Jennifer's POV
I'm standing in the middle of Central Park, exactly where the mysterious texter told me to be, and nobody's here.
Noon came and went five minutes ago.
I scan the crowd around Bethesda Fountain. Tourists taking pictures. A mom with a stroller. An old man feeding pigeons. Nobody looks like they're waiting for me.
My phone stays silent in my hand.
Was this whole thing a sick joke? Did someone—Richard, probably—just want to watch me panic and run around like a scared rabbit?
I'm about to leave when my phone buzzes.
Turn around.
I spin fast.
A woman stands about twenty feet away. She's maybe fifty years old, wearing sunglasses and a dark coat. She looks... familiar somehow. But I can't place her.
She gestures for me to follow her, then walks toward a more private area of the park.
Every instinct screams at me to run. This is how people get kidnapped. This is how people disappear.
But I follow her anyway.
We end up near a bench hidden by trees. She sits down and finally takes off her sunglasses.
My heart stops.
"Emma?" I whisper.
Emma Clarke. Richard's executive assistant. The woman who's worked for him for ten years. The woman who knows every secret, every meeting, every dirty deal.
"Hello, Jennifer." Her voice is tired. "Thank you for coming."
"You sent those texts?" I'm still standing, ready to run. "You're the one who—"
"Who's been trying to warn you. Yes." Emma looks around nervously. "We don't have much time. Richard has people watching you."
"Why should I trust you? You work for him!"
"I worked for him." Emma's face hardens. "Past tense. I quit two days ago after I found out what he's really planning."
"What is he planning?"
Emma pulls out a folder from her bag. "Richard isn't just after your money, Jennifer. He's planning something much bigger. He's going to destroy your entire family."
She hands me the folder.
Inside are documents. Photos. Emails. My hands shake as I flip through them.
"Morgan Media Group is having financial problems," Emma says quietly. "Problems your brother Jason hasn't told the board about. Major problems. The company could collapse in six months without a massive cash injection."
"That's impossible. Jason would have told me—"
"Jason's been hiding it. Trying to fix it himself." Emma points to one of the documents. "Richard found out. And he's been planning to use it against your family. He wants to force the board to sell the company to save it. And guess who's lined up to buy it?"
My stomach turns to ice. "Richard."
"Not just Richard. He's working with a group of investors. If the sale goes through, he'll control Morgan Media Group. Your family will lose everything. And legally, because of how the marriage assets were structured, he'd be entitled to a huge chunk of your inheritance as part of the buyout."
I can't breathe. "How do you know all this?"
"Because I helped him plan it." Emma's voice cracks. "I didn't know what it would do to you. I thought it was just business. But then I saw the rest of his plan."
"What rest?"
Emma pulls out her phone and shows me a video. It's security footage from what looks like Richard's office.
In the video, Richard is talking to someone I can't see clearly.
"Once I control Morgan Media, Jennifer will have nothing," Richard's voice says. "No money, no company, no family support. She'll be completely broken. That's when we move to phase two."
"Phase two?" the other voice asks.
"Making sure she can never recover. Professionally or personally." Richard laughs. It's a sound I've never heard from him before—cold and cruel. "I'm going to destroy her reputation so completely that no one will ever take her seriously again. Not in business. Not in society. Nowhere."
The video ends.
I feel sick. "He really hates me that much?"
"It's not hate." Emma's eyes are sad. "It's worse. You embarrassed him by filing for divorce. By fighting back. Men like Richard can't handle losing control. So he's going to make sure you lose everything."
"Why are you telling me this? Why help me now?"
Emma is quiet for a moment. "Because I have a daughter. She's your age. And if someone did to her what Richard's doing to you..." She shakes her head. "I couldn't live with myself if I stayed silent."
My throat feels tight. "What do I do?"
"You fight back. But you need to be smart." Emma hands me a flash drive. "This has everything. All of Richard's plans. His secret investors. His financial crimes. Everything you need to stop him."
I stare at the flash drive in my hand. This is it. This is the weapon I need.
"There's something else," Emma says. Her voice drops even lower. "The texts I sent you this morning. About Michael Kane."
My whole body tenses. "What about him?"
"Project Morgan was real. Michael did have business dealings with your family's company. But Jennifer—" Emma looks me straight in the eye. "It was twelve years ago. Before he even met you. And he walked away from the deal because he didn't want to hurt Jason's family."
