
Another pause from his end. “Amelia, can I ask something?”
She stopped pacing. “What?”
“Why are you so interested in finding her? I mean, really. This much effort, this much money. What’s the endgame here?”
Amelia’s jaw tightened. She let out a short breath through her nose. “Richard, shut up and focus on the job. You get paid when you deliver. Not when you play therapist. So do what I hired you for and stop asking questions you don’t need answers to.”
He didn’t argue. “Understood. I’ll keep digging. Might take a few more days for anything solid.”
“Take the days. Just get me more. I don’t care how long. I’ll pay whatever it costs.”
They wrapped up quick after that—details about next check-ins, a reminder about the wire transfer he’d see tomorrow. Then the line went dead.
Amelia stood there holding the phone for a second, staring at the blank screen. Celine. She said it again, quieter this time. Celine.
She dropped onto the edge of the bed, then popped right back up. Too much energy. Too much buzzing under her skin. She grabbed her phone again and dialed Gloria before she could second-guess it.
Gloria picked up on the third ring. “Hey. Everything okay?”
“Gloria! You won’t believe this!” Amelia was already moving again, pacing faster now. “Richard finally called. He found her name. Celine. Her name is Celine!”
A beat of quiet on the other end. “Okay… that’s something. What now?”
Amelia laughed sharp, quick, almost giddy. “What now? Now we move. Now I know who I’m dealing with. Celine. Some nobody who thinks she can slide into Ethan’s life like she belongs there. She has no clue what she’s stepped into.”
Gloria’s voice came back careful. “Amelia, slow down for a second. You’ve got a name. That’s not the same as having a plan.”
“I have a plan,” Amelia shot back. “The plan starts with knowing who she is. Richard’s going to get me everything else—where she lives, who her friends are, what she does after work. And when I have that, I start closing in. Quiet at first. Then not so quiet.”
“Amelia…”
“Don’t ‘Amelia’ me. You know how long I’ve waited? How many nights I sat here wondering who the hell he was texting at two in the morning? Now I have a target. Celine. She’s the one standing between me and what’s mine. Ethan belongs with me. He always has. She’s temporary. I’m permanent.”
Gloria sighed. “I get that you’re hurt. I do. But going after some random woman because she works with him… that’s a lot. What if she’s not even—”
“She is,” Amelia cut in. “I saw the way he looked at his phone that day in the lobby. The little smile he tried to hide. That wasn’t for work. That was for her. And now I know her name. That changes everything.”
“You sound different,” Gloria said quietly. “Like… excited different.”
“Good. I should be excited. I’ve been patient. I’ve been nice. I’ve let him have his space, his ‘distance,’ his bullshit excuses. No more. Celine’s going to learn that you don’t take what’s mine without consequences.”
Gloria tried again. “Just promise me you won’t do anything stupid. Anything that can blow back on you.”
Amelia stopped by the window, looked out at the street below. Cars moving slow in the late-afternoon traffic. Normal people with normal problems. “I’m not stupid, Gloria. Everything I do will be clean. Precise. She won’t even know it’s me at first. A whisper here. A rumor there. Maybe a little trouble at work. Maybe something personal. I’ll figure it out. Richard’s already on it, and I told him money’s no object.”
“You really told him to shut up when he asked why?”
Amelia smirked. “Yeah. He was getting nosy. I reminded him who writes the checks.”
Gloria let out a small laugh, half-nervous. “You’re scary when you get like this.”
“I need to be scary,” Amelia said. “She needs to feel it. Ethan needs to feel it. Everyone needs to remember who I am.”
“Okay. Just… keep me in the loop? So I know you’re not spiraling.”
“I’m not spiraling. I’m focused.” Amelia walked back to her desk, opened her laptop. “First step: name. Done. Next steps: background, habits, weak spots. Richard will handle the digging. I’ll handle the rest.”
Gloria was quiet for a second. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I do,” Amelia said softly. “I know exactly.”
They said goodbye after that. Amelia set the phone down carefully, like it might break if she moved too fast. She stared at the laptop screen for a minute, blank, cursor blinking. Then she started typing notes.
Celine.
Castellan Enterprise – new hire.
Close to Ethan.
Smiling at texts.
Needs watching.
She saved the file. Named it “C.” Simple. Private.
She leaned back in the chair, crossed her arms. Pictured the office floor—Ethan’s corner suite, the open-plan desks, the way Celine probably sat somewhere near the middle, head down, pretending to be invisible. Pretending she wasn’t a threat.
Amelia’s fingers tapped the desk. Slow rhythm.
She imagined walking in one day soon. Casual. Friendly smile. Stopping by Celine’s desk. “Hey, you’re new, right? I’m Amelia. Ethan’s… friend.” Watching the girl’s face change. Watching her realize.
Not yet.
But soon.
Amelia stood again. Went to the mirror on her closet door. Studied her reflection. Hair pulled back neat. Eyes clear. Mouth set in a line that looked calm from the outside.
Inside she was burning.
She liked it.
This feeling this sharp, bright anger it was better than the dull ache she’d carried for months. Better than waiting. Better than wondering.
Celine didn’t know it yet, but she’d picked the wrong man to smile at.
Amelia turned away from the mirror. Grabbed her phone one more time. Opened her messages to Richard.
Keep going. Faster if you can. I want everything.
She hit send.
Then she sat on the bed, back against the headboard, knees pulled up. She let herself smile small, private and dangerous.
Celine.
The name felt like a key turning in a lock.
Everything was about to open up.
And Amelia was ready to step through.