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Chapter Twenty;The First Move
publish date:
2026-09-26 02:08:05NADIA POV
We started watching her on a Monday.
The detective had people. People I did not know. People he trusted. People who were not part of my network. People who could not be traced back to me.
They followed Serena. They watched her apartment. They watched her car. They watched her every move.
By Wednesday, we knew everything.
We knew she went to the gym every morning at seven. We knew she went to the cafe on Fifth Street every afternoon at two. We knew she went to a small storage unit on the edge of the city every evening at six.
We did not know what was in the storage unit.
But we knew it was important.
---
DETECTIVE HARRIS POV
I had been watching Serena Cole for months.
I knew her routine. I knew her habits. I knew the way she moved. I knew the way she thought. She was careful. She was smart. She was patient.
But she was also arrogant.
She thought she was invisible. She thought no one was watching. She thought she had won.
She was wrong.
---
The storage unit was the key.
It was in a quiet part of the city. A place where no one asked questions. A place where no one noticed anything. A place where you could hide anything.
I had my people watch it for three days. They saw Serena go in. They saw her come out. They saw her carry bags. They saw her carry boxes.
They did not know what was inside.
But they knew it was something.
Something important.
Something we needed.
---
NADIA POV
The detective called me on Thursday.
"We found something," he said.
"What?"
"The storage unit. We got a warrant. We searched it. We found the car."
I felt my blood run cold.
"The car?"
"The car she was going to use. The stolen sedan. The fake license plate. The gloves. The mask. Everything."
I closed my eyes.
"She was really going to do it," I said.
"She was."
"She was going to kill me."
"She was."
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.
"What else did you find?"
"Poison. A rare compound. Odorless. Tasteless. Deadly. She was going to use it if the car did not work."
I pressed my hand against my stomach.
The baby. The tiny life inside me. The only thing that mattered.
"She was going to kill my baby," I said.
"She was."
I did not cry.
I did not scream.
I did not do anything.
I just sat there.
And I planned.
---
SERENA POV
I went to the storage unit on Thursday night.
I did not know that the police had already been there. I did not know that they had found the car. I did not know that they had found the poison. I did not know anything.
I walked in and I looked around. Everything was where I had left it. The car. The gloves. The mask. The poison.
I did not notice anything wrong.
I did not notice the small camera in the corner. I did not notice the tiny microphone on the shelf. I did not notice anything.
I just stood there. Looking at the car. Looking at the poison. Looking at the plan.
Tomorrow, I would do it.
Tomorrow, I would kill her.
Tomorrow, everything would be over.
I smiled.
A slow, cold smile.
A smile that held no warmth.
A smile that held only satisfaction.
I turned off the light.
I locked the door.
I walked away.
I did not look back.
---
JULIAN POV
I sat in my motel room and stared at the wall.
I had not heard from Serena in days. I had not heard from Nadia in weeks. I had not heard from anyone. I was alone. I was broke. I was nothing.
I picked up my phone. I called Serena.
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
The detective called me on Friday morning.
"It is time," he said.
I was sitting on the floor of my hotel room. I had not slept. I had not eaten. I had been waiting for this call.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
"I am ready."
"Then let us end this."
I stood up. I walked to the window. I looked out at the city. The city was bright. The city was cold. The city was full of people who had no idea what was happening.
But I knew.
I knew what was happening.
I knew what was coming.
And I was ready.
---
That night, Serena made her first move.
She drove to my apartment. The old apartment. The one I had left. The one she thought I was still in. She parked across the street. She waited. She watched.
But I was not there.
I was somewhere else.
Somewhere she could not find me.
Somewhere she could not reach me.
And the detective was watching her.
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