"You're saying Michael's innocent?"
"I'm saying he's not the enemy Richard wants you to think he is." Emma stands up. "Richard knew Michael cared about you. He's been planning to use that against you. Make you doubt everyone. Isolate you. That's his strategy."
My head is spinning.
"I have to go," Emma says. "If Richard finds out I'm talking to you—"
"Wait!" I grab her arm. "How do I know this is all real? How do I know you're not working with Richard right now?"
Emma smiles sadly. "You don't. That's the thing about trust, Jennifer. Sometimes you just have to take the leap."
She walks away, disappearing into the crowd.
I stand there holding the flash drive, my mind racing.
Everything Emma said could be true. Or it could all be an elaborate lie designed to make me do exactly what Richard wants.
Trust no one. That's what the texts said.
But if I can't trust anyone, how do I fight this battle?
My phone rings. It's Michael. Again. He's called six times since this morning.
This time, I answer.
"Jennifer, where the hell are you?" Michael's voice is sharp with worry. "I've been trying to reach you for hours!"
"I'm fine. I just—"
"You're not fine. Daniel just called me. Someone broke into your apartment."
Everything stops. "What?"
"Your apartment was ransacked. Whoever did it was looking for something. The police are there now."
"Oh my God." My legs feel weak. "Is anything missing?"
"That's what we need you to tell us." Michael's voice softens slightly. "Where are you? I'm coming to get you."
"Central Park. Near Bethesda Fountain." The words come out automatically.
"Stay there. Don't move. I'll be there in ten minutes."
He hangs up before I can argue.
I stand there, gripping the flash drive Emma gave me, and realize something terrifying:
Someone knew I'd be out of my apartment right now. Someone knew I'd be at this exact location at this exact time.
Which means either Emma set me up.
Or Richard's been tracking me this whole time.
Or worse—someone I actually trust told him where I'd be.
My phone buzzes with a new text. Unknown number. But this time, I recognize the writing style immediately.
Did you really think I wouldn't know about your little meeting? I know everything, Jennifer. Every move you make. Every person you talk to. Every man you fuck. You can't hide from me. And now I have something you need. Check your apartment carefully. Something very important is missing. Something that will destroy you if it gets out. Want it back? You know what you have to do. Drop the divorce. Give me what I want. Or everyone sees what I took from your bedroom drawer.
My blood turns to ice.
The bedroom drawer. Where I kept my grandmother's letters. Private letters about family secrets. Letters that could destroy the Morgan family reputation if they became public.
Letters that mentioned things about my father's death that were never supposed to be known.
Richard has them.
Another text: Tick tock, Jennifer. You have 24 hours to decide. Your family's legacy or your freedom. Choose wisely.
I'm staring at the phone when I feel someone behind me.
I spin around.
It's not Michael.
It's a man I've never seen before. Tall. Wearing all black. Holding something in his hand.
"Jennifer Morgan?" His voice is cold.
"Who are you?"
"Someone your husband hired." He steps closer. "He wants you to know that meeting with Emma was a mistake. He wants you to know that there's nowhere you can go that he won't find you."
Fear floods through me. "Get away from me."
"I'm just the messenger." The man smiles, and it's the scariest thing I've ever seen. "Richard says hello. And he says to remember: he always wins."
The man tosses something at my feet.
It's a photograph.
I pick it up with shaking hands.
It's a picture of me. From last night. Leaving Michael's building.
And written on the back in red ink: I know where you sleep.
The man walks away, disappearing into the crowd just like Emma did.
I stand there, holding the photo, my whole body shaking.
Richard's been watching me. Following me. He knows about Michael. He probably knows about Daniel and James too.
He knows everything.
And now he's coming for me.
My phone rings again. Michael's calling.
But before I can answer, I see something that makes my heart stop completely.
Across the fountain, standing in the shadows, is someone else watching me.
Someone I know.
Someone I trusted.
Someone who shouldn't be here right now.
The person sees that I've spotted them. For one long moment, we stare at each other across the distance.
Then they turn and run.
I start to chase them, but strong hands grab me from behind.
"Jennifer, it's me!" Michael's voice. "I've got you. You're safe."
But I'm not safe. Not even close.
Because the person who just ran away—the person who was watching me this whole time—was someone from my inner circle.
Someone who's been with me through everything.
Someone who's been lying to me this entire time.
And I just figured out who's really been feeding Richard information all along.