The Man Named Kent

Thea arrived at the café before noon. The same café where she’d sat across from Reed a few days ago. She settled in the same spot as the last time, placing her bag on the table gently.

The last time she was here, her nerves were drumming dangerously in her ears and now? She was relatively calm.

Maybe it's just Seth's magic touch? Well, he made it his life mission to exhaust her last night and he did. She almost didn't make it here on time. Even now, her knees seem to buckle every now and then.

Hopefully nobody notices.

Thea glanced out the window, today the windows glimmered with light; inside, the smell of roasted beans hung heavy in the air.

“Good day ma'am. Can I get your order?”

Thea made her order and her attention returned back to her phone.

She had called Reed the night before, finally using the card she had handed her the first time they met.

We need to meet. She had said firmly and Reed had replied with her usual calm, suggesting they talk in the same cafe.

The door chimed and Reed strode in. For the first time, Thea was relatively calm on seeing her. The Dublin heiress wore a dove-grey coat over black trousers, no jewellery except a thin gold band on her thumb. Her presence drew glances from nearby tables without her trying.

“Thea,” Reed said, sliding into the seat opposite. “It’s been a while.”

“It has.” Thea kept her hands around the mug. “Thank you for coming.”

Reed smiled faintly. “You wanted to talk.”

Silence stretched for a beat. Thea had rehearsed a dozen openings on the drive over, but now her mind felt blank. Her tongue tasted of metal.

What am I even supposed to ask first? She thought.

Reed tilted her head. “You look like you have something to say.”

Thea exhaled. “I do. I’m the CEO of Balmero now.” She heard how flat it sounded.

Reed’s brows rose slightly, though not with surprise. “Congratulations.”

Thea studied her face. No flicker of guilt, no hint of pride either. “You’re not shocked.”

“I’m pleased,” Reed said simply. “It’s a position you’ve earned.”

“That’s not what I mean.” Thea leaned in, lowering her voice. “I know those board members. I grew up watching them. They would rather burn the company down than let me run it. They wouldn’t have agreed unless someone pushed them.” Her pulse ticked in her throat.

Reed remained calm, too calm to say the least.

“Did you?”

Reed’s expression didn’t change. She sipped her coffee, eyes steady over the rim. “Balmero has been drifting for months now. Someone needed to make a decision.”

“That’s not an answer.”

Reed set the cup down and folded her arms. “And yet here you are. The board agreed. Isn’t that what matters?”

Thea sat back, unsettled. She had expected denial or an approval at least but not this…confusion. It felt like a door leading nowhere had gently closed in her face.

“I just…” she said finally. “I want to understand how this happened.”

Reed’s gaze softened for the first time. “You don’t need to understand everything today. Lead. Build. Show them what you can do. I hope to see you transform the Balmero empire.”

And with that she stood, slipping her coat back over her shoulders. “Good luck, Thea. I am rooting for you.”

Before Thea could gather another question, Reed was already walking toward the door, her heels a steady rhythm on the tiles.

Thea stayed there, fingers tight on the mug. The tea had gone cold. She stared at the swirl of milk on the surface and tried to quiet the hammering in her chest.

What game are you playing, Reed?

Her phone buzzed. Gina.

Thea had managed to text her that morning, warning her.

Gina: Do not meet that man alone.

She was still unsure of what her motives were but at the same time, she couldn't help but worry about her meeting that stranger.

Gina didn't reply to her text but now she was calling. What if she already….

Thea snatched the phone off the table and slid on the receiver. “Hello?”

“Thea, dear. ” Gina said.

“You're not going to meet that man on your own. It's too dangerous! You don't know what he's capable of!”

Gina chuckles. “Are you worried about me? After everything I've done and said to you?”

Thea exhaled. “Gina..”

“I was wrong, Thea. No matter what happened, I was wrong. And I'm trying to find the truth for myself. And if that man…Kent or whatever his name is, holds the answers I need then I'll go see him.”

Thea exhaled again, running her fingers through her hair this time.

“If Posy really did this, I want to see the proof of it with my own two eyes. Then I'll know if I have lost a daughter or not.” Gina said firmly.

Thea went silent. Gina might seem snobbish or judgemental but she was a kind hearted woman. She loved her father even when Thea herself found it hard to love her own father. She's a mother desperately hoping her child wasn't a monster and for some reason, Thea could understand her plight.

“Where?” Thea asked.

“What?”

“Where are you to meet him?”

Gina went silent, "You want to come with me.”

“Im not going to let you go to him alone. I have my guards with me and they'll make sure we're safe.”

Gina sighs. “Okay. I'll text you the address.”

“You’re sure about this?”

Gina hesitated. She could barely sleep last night, unsure of what she might discover today. “I want the truth,” She said simply.

“So do I.” Thea ended the call and motioned to Ethan, who was waiting at another table with two other guards.

“We’re leaving.”

No way she was walking into that kind of meeting unprotected. Kent had once been hired to ruin her life. She wouldn’t give him another chance.

The sky had darkened by the time they reached the neighbourhood Gina had forwarded to her. Buildings leaned close together, their walls stained by decades of rain. The street smelled of stale beer and diesel.

