The Man Who Stands Behind Me

POWER IS LOUDER THAN SILENCE;

The world spun violently as my body tilt backward. The sharp scent of gunpowder burns in my lungs.

For a second, everything moves in slow motion - the horrifying faces of the reporters, the shatter car window, the echo of the gunshot still vibrating in the air.

Then - Pain… Not deep. Not tearing, but sharp enough to steal my breath. My hands flies to my shoulder as I hit the ground.

Warmth.

My fingers comes away red, and gaze ripples through the crowd. “She's been shot!”

But I am still conscious. Still breathing and thinking. It graze me. The reflection comes quickly. The bullet has slice through the edge of my shoulder, tearing fabric and skin - but it hadn't gone through.

It isn't meant to kill… It is meant to warn. 

My black suit darkens where the blood slowly spread, but my expression remains terrifying calm.

Somewhere beyond the chaos, tyres screech. A car sped away from the far end of the parking lot, and I memorize the sound.

Security guards rush forward. The driver drops to his knees beside me, panic written all over his face.

“Ms. Carter, stay still!”

I slowly push myself up instead. The moment make the world sway, but I refuse to lie there like a victim.

Never.

My eyes scan the crowd…. Fear. Shock. Curiosity. And then - For the brief moment - I see Judy standing still at the entrance of the building watching, not screaming, not running… Just watching.

Our eyes locks.

I did not look weak... I did not look broken. I smile. A slow, deliberate smile.

Judy's fingers tightens around her face… Interesting. So this is the next move. In my first life, the attack comes months later. This time, it is sooner. 

Which means - They are afraid of me.

I press my palm firmly against my bleeding shoulder. “Cancel the hospital,” I said calmly.

The driver freeze. “Miss -”

“I said cancel it.”

If I go to the hospital, the media will explode. My enemies will celebrate. Investors will panic.

No… This will not become a tale of vulnerability, It will become a story of retaliation.

“Take me home,” I said quietly.

The securities excorts me into the car, sirens begins wailing in the distance. The reporters are already shouting headlines.

“Attempted assassination.”

“Business heiress attacked.”

I lean back against the leather seat, my shoulder throb. But my mind? Is crystal clear. They have fire the first bullet, which means I am getting close to something and I never ignore a warning.

I escalate it.

The car disappears into traffic as the city buzz with shock. This is no longer corporation rivalry.

It is war.

……

The rumors begin before I even arrive. 

I did not return to work quietly, I return like a warning. The elevator doors slide open on the executive floor, and silence follows me out. Conversations stops mid-sentence. Keyboards pause. Even the air feels different.

Am wearing black again - but this time it is sharper. A fitting blazer structure like amor, my injured shoulder carefully wrapped beneath the fabric. No sling. Not invisible weakness.

And behind me - Footsteps… Heavy, controlled, calculating.

Evan.

Tall. Broad-shoulder. Dressed in a perfectly tailored dark suits that did not hid the quiet danger in his posture. His eyes scans the hallway once - not nervously.

Strategically.

A few employees swallows.

“Isn't she suppose to be in the hospital?” Someone whisper.

“I heard she was shot -”

“She was.”

I keep walking. My heels sticks the marble floor with soft precision.

The sound echoes like a count down. The boardroom doors were already wide open. 

Inside executives are murmuring anxiously. News of the attempted shooting has spread across media over night. Investors are unsettle. Competitors are watching.

I walk in and the room goes completely silent and still. One of the senior directors stands up abruptly. “Ms. Carter… you should be resting.”

I remove my gloves slowly, placing them on the table. 

“If I rest everytime someone tries to intimidate me,” I said calmly, “I'll never get any work done.”

Silence.

My gaze sweeps across the room. Measure. Cold. Then I gesture slightly, “This is evan.”

Evan steps forward exactly one pace. No smile. No introduction. Just presence.

“He will be my personal security from today onward.” A pause. “And if anyone in the company thinks yesterday's incident was a coincidence…” my eyes sharpens. “.... you're either naive.”

Or involve.

The unspoken words hangs heavily in the air.

Judy's finger tightens around her pen as she pours water in her glass.

She force a small laugh. “Are we turning this company into a battlefield now?”

My lips curves faintly. “No,” I lean forward slightly, my injured shoulder barely shifting. “It already is… Miss. Johnson.”

The tension in the room becomes suffocating.

There are gazes.

I sound too formal. Non of the staffs have ever heard me referring to Judy like that.

In my first life, I made sure everyone knew she's my sister. Now - That word sounds like a disease to me.

I walk through the corridor towards the elevator, Judy catch up with me.

“You trust him already?” She ask sharply.

I press the elevator button. “Trust is built. Competence is observed.”

“And you've observed enough?” Judy push.

“Yes.”

The elevator door opens and I step in. Judy hesitate and Evan gaze lifts - not hostile, not welcoming . Judy stays outside as the door closes.

Inside the elevator, silence stretch.

“You're unsettling them,” Evan said at last.

“Good,” I reply.

“They'll respond.”

“I know.”

Evan glance at my reflection in the polish steel walls. “Are you prepared for that?”

I met his gaze.

“I didn't choose peace,” I said quietly. “I chose control.”

Evan nods once.

*****

Judy pace in her apartment, phone press to her ear.

“…He's not ordinary,” she said sharply. “ That bodyguard.”

Marcus voice is tight, “ Really? I need to see him.”

“She didn't hire him,” Judy continues. “ Someone placed him.”

Marcus exhale. “Eleanor.”

“Or worse,” Judy reply.

Silence follows, then Marcus said quietly. “We need leverage.”

Judy's eyes hardens. “I know where to find it.”

…..

By the time I return to the mansion, the sky has turn a deep shade of indigo. The estate lights glows warmly, almost peacefully - as if yesterday's gunshot had never happened.

The main door opens before I reach them.

Judy rush out.

“Amanda!” Her voice trembles as I wrap my hands gently around her. “You know, you shouldn't be working already. I was so worried about you.”

I allow the hug… The trembling… The performance.

“I'm fine,” I said softly.

Judy pulls back, her eyes scanning my shoulder. “Is it still hurting you?”

“Just a bit.”

Judy's expression darkens with anger. “Who would do something like this? It's inhuman.”

I study her face. Perfect concern. Perfect outrage. Perfect little-sister. In my first life, I would have melt into that embrace.

This time - I smile.

“We'll find out,” I said calmly.

Judy squeezes my hand. “You don't have to handle everything alone. I'm always here for you.”

I know, I thought. You've always been here… Watching me.

We enter the mansion together. Evan follows a step behind, silent as a shadow.

Dinner is quite... Too quiet.

Judy insist I eat more. Asking about the board. Complaining about how “wicked people are transforming these days.”

I nod at the right moment. Laugh softly. Speak gently. Afterward, I excuse myself.

“I'm tired.”

“Of course,” Judy said quietly. “Rest well, sister.”

I walk down the hallway towards my bedroom.

The mansion feels different tonight. Still. Heavy. As if something is waiting, my heels makes no sound against the carpet. Evan has already done a security sweep, everything is “clear”

But I learn something important in my first life… Clear didn't mean safe.

I reach my bedroom door, and I pause. 

Something is wrong.

The door is slightly open, just a fraction and I am certain I had closed it before leaving this morning.

My expression did not change.

Slowly I push the door open. The room is dark and the curtains move faintly in the night breeze.

My eyes adjust. 

Then - I see it.