Under New Management

Chapter 20: The Trap

The sense of being watched lingered with Mia like a shadow she couldn't shake. Every time she logged into her computer, every time she checked her phone, she half-expected to find some trace of the person who had breached their security. She double-checked her passwords, installed extra security apps, and kept her personal devices close. But none of it made the feeling go away.

By the time Friday rolled around, Mia was running on fumes. The week had been a relentless blur of meetings, security briefings, and strained conversations with Jason as they tried to piece together who was targeting her and why. They still had no clear answers, only fragments of information that felt more confusing than clarifying. It was like trying to solve a puzzle with pieces that didn't quite fit.

After another exhausting day, Mia was getting ready to leave when she noticed a new email sitting in her inbox. The subject line was blank, and the sender's address was unfamiliar. Mia hesitated, her instincts on high alert. She hovered over the message, her pulse quickening as she debated whether to open it. It could be nothing—or it could be something that would finally provide a lead.

Unable to resist, Mia clicked on the email. It opened to reveal a short, cryptic message:

**"Do you know who's really watching? Be careful who you trust."**

Attached was a single image. Mia opened it, her breath catching in her throat as she recognized the photograph. It was of her and Jason at the bar, taken the night they'd met up to talk after work. The image was grainy, taken from a distance, but there was no mistaking the two of them sitting at the corner table, deep in conversation.

Mia's heart pounded. Someone had been watching them, documenting their every move. The breach wasn't just about company data—it was personal. Whoever was behind this had been following her, keeping tabs on her private moments. The violation felt raw and immediate, like a cold hand on her shoulder.

Mia stood up, her mind racing. She needed to find Jason and show him the email, but as she reached for her phone, it buzzed in her hand. A new message from Jason flashed on the screen: **"Can you meet me in my office? We need to talk."**

Mia grabbed her things and hurried down the hallway, her nerves on edge. She knocked on Jason's door, barely waiting for his response before stepping inside. Jason was seated at his desk, a tense expression on his face. He glanced up, his eyes narrowing as he saw the urgency in her movements.

"Mia, what's going on?" he asked, rising to meet her.

Mia handed him her phone, her hands trembling slightly. "I just got this email. Someone's been watching us. They sent me a picture—from the night we went out."

Jason took the phone, his eyes scanning the message and the attached photo. His jaw tightened, a flash of anger crossing his features. "This is getting out of control," he muttered, setting the phone down. "They're not just trying to get to us—they're trying to scare us."

Mia nodded, her mind swirling with fear and anger. "What do we do? We can't just ignore this. They're following us, Jason. This is more than a data breach—it's stalking."

Jason leaned against his desk, his expression dark. "We need to show this to security and the police. They need to know how far this has gone. And we need to be on high alert, Mia. Whoever this is, they're making it personal."

Mia sat down, her legs feeling unsteady. She had faced a lot of challenges in her career—difficult clients, impossible deadlines, corporate politics—but nothing had prepared her for this. For the first time, she felt genuinely unsafe, as if her life had been cracked open and put on display for someone's twisted game.

"I just don't understand why," Mia said, her voice cracking. "Why target me? Why us?"

Jason crouched down beside her, his expression softening despite the severity of the situation. "I don't have all the answers yet, but I promise you, Mia, we're going to find out. And we're going to make sure whoever's behind this pays for what they've done."

Mia nodded, grateful for Jason's unwavering support. She couldn't imagine going through this without him, and despite the fear gnawing at her, she felt a surge of determination. They were in this together, and she wasn't going to let some faceless threat tear them down.

They spent the next hour combing through their emails, scanning for any other signs of intrusion. Jason contacted the head of security, forwarding the message and the photo with clear instructions to escalate the investigation. It was late by the time they finished, and the office was nearly empty, the silence pressing down on them like a weight.

As they stood by the door, Jason turned to Mia, his expression serious. "You're not going home alone tonight. I'll walk you to your car."

Mia wanted to protest, to insist that she could handle it, but the truth was, she didn't want to be alone. Not tonight. She nodded, following Jason as they made their way to the parking garage. The sound of their footsteps echoed off the concrete walls, each step amplified by the emptiness around them.

When they reached Mia's car, she turned to Jason, her gratitude evident. "Thanks for this. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Jason gave her a small, reassuring smile. "You don't have to do this alone, Mia. Not now, not ever."

Mia opened her car door, pausing to look back at him one last time. There were so many things she wanted to say—about how much his support meant, about the connection that had grown between them, about the fear that had settled like a knot in her chest. But she couldn't find the words, not now.

"Get some rest," Jason said softly, his gaze lingering. "We'll get through this."

Mia nodded, slipping into the driver's seat. As she pulled out of the garage, she glanced in the rearview mirror, watching Jason until he was out of sight. The drive home was quiet, the city lights blurring past her as she tried to process everything that had happened.

When Mia finally reached her apartment, she locked the door behind her, double-checking every window and every lock. She sat on her couch, the silence of her home both comforting and unnerving. She pulled out her phone, re-reading the email and the cryptic message: **"Do you know who's really watching? Be careful who you trust."**

The warning echoed in her mind, a chilling reminder that whoever was behind this was closer than she'd ever imagined. But Mia wasn't about to back down. She was done feeling afraid, done being watched. Whoever was out there had made a mistake in underestimating her resolve.

Mia set her phone down and took a deep breath, her resolve hardening. They had tried to scare her, to push her off balance, but she was still standing. And she was ready to fight back.

Because if someone was watching her, Mia was about to show them exactly who they were dealing with.