Mirabelle’s POV:
In the afternoon, my phone rang, and I answered firmly. “Hello?”
“Mrs. Sylvester, this is Officer Carter. We need you to come to the station. We have something to show you.”
My heart skipped a beat. “I’ll be there.” I said, grabbing my bag and heading out the door without another word. I barely noticed the curious glances of my staff as I left the building.
When I arrived, Officer Carter met me at the entrance. He led me through the maze of hallways to a small, windowless room with a single table and a laptop.
“This is the footage we recovered.” He said, motioning for me to sit. My hands trembled as I settled into the chair, and he pushed the laptop toward me. “Press play whenever you’re ready.”
I hesitated, my finger hovering over the touchpad, then took a deep breath and pressed play. The screen flickered, showing a blurry recording from one of the security cameras. The timestamp was from the night of the fire, just a few hours before everything went up in flames.
I leaned closer, squinting at the screen. A figure-a shadowy silhouette-moved through the empty hallways of the building. They paused near a stack of equipment, hesitated, then disappeared from view.
Minutes later, the flames erupted.
“Do you recognize the person?” Carter’s voice broke the silence, and I looked up to meet his gaze.
“I… I don’t know.” I admitted, my voice shaky. “It’s too blurry to tell, but… something about the way they move. It feels… familiar.”
Carter’s brow furrowed. “Familiar how?”
“I don’t know.” I replied. “It’s just… a feeling. But that’s not enough, is it? It could be anyone.”
He nodded slowly, tapping a pen against the table. “We’re still enhancing the footage, trying to get a clearer image. But we need you to think, Mrs. Sylvester. Is there anyone-anyone at all-who would want to sabotage your project? Someone who might hold a grudge?”
Natasha maybe?
She wouldn’t stoop so low.
And why would she try to sabotage my business? When all she wants to do is steal Noah from me.
I shook my head. “No. I’ve thought about it, but… I can’t think of anyone. This doesn’t make any sense.”
“Well, we’ll keep digging.” He said, closing the laptop and standing up. “We’ll let you know if we find anything more concrete. But in the meantime, be careful.”
I nodded, standing up as well, my legs feeling shaky and weak. “Thank you, Officer.”
He escorted me back to the entrance, his expression unreadable. “Remember, Mrs. Sylvester, if you think of anything-anything at all or anyone-call me.”
“I will.” I promised, but the words felt empty. What could I say when I didn’t even know what or who I was dealing with?
When I returned back to the office, I tried to focus, tried to lose myself in paperwork, but my thoughts kept wandering back to the questions Officer Carter had asked, to the shadowy figure on the CCTV.
Who would want to hurt me? Who would dare to target me so blatantly as to cause such a disastrous chaos by harming innocent lives just to ruin me?
A knock interrupted my thoughts. I looked up to see Ken standing in the doorway, his face a mixture of concern and sympathy. I hadn’t seen him since that uncomfortable morning after the incident at the hotel.
The worry in his eyes now made it hard to keep my guard up. “Mirabelle.” He said quietly, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. “I heard about the fire. Are you alright?”
I forced a smile. “I’m fine, Ken. Just dealing with the aftermath. It’s been… hard.”
He crossed the room, pulled a chair up to my desk, and sat down. “You look exhausted.”
I sighed, leaning back in my chair and running a hand through my hair. “What do you want me to say? I have no idea who could have done this. Everything is… falling apart.”
“I can help.” He said, smiling. “I have experience with construction projects. Maybe I can take a look at the site, see if there’s anything the investigators missed.”
I hesitated. The offer was tempting-I needed all the help I could get, and Ken was skilled. But letting him in, allowing him to involve himself in this mess, felt like a betrayal of everything I was trying to hold together with Noah. Still, his concern was genuine, and I couldn’t deny the comfort that his presence brought, no matter how hard I tried to push it away.
“Why are you here, Ken?” I asked softly, studying his face. “Why do you want to help me?”
“Because I care about you, Mira.” He said simply, and for a moment, I believed him. “I know things have been… complicated between us, but I still want to be here for you. Let me help.”
A part of me wanted to say yes, to let him shoulder some of the burden, but another part-the stronger, prouder part-refused to let him see just how desperate I was. “I appreciate it.” I said carefully. “But this is something I need to handle myself.”
He didn’t push, just nodded, his eyes searching mine. “I get it. But if you change your mind, I’m just a phone call away.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but he cut me off with a question I wasn’t prepared for. “Mirabelle, what’s really going on between you and Noah?”
I stiffened. “What do you mean?”
“Come on.” He said, leaning forward. “There’s something off between you two, I can tell. And I’ve noticed that the model is still hanging around. Is everything okay?”
My heart skipped a beat at the mention of Natasha. Was it that obvious, the tension between Noah and me?
He has obviously seen images of them together on the news. Or he probably knows about their past together. I swallowed hard, avoiding his gaze. “What do you know about her?” I asked.
“When we were still young, she used to be obsessed with Noah, she followed him everywhere and she always made sure to bully other girls that tried to get close to him.” Ken replied. “Is she causing trouble?” He pressed.