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Chapter 3

Author: Sonia
When I got home, Chloe was waiting in the living room.

Her arms were crossed, and she looked furious. “Jake, where were you tonight?”

My heart sank. The photos had already reached her.

She held up her phone. The screen showed blurry pictures: me entering the hotel, knocking, going inside. The quality was bad, but my clothes and shape were unmistakable.

“Do you want to explain yourself?” she asked.

I told her everything—the fake pet errand, the incident report, the threatening messages, the hotel meeting. Every single detail.

Chloe listened, still doubtful, but she didn’t explode. “Why didn’t you tell me right away?”

I had no good answer.

I hadn’t done anything wrong. But I’d been so afraid of her misunderstanding that I tried to handle it alone. The more I hid, the guiltier I looked.

I whispered, “I didn’t want to hurt you. I was scared you’d think the worst.”

Chloe’s eyes filled with tears. “If you were scared of misunderstanding, you should have told me immediately. Keeping it quiet just makes you look guilty.”

That night, we fought harder than we ever had—our first real fight over trust. She didn’t break up with me, but she said she needed space.

I thought things couldn’t get worse. The next day at work, I realized the real nightmare was just starting.

My coworkers stared at me strangely. I heard whispers in the break room: “I can’t believe he’s that kind of guy.”

When I tried to ask what was wrong, everyone looked away.

Soon after, my boss called me into his office.

“Jake, you’ve been distracted lately. The company is asking you to step away from your current projects and take some time off.”

I jumped to my feet. “Sir, I’ve been on this project for six months—we’re days from signing! Why am I being pulled?”

My boss sighed. “I can’t say much. Did you make some powerful enemies recently? Someone upstairs called and said your personal conduct is unacceptable. You can’t be around sensitive project data right now.”

My mind went blank.

Unacceptable personal conduct?

I thought instantly of Mia and the young man. They’d sent the photos to Chloe—and to my company.

Worse: the client I was working with had direct ties to that wealthy neighborhood. Whoever was behind this had enough influence to pressure my company.

I left the office feeling numb. Suspended from work, girlfriend upset, reputation ruined—and I hadn’t done a single thing wrong. I’d been pushed to the edge by lies and edited pictures.

In that moment, I decided I wouldn’t run anymore.

I was going to find out who had set me up.
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