throb behind her eyes that matched the rhythm of her racing heart. The room wa

lt like sandpaper. And then she saw it. The black phone was lyin

calls. Al

e new

getting

ing her completely alert. She sat up, her head swimming for a moment before settling. Panic was

en from her nightstand, her ha

m the s

o is da

expose my r

th. She picked up the phone again, her thumb hovering over the chat history. She scrolled up, past

ee months ago. The sender field didn't say Oero. It

ting to a labyrinth of shell corporations. This wasn't a company; it was a ghost, designed to be untraceable. But her engineering mind didn't give up. She cross-referen

but one of the most aggressive, ruthless firms on Wall Street. A

andful of deleted photos. Most were nothing, but one caught her eye. It was a close-up of a man's hand on the steering wheel of a luxury ca

he piece detailed his rise to power, his complete lack of empathy, and his brutal takedowns of rival firms. And there, on his wrist, was the watch. T

who attempted to embezzle funds was never seen again after a contentiou

error. Oero was Dereck Campos. She had been catfishing one

tment felt like they were crushing her. She was a dead girl walk

on the screen. She had to reply. Silence was an admission of gui

t. No, too formal. MoonCookie was a sugar bab

y. I caught a terrible flu, I can barely get out o

wrong on her tongue. But it was the language of the

e stared at the screen, her breath held

e faster than

Prov

d command. He didn't believe her. Of course he di

were sick to a man who was thousands of miles away, without showing h