Gina was already there, standing under a flickering sign outside a shuttered laundromat. She came all the way here alone, cutting off her driver and security. She didn't want Adam to find out about this, not when he's been secretive these past few days. She had no clue how he would react if she mentioned meeting up with Thea.

Gina wore a long coat and no makeup, her hair tied back. She looked older than Thea remembered, lines of worry etched deep in her eyes.

“You came,” Gina said, relief flickering in her eyes when she saw the guards.

“Of course.” Thea stepped close. “Where is he?”

“He said he’d be here.” Gina glanced at the alley mouth. “Any minute now.”

They didn’t have to wait long. A man shuffled out from between two buildings, shoulders hunched inside a filthy parka. Even at a distance Thea caught the smell of alcohol.

“Kent?” Gina called

He froze mid step. His eyes darted between Gina and the guards. And then Thea.

It was him.

The moment he saw how many people were with Thea, he turned on his heel and bolted.

“Ethan!” Thea snapped.

Two of the guards were already moving. They sprinted after him down the cracked pavement. Kent slipped on a puddle, regained his footing, then was tackled hard to the ground. He yelled, flailing, but the guards hauled him upright and frog-marched him back.

They shoved him against the wall near Thea and Gina. His breath stank of cheap liquor, his eyes bloodshot.

“Let go of me!” he barked. He turned to Gina, eyes wide open. “You told me you wanted to pay Posy's debt. What is the meaning of this craze?!”

“Not until you talk,” Thea said coldly. She kept her distance, though every nerve in her body screamed. This was the man who had been paid to drug and assault her.

Gina stepped forward, voice shaking but firm. “Tell us what you know. All of it. Did Posy hire you?”

Kent laughed bitterly. “You don’t scare me.”

“You should be scared,” Ethan said quietly from behind him.

Kent’s eyes flicked to the guard’s hand on his shoulder. He swallowed. “Fine. I’ll tell you.”

Gina’s hands clenched at her sides. “Start with the night of the engagement.”

Kent spat to the side. “Your precious daughter, Posy, contacted me. Offered cash to drug the other girl, make sure she was…gone, gone.” He glanced at Thea with a leer that made her stomach turn. “I slipped something in your drink like she asked.”

Gina’s face went white. “God.”

“But I didn’t touch you,” Kent added quickly. “I went to do it, but there was already another man in the room with you. Big guy. Didn’t look like part of the plan. I got spooked and left.”

Thea’s breath hitched. Seth.

If she hadn't crossed paths with him that night, this sicko would have assaulted her.

“You’re saying Posy paid you to drug and assault Thea,” Gina said, each word slow.

Kent smirked. “Damn right. Did the job, didn’t get my money. So yeah, I’ve been calling her. Girl like that’s got plenty to lose.”

Gina’s hand flew to her mouth. Tears welled and spilled over.

“I… I didn’t believe you,” she whispered, looking at Thea. “All this time I thought…” Her voice broke.

Thea felt a strange calm settle over her. She had imagined this moment for months, but it still felt unreal. She reached out and gently lowered Gina’s hands from her face.

“Now you know.”

Gina shook her head, crying openly. “I’m so sorry. I trusted her blindly. I thought you were lying, trying to ruin her. I…” She trailed off, sobbing.

Kent shifted, impatient. “So what now? You gonna let me go?”

“Do you have proof?” Thea asked. Her voice was cool, steady. “Of what she did?”

Kent dug in his pocket, pulling out a cracked phone. He thumbed through files and then held it up.

“Video. The day she hired me. I keep everything.” He grinned, showing missing teeth. “Insurance.”

Ethan snatched the phone and handed it to Thea. Onscreen, a paused frame showed Posy in some dim bar, face half-hidden by a hood, leaning close to Kent. The time stamp matched the night Thea remembered. She hit play and Posy’s voice spilled out, unmistakable, naming the price, the plan.

Thea chuckled, her life was worth just three thousand dollars to Posy?

Gina made a small sound, like a wounded animal. She turned away, hugging herself.

Thea stopped the video and handed the phone back to Ethan. “Copy it,” she instructed. “All of it.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Kent licked his lips. “We’re done here?”

“Not yet,” Thea said. She stepped closer, her heels clicking on the pavement. “If you ever contact Posy again, if you ever try to use this for leverage, I will bury you. Do you understand?”

His eyes widened. “Yeah. Yeah, I get it.”

Ethan and the other guard dragged him away toward the waiting car to be handed over to authorities.

Silence settled over the street again, broken only by Gina’s quiet sobbing. She wiped at her face.

“I don’t know what to say,” she whispered. “Everything I thought I knew about my daughter…”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Thea said softly. She tucked the copied file into her own phone. “You’ve given me what I need.”

Gina turned to her, eyes red. “Whatever you choose to do with Posy now… I’ll support you. I can’t defend her anymore. Not after this.”

For a moment Thea simply looked at her, seeing not the polished stepmother from years past but a woman crumbling under the weight of betrayal. She sighs.

“Then we’ll move forward.”

Gina nodded, tears still streaming, and Thea guided her toward the car. She needed to make sure she got home safe..