Chapter Nine;The Watcher

NADIA POV

I saw him for the first time on a Tuesday.

I was leaving the coffee shop on the corner. It was a small place. Anonymous. The kind of place where no one knew my name. I had been going there every morning since I moved into the hotel. It was a routine. A small comfort. Something to hold onto.

I walked out with my tea in my hand and I saw him.

He was sitting in a car across the street. A dark sedan. Tinted windows. Engine running. He was not looking at me. He was looking at his phone. But he was there. He had been there when I walked in. He was still there when I walked out.

I told myself it was nothing. I told myself he was waiting for someone. I told myself I was being paranoid. I told myself I was imagining things.

I walked back to the hotel.

I did not look back.

The next day, I saw him again.

The same car. The same street. The same position. He was sitting there with his phone in his hand. He did not look at me. He did not move. He just sat there.

I told myself it was a coincidence. I told myself he lived nearby. I told myself he worked in one of the buildings.

I walked back to the hotel.

I did not look back.

---

On the third day, I saw him again.

The same car. The same street. The same position. But this time, he looked at me.

Just for a second. Just long enough for me to see his face. Just long enough for me to know that he was not waiting for someone. He was waiting for me.

I walked back to the hotel.

I did not look back.

But I did not sleep that night.

I called Rachel the next morning.

"There is a man following me," I said.

"What?"

"A car. A dark sedan. He has been parked outside the coffee shop for three days. He watches me. He waits. He does not approach. He just watches."

"You need to move hotels. Right now."

"I know."

"Where are you going to go?"

"I do not know. Somewhere no one would think to look."

"Come to my office. I will arrange something."

I hung up the phone. I packed my things in ten minutes. I checked out of the hotel. I took a cab across the city to Rachel's office.

She was waiting for me. She had a file open on her desk. She had a cup of coffee in her hand. She looked at me the way she always looked at me. Concerned. Focused. Ready.

"I found something," she said.

"What?"

"The tail I put on you. The one from the park. He reported something. The man in the car. He is not working for Julian."

I stared at her.

"What?"

"He is not working for Julian. He is not working for Serena. He is working for someone else."

I felt a cold knot form in my stomach.

"Who?"

"We do not know yet. But we are trying to find out."

I sat down. I pressed my hand against my stomach. The baby. The tiny life inside me. The only thing that mattered.

"Rachel," I said. "What if someone is trying to hurt me?"

"You do not know that."

"But what if someone is?"

She looked at me. For a long moment. Then she spoke.

"Then we will protect you," she said. "I will not let anyone hurt you. I will not let anyone touch you. And I will not let anyone take that baby from you."

I nodded. Slowly. I wanted to believe her. I needed to believe her.

But I could still feel eyes on me.

I could still feel someone watching.

JULIAN POV

I called Nadia again.

It went to voicemail. It always went to voicemail now. She had not answered a single call since the day she walked out. Not one.

I did not know why I kept calling. I did not know what I expected her to say. I did not know what I wanted. I just wanted to hear her voice. I just wanted to know she was okay.

I did not love her.

I knew that.

But I missed her.

I missed the way she hummed in the morning. I missed the way she made tea. I missed the way she sat on the couch and read. I missed the way she looked at me. Like I was someone worth looking at. Like I was someone worth loving.

I had not been worth loving.

I knew that now.

I had known it for a while.

But I had been too proud to admit it. Too arrogant to change. Too selfish to care.

And now she was gone.

And I had nothing.

I sat in the penthouse. Alone. The silence was deafening. It had been deafening for weeks. I had never noticed how loud the silence was. I had never noticed how empty this place was without her.

I picked up my phone again.

I called Serena.

It went to voicemail.

I tried again.

It went to voicemail.

I threw the phone across the room.

It hit the wall and shattered.

I did not care.

I had nothing left to lose.

NADIA POV

Rachel found me a new place.

It was a small apartment on the other side of the city. It was not fancy. It was not safe. It was just a place. A place to hide. A place to wait. A place to plan.

I moved in that night.

I locked the door. I checked the windows. I closed the blinds. I sat on the floor in the corner of the room and pressed my hand against my stomach.

"We are going to be okay," I whispered. "We are going to be okay."

I did not know if I believed it.

But I said it anyway.

I had to say it.

I had to believe something.

That night, I received another message.

This one was from a different number.

I know you are scared. You have every right to be. But you are not alone. There are people who want to help you. People you do not even know. People who have been waiting for you to fight back. When you are ready, call this number. When you are ready, we will talk.

I stared at the message for a long time.

I did not recognize the number.

I did not know who sent it.

I did not know if it was a trap.

But I saved it anyway.

I saved it because I needed to believe that someone was on my side. I needed to believe that I was not fighting alone.

I saved it because I needed hope.