~🌺Chapter nineteen🌺~
The hallway was unnervingly silent.I pressed myself against the wall across from the council office, the single flickering light above steadying after a brief stutter,my eyes were glued to the door, time stretching out, but didn't budge. Patience was part of the game.
Then, footsteps Soft and deliberate , not the casual pace of someone just passing by, but the careful tread of someone trying to be invisible. My gaze sharpened,a figure emerged from the far end of the corridor, hood pulled low, movements measured. They paused, scanning their surroundings, before heading straight for the council office. A keycard swiped,a quiet beep,then the lock disengaged.
I sprang from the wall, moving like a shadow. By the time the door clicked shut behind the figure, I was already inside. The office lights were tuned on,drawers were yanked open, papers rustled, a chair scraped;I entered without announcing . The door sealed behind me with a soft click.
The figure froze, then slowly turned. And for the first time since the scandal broke, I saw a face.my expression remained unreadable, but my eyes registered recognition. "You," I stated, not as a question.
The person let out a sharp breath, a flash of panic quickly masked. "I was about to say the same thing to you."
I took a step forward. "You've been busy."
Silence. Then a short, bitter laugh. "Careful, Amara. You're already in deep."
"Not as deep as you," I countered. The space between them crackled with unspoken tension. My eyes flicked to the desk. An open laptop, the login screen glowing then looked back at the figure. "You didn't think I'd check the logs, did you?"
A beat of silence, just long enough. There it was. The first hint of a falter.
"You're making assumptions," the person said, though the defiance had softened.
"No," I replied calmly. "I'm seeing patterns." She moved closer. "Same terminal and access point repeated entries." My head tilted slightly. "You got careless."
More silence, this time heavier. "You think this ends here?" the person asked quietly.my gaze didn't waver. "No. I think this is where it begins." Another flicker of unease crossed face and in that instant, I knew. This wasn't the mastermind but just a pawn.
"You're not working alone," she stated. Not a guess. The person offered no reply, but no denial either. I gave a small nod, as if confirming her own thoughts. "That's fine," I continued. "I don't need everyone." My gaze locked onto theirs. "I just need one."
For a moment, neither of them moved. Then, "You should walk away from this," the person said, their voice losing its edge, becoming a genuine warning. "You don't understand the scope of this."
I held their gaze, unblinking. "Then I'll learn."
I turned slightly, her attention drawn back to the laptop. "You made one mistake," i added.
The person's jaw tightened. "And what's that?"
I glanced over her shoulder. "You thought I'd defend myself." A pause. Her voice dropped, calm, controlled, "I'm not defending anything." I walked closer the distance, just enough for her words to hit home. "I'm building a case."
The weight of it settled in the room. This was no longer just suspicion. It is a clear direction. I stepped back, reaching for the door. "Be careful," I said without looking back. "You're already visible." The door opened, then closed.
Left in the room was someone far less confident than before. Out in the corridor, I didn't slow my pace. Now I have something tangible: a face, a connection, a crack in the system.
But as I walked into the night, one thought echoed clearly: If this person was involved, someone bigger was pulling the strings. Someone smarter, powerful and more dangerous. And now, she had their attention.