Gasping, Evie recoiled from Asher. His retreating footsteps echoed, leaving behind a silence heavier than any accusation. Her hand trembled, clutching the news clipping that had sparked his fury. His harsh words, stinging and unwarranted, still replayed in her mind. *“You left. And I paid the price.”* Clutching the news clipping, her gaze fell back to the grainy photo of the man. The same face from the hospital corridor. The same man who had haunted her dreams for years. A cold dread settled deep in her bones. Asher had connected her departure to the sabotage, to his vulnerability. But she knew the truth was far more twisted. That face. It wasn't just a random thug. He was connected. To the sabotage. To *her* past. She needed answers. Desperate, immediate answers. The kind no one else could provide. Only one person came to mind. Liam. A former associate, a ghost in the corporate shadows, someone who knew how to dig up dirt without leaving a trace. Pulling out her old burner phone, a relic she thought she'd never use again, she felt the familiar weight of its cheap plastic. It was charged, a testament to her ingrained paranoia. The device flickered to life, its outdated interface a stark contrast to her sleek Thorne Industries issue. This phone held the numbers of her old life, a life she’d tried to bury. Dialing a number she remembered by heart, her pulse thrummed in her ears. Each ring was a drumbeat, pulling her deeper into the danger she’d sworn to avoid. A curt voice, gravelly and alert, answered on the fourth ring. “Speak.” “It’s Evie.” Her voice was a strained whisper, barely recognizable even to herself. A beat of silence, charged with disbelief, stretched across the line. She could almost hear the gears turning in Liam’s mind, processing the unexpected. “Didn’t think I’d hear from you again,” Liam finally said, his tone flat, betraying nothing. “Things have changed,” she admitted, her gaze sweeping across the opulent apartment, a stark reminder of her current gilded cage. “I need information.” She explained the situation carefully, omitting Asher’s name but describing the man from the hospital in vivid detail. His piercing eyes, the jagged scar above his eyebrow, the way he moved. “I saw him at the hospital,” she pressed, “and I saw him in a news photo of the Thorne Industries sabotage. Weeks after I left.” The associate’s breath hitched, a faint, almost imperceptible sound. It was enough. “You’re sure?” Liam’s voice was sharper now, laced with a new urgency. “His eyes, the scar. Unmistakable.” A shiver ran down her spine. The memory was too fresh, too terrifying. Silence stretched again, longer this time. She heard the faint clicking of a keyboard, the rustle of papers. Liam was already working, his mind a steel trap of connections. “What do you know about him?” Evie urged, her impatience growing. “He was a clean-up man,” Liam stated, his voice devoid of emotion, like he was reading from a dossier. “Clean-up?” The term sent a fresh wave of nausea through her. It wasn’t just corporate espionage. It was something darker. “The kind you hire to erase problems. Permanently, if necessary.” Liam’s words hung heavy, a chilling confirmation of her worst fears. A knot tightened in her stomach. Her hidden connection to the sabotage. Her guilt. It all twisted together. “He was involved in the Thorne Industries incident, wasn’t he?” Evie pushed, her voice barely a whisper. She needed to hear it, to confirm what her gut already screamed. A heavy sigh escaped Liam’s lips. “You always knew too much, Evie.” “Answer me, Liam.” Her voice cracked with the demand. This wasn't about knowing too much anymore. It was about survival. “He was there,” Liam confirmed, his voice resigned. “Pulled off some key data wipes, made a few people disappear. Standard procedure for a corporate raid of that scale.” Liam paused, and Evie imagined him scanning old files, piecing together the fragments of a forgotten past. “Who hired him?” This was the crucial question, the one that could unravel everything. “That’s a dangerous question, Evie. You really want to go down this rabbit hole?” Liam warned, a rare hint of concern in his tone. “I need to know.” Her resolve hardened. Asher’s words still echoed: *“You left. And I paid the price.”* But she knew she had paid a price too, one that might now be demanding interest. “He worked for a shadow entity back then. A shell company set up by an even bigger player. Hard to trace now.” Liam’s voice was tinged with frustration. “And now?” Evie asked, her heart hammering against her ribs. The present threat felt more immediate, more menacing, than the ghost of the past. Liam’s voice dropped, becoming a low growl. “He’s not freelance anymore. He’s found a new patron.” Her heart hammered. The pieces were starting to fit, forming a terrifying mosaic. “Who?” “He’s tied to Sterling Group.” The words hit her like a physical blow, stealing the air from her lungs. Sterling Group. The name resonated with a cold, familiar dread. Asher’s biggest rival. The corporate behemoth that had been aggressively trying to unseat Thorne Industries for years. A cold realization washed over Evie. The man from the hospital, the sabotage that nearly ruined Asher, and the Sterling Group. They weren’t separate threads. They were all woven into the same lethal fabric. The past wasn't just haunting her. It was actively working against Asher, a calculated, continuous assault. Her departure, his vulnerability – it wasn’t a coincidence. This convergence was lethal. Her past, Asher’s past, and a present threat that targeted everything they both held dear. And she was right in the middle of it. Evie gripped the phone tighter, her knuckles white. She had brought this darkness back to his doorstep. And now, she had to stop it. The line went dead with a click, leaving her alone with the terrifying truth.

Chapter 18: Dangerous Inquiries