A/N: I've made some changes to the previous chapter that you may want to revisit before continuing. Thank you for your patience and continued interest in this story. Your engagement means everything to me.40
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Joshua paced the Milan airport terminal, checking his watch every few minutes. His flight had been delayed due to mechanical issues, and each passing minute amplified his anxiety. He'd tried contacting Marcus twice more but received no response.
His phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number: Flight delays are unfortunate, Dr. Bennett. Perhaps it's a sign you should stay in Italy.
Joshua's blood ran cold. They were watching him, tracking his movements. He quickly powered off his phone, suddenly unsure if it was being used to monitor him.
The terminal's public phone was his next option. He dialed the hospital's main line.
"Elmira University Medical Center, how may I direct your call?"
"This is Dr. Joshua Bennett. I need to speak with Dr. Whitaker's research assistant, Marcus Chen, urgently."
"One moment, please."
After a brief hold, the receptionist returned. "I'm sorry, Dr. Bennett, but Marcus Chen isn't listed as an employee or research assistant at our hospital."
Joshua gripped the phone tighter. "That's impossible. He's been working with us for months."
"Sir, I've checked the directory and personnel records. We have no Marcus Chen in any department."
Joshua's mind raced. If Marcus wasn't who he claimed to be, then Aina was in even greater danger than he'd thought.
"Can you connect me to campus security? It's an emergency."
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Aina stared at the hidden compartment's contents, her hands trembling as she held the passport bearing a name both foreign and eerily familiar. Aina Liu Virtanen. The thumb drive felt heavy in her palm, weighted with secrets she couldn't remember hiding.
The handwritten note warning her to "trust no one" unsettled her even more—the careful, slanted script was definitely not her own handwriting. Who had left this for her to find?
Outside her door, Marcus knocked again. "Ms. Yilmaz? Is everything okay? We should really get going."
Her instincts screamed danger. If this mysterious note warned her to trust no one, then Marcus—or whoever had sent him—couldn't be trusted either.
"Just getting my essentials," she called, buying time while she shoved the passport, drive, and note into her pocket.
She grabbed her backpack, quickly stuffing it with clothes and necessities. The fire escape outside her bedroom window would be her exit strategy. As she eased the window open, she heard another knock, more insistent this time.
"Ms. Yilmaz, we really need to leave now. Dr. Bennett was very clear about the urgency."
"One minute!" she called, slipping through the window onto the iron fire escape. The cold night air hit her face as she descended quietly, careful not to make the metal stairs creak.
Once on the ground, Aina darted across the darkened campus toward the library. It would be closed at this hour, but she knew the security guard, Tom, who often let her in for late-night study sessions. She needed a computer not connected to her personal accounts to check what was on the thumb drive.

YOU ARE READING
The veil of hearts
RomanceIn the city of Elmira-where cobbled streets met sleek storefronts and cafés buzzed with student chatter-Dr. Joshua Bennett lived a life of quiet order. At just twenty-five, freshly graduated from medical school, he had returned to Almira University...