MasukChapter Thirty: Midnight cries Freya sat on the narrow bed in the staff quarters, her back resting against the wall. The room was small. Clean, but small. A single bed, a desk pushed into the corner. It was better than she expected. Better than where she was coming from. Her hands rested loosely in her lap. The uniform was still on her body, though she had loosened the collar slightly. Her hair had fallen out of its neat tie, strands slipping around her face.She stared ahead. For a long time, she did not move. Then she let out a breath that came out uneven.Freya pressed her lips together, trying to steady herself. She shifted slightly on the bed, sitting straighter, as if posture alone could hold her together.Her shoulders dropped.Her eyes burned, but she blinked quickly, forcing it back.“No,” she whispered to herself.She inhaled slowly, trying to regain control. Tried to think of something else. The events of the past day did not come all at once. They slipped in, piece by p
Chapter Twenty Nine: I’m grownCourtney Savage sat alone in the mini lounge, one leg crossed over the other, a single bottle of wine already opened. A crystal glass resting between her fingers. The door opened, Freya stepped in.The uniform fit her better than expected. Crisp, tailored, simple. Her hair was tied back neatly. Her posture was straight. Her face gave nothing away.Courtney looked up.Her gaze moved slowly over Freya, taking in every detail. “Interesting,” Courtney said quietly.Freya stopped a few steps into the room. “Ma.”Courtney took a slow sip of her wine, then set the glass down. “You adapt quickly.”Freya did not respond to that. She held her ground. A second passed.“Ma,” Freya said again, more direct this time. “What is my salary?”Courtney’s lips curved slightly. “Salary?” she repeated.“Yes.”Courtney leaned back into her seat. “There is none.”Freya did not move.Courtney continued, her tone even. “You are being accommodated in one of the most secure estat
Chapter Twenty Eight: Terms of StaySteam still clung faintly to the air when Freya stepped out of the bathroom, her damp hair falling loosely over her shoulders. The oversized shirt she wore hung past her thighs, the sleeves swallowing her hands slightly. The shorts he had given her sat low on her hips, secured only by the tight pull of the drawstring. She paused just inside the room, unsure of herself. Xander stood by the dresser, plugging in the hair dryer. He glanced up at her, his expression briefly unreadable, then softened slightly. “Sit.”She hesitated.“Freya,” he said, less patient this time.She walked over and sat on the edge of the chair near the vanity, her movements slower than usual. The tray of food he had brought in sat on the small table beside her. She picked at it at first, cautious, then hunger took over. Within seconds, she was eating properly, no longer concerned with appearances.Xander stepped behind her and switched on the dryer. Warm air filled the space
Chapter Twenty Seven: Under His RoofThe rain had not stopped.It came down in sheets, relentless against the concrete paths of the campus, turning walkways into slick mirrors and quiet corners into shadows no one wanted to step into. The female hostel loomed ahead, its windows glowing faintly, but the space outside it was empty. No one lingered in weather like this unless they had nowhere else to go.Freya sat curled near the side wall, knees pulled to her chest, arms wrapped tightly around herself. Her clothes were soaked through, clinging to her skin, her hair plastered messily against her face. The spot she had chosen offered little shelter. Water still found her. It dripped from the edge of the roof and landed near her feet in an uneven rhythm.She pressed her forehead against her knees, breathing unevenly, trying to stay composed, but her body had already betrayed her. It shivered uncontrollably. Every now and then she wiped her face, though she could not tell if it was rain or
Chapter Twenty Six: Nowhere to GoFreya stood across the street long after the machines had gone quiet.The crowd that had gathered earlier had thinned out, leaving behind only silence and scattered conversations in the distance.She wiped her face with the back of her hand, but the tears did not stop.Her bag hung loosely from her shoulder. It was all she had managed to grab. She inhaled slowly, forcing herself to move.Standing there would not change anything.She turned away and began walking down the street, her steps unsteady but determined. The neighborhood around her was familiar. She had lived there long enough to recognize faces, routines, doors that opened and closed at certain hours.People who had seen her before. People who might help.She approached the first house she could think of, a small white building with a narrow porch. The woman who lived there had once borrowed sugar from her.Freya knocked.The door opened after a few seconds. The woman stood there, her expres
Chapter Twenty Five: An eye for an eye Courtney stood alone in her study, the soft glow from her laptop casting a calm light across her face. The rest of the house had settled into silence, but her world had just shifted.The email remained open on her screen.A detailed report filled the page. Digital footprints. Payment trails. IP logs that had been masked, rerouted, buried beneath layers of careful deception. It had taken her team less than four hours to cut through all of it.Courtney read every line without blinking.The cult website. The anonymous accounts. The coordinated posts. The timing of every release. The behavioral patterning.One name.Freya Woods.Courtney leaned back slowly in her chair, her fingers resting lightly against the armrest. For a long moment, she said nothing. No anger crossed her face. No shock. Only stillness.Then, very slowly, she smiled.“So,” she said softly to herself, “it’s you.”Her gaze returned to the screen, scanning the details again. The rep
Chapter Eighteen: Digital princessFreya leaned back in her chair, the glow of her laptop screen painting her face in shades of midnight blue. The apartment was quiet except for the occasional clatter from her fingers tapping the keyboard.Outside, the city slumbered under a haze of streetlights an
Chapter Eleven: Flourish CopperXander’s sleek black car cruised past the outskirts of the city, the skyline fading behind as he approached neighborhoods where his world rarely ventured. The late morning sun filtered through dusty air. As he rounded a corner, a cluster of people gathered along the
Chapter Seventeen: How to deal with the rich Freya Woods paced the length of her apartment like a caged animal that was wounded and starved. Her bare feet slapped softly against the tiled floor, back and forth, back and forth, the motion restless and sharp. Her body still ached faintly from the a
Chapter Eight: Invitations and intentionsThe living room glowed with the sharp flicker of a PS5 screen, the sound of digital cleats pounding turf filling the Savage residence. Xander leaned forward on the couch, jaw tight, thumbs moving with aggressive precision on the controller. Wendy sprawled b







