Chapter 2 - The Man Behind The Warning
The handle stopped moving.
For three seconds, I stood frozen inside the employee changing room, staring at the door while my phone screen still showed the photo of myself sitting beside Sebastian Vale's table.
Someone was outside.
Someone who knew where I was.
Someone who wanted me to know they were watching.
I quickly turned off the screen and placed my phone inside my apron pocket.
My heart was beating so loudly that I was afraid whoever stood outside could hear it.
"Lena?"
A voice came from the hallway.
Not the voice I feared.
It was Claire, one of the evening servers.
I slowly unlocked the door.
She stood there holding a stack of clean towels, looking confused.
"You scared me," she said. "Why were you locked in here?"
I forced a smile.
"I was changing."
Claire looked at me carefully.
She was the only person at Bellhaven who had ever asked if I was okay.
But even with her, I couldn't tell the truth.
Not yet.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
I nodded.
"Yeah."
The lie came out easily.
Too easily.
Claire lowered her voice.
"Lena... was Sebastian Vale asking about you?"
My body became tense.
"Why?"
She glanced toward the empty hallway.
"Because everyone saw what happened."
I looked away.
"I just dropped some glasses."
"No," Claire whispered. "Everyone saw the way he looked at you."
I didn't answer.
Because I didn't know how to explain that the most dangerous man in Bellhaven had looked at me like I was a person instead of an employee.
And somehow, that scared me more.
After my shift ended, I left through the back entrance.
I kept my head down and walked quickly.
The streets around Bellhaven were usually crowded at night, but that evening every shadow felt different.
Every person passing by felt like someone following me.
I reached the bus stop and checked my phone again.
The unknown number had disappeared.
The photo was still there.
I zoomed in.
The picture had been taken from the corner of the restaurant.
The person who took it had been close.
Too close.
Then I noticed something in the reflection of the glass window behind me.
A man standing near the entrance.
Watching.
I looked up immediately.
Nobody was there.
My hands started shaking.
I had spent months trying to convince myself that I was imagining things.
The bruises.
The warnings.
The fear.
But now someone had sent me proof.
Someone wanted me afraid.
And it was working.
The next morning, I arrived at Bellhaven earlier than usual.
I wanted to avoid attention.
I wanted one normal day.
But normal days disappeared the moment Sebastian Vale entered my life.
As I walked into the restaurant kitchen, I noticed everyone was quieter.
A chef stopped talking when I entered.
Two servers exchanged nervous looks.
I knew something had happened.
"What's going on?" I asked.
Nobody answered.
Then Claire walked toward me.
"Lena."
Her expression was serious.
"Sebastian Vale asked for you."
My stomach dropped.
"Why?"
She hesitated.
"He didn't say."
I looked toward the private dining area.
The door was closed.
A place where employees were not supposed to enter unless invited.
I should have walked away.
Every instinct told me to leave.
But my feet moved anyway.
I knocked.
A deep voice answered.
"Come in."
I opened the door.
Sebastian stood near the window, looking over the city.
He was no longer wearing the black suit from the previous night.
Today, he wore a dark gray suit with the same calm expression.
But something was different.
He looked angry.
Not at me.
For me.
"Close the door."
I did.
He turned around.
On the table beside him was a small envelope.
My name was written on it.
Lena Hale.
I stared at it.
"Where did you get that?"
Sebastian didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he asked:
"How long have you been hiding injuries?"
My throat tightened.
"I don't know what you mean."
His eyes hardened.
"Don't lie to me."
I looked down.
Nobody had ever spoken to me like that.
Not because they cared.
Because they wanted answers.
But Sebastian sounded different.
Like he was angry someone had forced me to become good at lying.
"I can handle my own problems," I said.
"No."
The answer came instantly.
"You can't."
His words surprised me.
He walked toward the table and opened the envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
My photograph.
But not the one sent to me.
This one was older.
I was standing outside a hospital.
Three months earlier.
My face looked exhausted.
My arm was wrapped in a bandage.
I stopped breathing.
"Where did you get this?"
Sebastian looked at me.
"Someone sent it to me last night."
My eyes widened.
"Why would someone send you that?"
"Because they wanted me to know someone was hurting you."
The room became silent.
I looked at the photograph again.
Someone had been collecting evidence.
Someone had been watching me.
Sebastian placed another item on the table.
A small piece of paper.
A note.
My hands went cold before I even touched it.
Because I recognized the handwriting.
The same handwriting that had appeared on the message inside my bandage.
I picked it up.
Only one sentence was written.
"She knows what happened that night."
I looked at Sebastian.
"What night?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he walked closer.
"Lena, who was the person who hurt you?"
I swallowed.
I had spent months protecting myself by staying silent.
But now I realized something.
My silence had never protected me.
It had protected the person who did this.
"I can't tell you."
"Why?"
"Because if you know, you'll become a target too."
For the first time, Sebastian's expression softened.
Then he said something I never expected.
"I already am."
I stared at him.
"What does that mean?"
Before he could answer, his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
The color disappeared from his face.
Not fear.
Recognition.
He answered.
"Speak."
A few seconds passed.
Then his jaw tightened.
He looked directly at me.
"Lena..."
I stood still.
"What?"
He slowly lowered the phone.
"The person who sent those messages..."
He paused.
"Just walked into Bellhaven."
A noise came from outside the office.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Confident.
Coming closer.
May you like
Then the door handle moved.
Someone was standing on the other side.
