Chapter Nineteen :The Ally

NADIA POV

I called the detective the next morning.

I did not know if I could trust him. I did not know if he was on my side. I did not know anything. But I knew I could not do this alone. I knew I needed help. I knew I needed someone who was not part of my network.

I dialed the number on the card he had given me.

He answered on the second ring.

"Detective Harris."

"It is Nadia Ashford."

There was a pause. A long pause. I could hear him breathing. I could hear him thinking. I could hear him choosing his words carefully.

"Mrs. Ashford. I was hoping you would call."

"I need your help."

"I know."

"You do not know anything."

"I know more than you think. I know about Serena Cole. I know about Victor Cole. I know about the plan."

I closed my eyes.

"What plan?"

"The plan to kill you."

I did not speak.

"I have been watching Serena for weeks. I have been watching Julian. I have been watching everyone. I know what they are planning. I know when they are planning to do it."

"And you did not tell me?"

"I did not have proof. I did not have enough to act. I did not want to scare you. I did not want to put you in more danger."

I did not speak.

"Mrs. Ashford."

"I am not Mrs. Ashford. Not anymore. I am Nadia."

"Nadia."

"Tell me what you know."

He told me.

He told me about the poison. He told me about the car. He told me about the route. He told me about the plan. He told me everything.

When he finished, I was silent for a long time.

"They are going to kill me," I said.

"Yes."

"And you are going to stop them."

"We are going to stop them."

I opened my eyes. I looked at the wall. I looked at the light coming through the blinds. I looked at the future I was building.

"Then let us begin," I said.

---

DETECTIVE HARRIS POV

I had been watching Serena Cole for six months.

It started with a tip. A former employee. A man named David. He told me about the forged documents. He told me about the transfers. He told me about the company.

Then he told me about Victor Cole.

I did not believe him at first. Victor Cole was dead. He had died in prison three years ago. I had read the report. I had seen the file. He was gone.

But David was persistent. He gave me the photographs. He gave me the documents. He gave me everything.

And then I saw the truth.

Victor Cole was not dead. He had faked his death. He had been living under a new identity for three years. He had been working with his daughter. He had been working with Eleanor Ashford. He had been working with everyone.

The plan was simple. Destroy Nadia. Take her company. Take her money. Take her life. And then disappear.

But they had made one mistake.

They had not counted on me.

---

I met Nadia at a small cafe on the edge of the city.

She was already there when I arrived. She was sitting in the corner. She was wearing a dark coat and a scarf. She looked tired. She looked pale. But she looked determined.

I sat down across from her.

"Thank you for coming," she said.

"Thank you for calling."

"I need to know everything."

"I will tell you everything."

And I did.

I told her about the poison. I told her about the car. I told her about the route. I told her about the plan. I told her about Victor Cole. I told her about Eleanor. I told her about everything.

She did not react. She did not cry. She did not scream. She just listened.

When I finished, she was silent for a long time.

"So it was not just Serena," she said.

"No."

"And it was not just Julian."

"No."

"It was all of them."

"Yes."

She nodded. Slowly. Like she was confirming something to herself. Like she was making a decision.

"Then we have to stop all of them," she said.

"We will."

"How?"

"We start with Serena. She is the one who is going to act. She is the one who is going to make a mistake. We just need to be ready."

"And Julian?"

"Julian is not the threat. Julian is the pawn."

"I know."

"Do you still care about him?"

She looked at me. For a long moment. Her eyes were dry. Her eyes were cold. Her eyes were full of something I had not seen before.

"No," she said. "I do not care about him at all."

---

JULIAN POV

I sat in a cheap motel on the edge of the city.

I had left Serena's apartment the night before. I had taken my things. I had taken the whiskey. I had taken everything. I had walked out the door and I had not looked back.

I did not know where I was going. I did not know what I was doing. I just knew I could not stay there. I could not stay with her. I could not stay with the woman who was planning to kill my wife.

I picked up my phone. I called Nadia.

It went to voicemail.

I called again.

It went to voicemail.

I called a third time.

It went to voicemail.

I put the phone down.

She was not going to answer. She was never going to answer. She was done with me. She had been done with me for a long time. I had just been too blind to see it.

I lay down on the bed. The bed was hard. The room was cold. The city was quiet.

I thought about Nadia. I thought about the way she used to smile at me. The way she used to laugh with me. The way she used to hold me.

I thought about the baby. The baby she lost. The baby I did not mourn. The baby I replaced.

I thought about the life I had destroyed.

I thought about the life I was about to destroy.

I did not know what to do.

I did not know if I could stop it.

I did not know if I wanted to.

---

NADIA POV

I left the cafe that afternoon.

I had a plan. I had an ally. I had everything I needed.

I walked back to my hotel. I locked the door. I checked the windows. I closed the blinds. I sat on the floor in the corner of the room.

I pressed my hand against my stomach.

"We are going to win," I whispered. "We are going to stop them. We are going to survive."

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 Serena.

I know where you are. I know where you are hiding. I know everything. You cannot run. You cannot hide. You cannot escape. I am coming for you. And when I find you, I am going to make you pay for everything you did to my father.

I stared at the message for a long time.

I did not respond.

I did not delete it.

I just saved it.

I saved it because I needed to remember. I needed to remember who I was fighting. I needed to remember what was at stake.

I saved it because I needed to win.