WebNovels

Chapter 3 - Chapter 3: The Hunt Begins

Solrine spent the next three days building her case against David.

She started with their text history, scrolling back months to find evidence of his desperation. There it was—message after message begging her to reconsider, to give them another chance.

*Sol, please just talk to me. We were good together.*

*I know you're seeing other people but I can't move on.*

*You're making a mistake. We belong together.*

The last message was from three weeks ago: *You'll regret this.*

"Bastard," she muttered, screenshotting everything.

Next, she called mutual friends, fishing for information about David's recent behavior. Had he seemed angry? Vindictive? Looking for payback?

"He's been pretty bitter," confirmed Jake, a guy from their old crowd. "Keeps talking about how you used him and threw him away. Why?"

"Just curious how he's handling the breakup."

"Not well. He's been drinking more, staying out late. Marcus said he saw him with some tech guy last month, talking about recovering deleted files or something."

Solrine's grip tightened on her phone. "Tech guy?"

"Yeah, some hacker type. Probably trying to get back photos you deleted or something pathetic like that."

Bingo.

By Thursday morning, she had David's schedule mapped out. He worked at his father's law firm downtown, usually left for lunch around 12:30, hit the gym after work on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Today was Thursday.

Solrine sat in her truck across from David's office building, engine running, wearing dark sunglasses and a baseball cap. She felt ridiculous—like a bad movie stereotype—but she needed answers.

At 12:35, David emerged from the glass tower, checking his phone as he walked toward the parking garage.

"There you are, you son of a bitch."

She watched him get into his silver BMW, then started her engine. When he pulled out onto Third Street, she followed at a distance, staying two cars back.

The rage that had been simmering for days crystallized into something cold and sharp. This wasn't just about the video anymore. This was about David thinking he could control her life, punish her for not wanting him.

He turned left on Madison, then right on Fletcher. Not heading to his usual lunch spot or the gym.

"Where are you going, David?"

Traffic thickened as they moved into the warehouse district. David's BMW navigated the narrow streets with purpose while Solrine stayed back, her truck less conspicuous among the delivery vehicles and work vans.

He pulled into a parking space in front of a small complex of shops—a coffee roaster, a vintage clothing store, and what looked like a small restaurant with outdoor seating.

Solrine parked half a block away and watched David get out of his car. His face was tight with anger, jaw clenched, fists balled at his sides.

"What's got you so pissed off?" she wondered aloud.

David stormed toward the restaurant, moving like a man with a mission.

Solrine grabbed her keys and followed on foot, keeping her distance. Whatever was about to happen, she had a feeling it was going to give her exactly the answers she'd been looking for.

And maybe, if she was lucky, the ammunition she needed to destroy him the way he'd destroyed her.

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