Chapter 28

The alley was a narrow scar between crumbling buildings, the air thick with dampness and the faint reek of garbage. Vanessa stood on the stoop, her laptop balanced on her knee, the glow of the stolen Wi-Fi signal casting her face in sharp relief. The video—Elena with the politician—uploaded with a triumphant click, its title blazing across X: “Elena’s Past Exposed!” Her smirk was feral, a jagged edge of victory as the shares spiked. She didn’t hear the tires crunching gravel, didn’t see the headlights slicing through the dusk until they pinned her in their glare. Derek stepped out of his car, a block away, his silhouette rigid against the fading light. The PI’s voice crackled in his earpiece: “That’s her.” Across the street, Elena emerged from a cab, her tech contact’s text still burning on her phone: “Burner IP—5th and Mason.” She froze, spotting Derek, then Vanessa—shock flaring into fury. Vanessa turned, too late, as their shadows converged, closing the trap she’d never seen coming.