Chapter 10 - THE PERSON BEHIND THE WARNING
I read the message three times.
Then a fourth.
My fingers went cold.
A photo of my old house.
Taken that morning.
And underneath it:
“Derek isn’t the only person looking for you.”
For a few seconds, I couldn’t breathe.
Rachel noticed immediately.
“What happened?”
I didn’t answer.
I just handed her my phone.
Her expression changed the moment she saw the picture.
“Who sent this?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you recognize the number?”
I shook my head.
“No.”
Rachel looked around the hospital room.
Not scared.
Alert.
That was the difference between us.
I was still learning how to survive.
Rachel already knew how.
“Okay,” she said quietly.
“What?”
“We don’t panic.”
I almost laughed.
“Someone is watching me.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re telling me not to panic?”
“I’m telling you not to make a mistake.”
I looked at her.
“What mistake?”
“Running.”
The word hit me.
Because that was exactly what I wanted to do.
Pack up.
Disappear.
Move somewhere nobody knew us.
But Rachel shook her head.
“People like Derek win when they make you scared enough to stop thinking.”
I looked at the message again.
“So what do we do?”
“We find out who sent it.”
Two hours later, Laura called again.
The moment I heard her voice, I knew something was wrong.
“Megan, did you get a message?”
My stomach dropped.
“How do you know?”
“Because I got one too.”
Rachel and I looked at each other.
“What did it say?”
Laura hesitated.
“Stop digging.”
The room went silent.
“Laura…”
“Megan, listen to me. You need to be careful.”
“Who is sending these?”
“I don’t know.”
“You said Derek wasn’t the only person.”
“I know what I said.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
A long pause.
Finally, she whispered:
“Derek’s past is more complicated than I told you.”
I sat up.
“What does that mean?”
“It means Ashley’s situation wasn’t just a breakup.”
My heart started beating faster.
“What happened?”
Laura took a breath.
“Ashley didn’t just leave Derek.”
“What?”
“She disappeared.”
I froze.
“What do you mean disappeared?”
“She moved away. Changed her number. Cut off everyone connected to him.”
“Why?”
Laura’s voice became quieter.
“Because she was afraid.”
The room felt colder.
I looked at Emily sleeping peacefully.
My baby.
My daughter.
Suddenly, every decision I made mattered more.
“What are you telling me, Laura?”
“I’m telling you that you need to stop thinking of Derek as a man who lost control.”
May you like
A pause.
“Think of him as a man trying to get control back.”
