Chapter 13 - The Source Uncovered

Serena didn’t sleep that night. Every thought, every step of the day replayed in her mind, dissected, analyzed. The photos. The calls. The timing. Everything pointed to someone with intimate knowledge of her world and now, she was determined to find out who.

She had Ethan at her side. Not close, not overstepping, just there. Quiet. Solid. Reliable, and that was enough.

By dawn, they were in her private office, surrounded by monitors, digital logs, and encrypted emails.

“Look here,” Serena said, pointing to a sequence of IP addresses. “All routed through a proxy chain, but see the pattern? The times, the access points, they match Blackwood Holdings’ internal network logs.”

Ethan’s jaw tightened. “Internal?”

“Yes,” she said. “Someone on the inside, or someone with access to someone inside. And they’ve been patient. Meticulous. Calculated.”

He leaned in, scanning the data. “This is advanced. Corporate resources. Someone knows your routines. Your contacts. Even the security feed patterns we put in place.”

Serena’s eyes narrowed. “And they want me rattled. Scared. Distracted. To make a mistake.”

“Then we remove their advantage,” Ethan said.

“Exactly,” she replied. “But carefully. One misstep and Leo could be exposed.”

Hours later, they traced a breakthrough, a single access point, consistently pinging from a corporate address outside the building but within the same city.

Serena leaned forward. “This is it. Whoever is behind this, they’re close enough to observe without leaving fingerprints.”

Ethan scrolled through the logs. “Names. Devices. Correspondences.” His eyes narrowed. “And here it is.... an associate from Blackwood Holdings. Not a competitor. Someone who knows you, knows your patterns, and now knows Leo.”

Serena exhaled slowly. “Not a competitor… someone personal.”

“Someone familiar,” Ethan agreed.

A knock at the door interrupted them. Her security consultant stepped in. “Ma’am, I’ve verified physical surveillance. The suspect has no direct access to the building right now, but is moving toward Leo’s school again.”

Serena’s grip tightened on her tablet. “I’ll handle the digital trail. You handle the physical. Quietly.”

Ethan watched her, admiration hidden behind his control. She wasn’t just protective. She was tactical. Every move measured, every decision precise.

By mid-afternoon, Serena received another encrypted email.

Attached: a video.

Leo walking home from school earlier, smiling innocently, unaware of the camera tracking every step.

The message was clear: I see him. I know his routines. And I can reach him.

Serena’s lips pressed into a thin line. She turned to Ethan.

“This is bigger than I thought,” she said.

“Then we escalate carefully,” he said. “No exposure. No alerting the wrong people. Just us. And Leo’s safety.”

Serena nodded. “Agreed. Step one: isolate the source digitally. Step two: neutralize the threat without leaving evidence.”

Ethan’s expression softened slightly. “We work well together,” he said quietly.

“Don’t get sentimental,” Serena shot back, but there was a trace of a smile.

Late evening, she tucked Leo into bed.

“Mom,” he murmured, eyes wide and innocent. “Will the sad man ever go away?”

“Who?” Serena asked, brushing hair from his forehead.

“The one watching me,” Leo said sleepily.

Her chest tightened. “We’re making sure he does, sweetheart. Nothing will happen to you.”

Leo smiled and drifted off, unaware of the digital war being waged just beyond the walls of his room.

In the city, Ethan stood on the rooftop of a neighboring building, scanning the streets below.

“He’s close,” he muttered, fingers tracing the routes Serena had compiled. “But he won’t get near him again. Not while I’m breathing.”

Back in Serena’s office, she traced the final link the device, the access point, the evidence tying the digital trail to a single individual. Her breath hitched slightly. And then she recognized the name.

Someone she had trusted. Someone she had once considered an ally.

Ethan appeared behind her silently.

“Found them?” he asked.

Serena looked up, voice calm but laced with steel. “Yes. And they’re going to regret ever thinking Leo was vulnerable.”

Ethan’s jaw tightened. “Then let’s finish this, carefully.”

And for the first time in weeks, Serena allowed herself a moment of grim satisfaction.

The enemy was identified. And now, it was only a matter of time.