Chapter 18 – Someone Is Watching

POV: Elena

For a long moment, neither of us spoke.

The photograph rested between Jace's fingers, but it no longer looked like ordinary paper. It looked like a threat.

The image had been taken from outside the Calloway house. I recognized the sitting room immediately—the grand piano near the window, the marble fireplace, and the navy curtains Richard insisted had been imported from Italy. Jace and I were standing in the background, arguing about something I couldn't even remember anymore.

Whoever had taken the picture hadn't been standing close. They had been watching us from a distance.

"They followed us," I whispered. Jace's jaw tightened. "No. I looked at him. "They were already there."

Before I could ask what he meant, Sandra glanced between us with growing concern. "Is something wrong?" Jace folded the photograph so quickly that she couldn't see it. "No." His voice was calm. Too calm. "We'll be there in a minute." Sandra hesitated before nodding and disappearing down the hallway.

The second she was gone, I reached for the photograph. "Let me see it again." He handed it over without a word.

Turning it over, I searched for anything that might explain where it had come from. There was no signature. No address. Nothing except the five words written across the bottom.

I know your engagement is fake.

A chill crawled up my spine. "This isn't Camille." Jace frowned. "What makes you say that?" "If she wanted to expose us, she wouldn't send a warning." He looked at the photograph again. I continued quietly.

"She would've posted it online."

The realization settled heavily between us. Whoever had sent the envelope didn't want attention. Not yet. They wanted us to know they were watching.

"Don't tell Richard," I said. His eyes snapped toward me. "Why?" "Because he'll panic." Jace let out a dry laugh. "He doesn't panic." "No." I folded the photograph carefully before handing it back. "He controls." That was worse.

Richard wouldn't ask who was watching us. He would ask how to protect the family's reputation. I already knew the answer. By sacrificing ours.

The rest of Media Day passed in a blur. I smiled when people expected me to. I answered questions without hearing them. Every time another camera flashed, I found myself looking beyond the crowd, searching for someone holding a phone a little too long or staring a little too intensely. The feeling never left. Someone knew. Someone had enough evidence to destroy everything.

When the final interview ended, I couldn't get out of the athletic center fast enough.

Outside, the afternoon sun was beginning to sink, painting the campus in warm shades of gold. Students laughed as they crossed the quad, completely unaware that my entire world felt as though it had tilted off its axis.

Jace unlocked the SUV. Neither of us climbed inside. Instead, he leaned against the driver's door and looked at me. "We need to figure out who sent it." "I know." "I'll have security review the cameras." "Do you really think whoever did this would be stupid enough to show their face?" He didn't answer. Because we both knew the answer. "No."

The drive home was unusually tense. For once, neither of us argued. My thoughts kept drifting back to the photograph.

If someone had been watching the Calloway house, how long had they been doing it?

Days?

Weeks?

Had they seen me arriving after classes?

Had they watched me through my bedroom window?

The thought made my skin crawl.

When we pulled into the driveway, I looked instinctively toward the line of trees surrounding the estate. Everything appeared normal. Too normal. Richard was waiting inside.

"I heard Media Day went well." Jace shrugged. "It was fine," Richard smiled. "The sponsors were impressed. That's what matters." His attention shifted to me. "You handled yourself well." I forced a polite smile. "Thank you." He returned to his study without another word.

I watched him disappear down the hallway before turning to Jace.

"You still aren't going to tell him?" "No." "I'm surprised." "So am I." For the first time since I'd met him, Jace looked genuinely uncertain. "I don't know who I trust anymore."

Later that evening, I sat at my desk trying to read through tomorrow's lecture notes. The words blurred together. Every creak of the house made me glance toward the window. Every passing car sounded suspicious. Eventually, I gave up.

I walked across the room to close the curtains. As my fingers touched the fabric, movement outside caught my eye. Someone was standing near the front gates. Too far away for me to make out a face. The figure was too still to be a passerby. I froze. The figure didn't move. Neither did I.

After several endless seconds, headlights swept across the road outside the estate.

The stranger turned...

...and disappeared into the darkness.

My heartbeat refused to slow. I grabbed my phone and immediately texted Jace.

 There's someone outside.

His reply came less than ten seconds later.

Stay in your room. Lock the door. I'm coming.

I barely had time to set the phone down before I heard it. Three slow knocks echoed against my bedroom door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Elena." The voice on the other side wasn't Jace's. It was Richard's. "I think there's something you should see.”