Chapter 7 The Search Begins

I sat down in the old chair and stared at the man opposite from me. He was tall and skinny, with a hawk-like stare that missed nothing. Mason was his name.

"I want Juniper Blake found," I replied, my voice short and clear. "And the baby she's having."

Mason nodded and tapped his fingers on the desk in a methodical beat. "Word is, you're looking quietly."

I said, "Quiet is the only way." "No leaks." No alerts. I don't want half the city to know I'm looking for her.

He raised an eyebrow. "Smart." What's your point of view?

I slipped a picture across the wood grain. Her eyes were furious and guarded as they looked back. "She's going. She's afraid. But she's strong.

Mason said, "Tough can be slippery." "Why do you think she won't disappear again?"

I tightened my jaw. "Because this isn't just about her. It's about what she has. My family tree. My future."

He gazed at the photo and then looked up. "Okay. I'll dig and find every address and face she trusts. "You will get updates every day."

I agreed, and the weight of the hunt seemed like a stone in my chest. "Start tonight." "Don't make any mistakes."

Mason stood up, and the leather of his coat creaked. "You're really going to do this."

"I've never been more serious about anything."

The city's pulse felt different, sharper, and closer as the door snapped shut behind him. Juniper was no longer just a name. I was going to keep my commitment to her.

My phone buzzed again. That annoying ping was like a rope tugging me deeper into the hunt. Claire's name showed on the screen. She was my bright, no-nonsense assistant who knew precisely how to fix this situation.

Claire continued, "She's in Chicago," and her voice was steady, but there was an edge to it that I couldn't ignore. "Just moved. Checked into a modest flat in the city.

I held the phone tighter. "Get the right address." And who else is in her circle? "Everyone," said friends, coworkers, and everyone else.

There was a break. "Today, she was seen going into a design firm. Cobalt Interiors is written on the door.

My heart raced. The place was small and private. The perfect disguise for someone who wanted to stay hidden.

I told them to "pull everything you can on that company." "Staff, schedules, security cameras, find out when she comes and goes."

You could hear Claire's sigh. "You're obsessed, Callum."

"That's good. I have to be.

As I looked at the city map on my screen, time seemed to stand still. There were red pins all over the place, and each one was a hint that brought me closer. The chase was taking over my mind and eating away at my control.

"What's next?" Claire said.

I let out a sharp breath. "Let me know what's going on." All the time.

She thought about it. "Are you ready for what you might find?"

I didn't answer right away. I didn't know if I was.

But I knew I had to keep going.

Somewhere out there was Juniper, weak but strong. And I was going to find her, no matter what it took.

The morning was a mess of noise. Emails were buzzing, client calls were booming through the little flat, and my son's cries were mixed in with all of it. I held him in one arm and tried to respond a message with the other. The screen flickered under my fatigued fingers.

I muttered, "Mommy's busy, baby," as I rocked him gently. His little head rested on my collarbone, warm and soft, keeping me steady in this impossible balancing act.

The phone rang once more. I turned it off because I didn't want Callum's voice to bring up past hurts.

The clock ticked, and deadlines felt like heavy stones on my chest. I scrubbed the kitchen floor with one hand while singing lullabies to calm both my nerves and my son's restless body.

The city was alive outside, but it didn't know about my quiet fight.

A flutter in the window grabbed my eye, and a shadow broke away from the gathering on the sidewalk and stayed there long enough to make my skin crawl.

I blinked, and my heart skipped a beat.

When I got to my car later, the sun was low in the sky and my breath stuck in my throat. A folded note was stuck under the windscreen wiper, and the black ink stood out against the white paper.

I cautiously opened it up.

"We see you."

A cold shudder ran down my back. There was someone observing. Waiting. And the peace I had worked so hard to keep was starting to break.

I looked around the street, but the shadows were vacant.

I shook as I shut the car door, the threat weighing heavily on my mind.

Being a mother was challenging. But this, this was a whole different thing.

As soon as I got off the airport in Chicago, the chilly wind cut through my coat and made my lungs hurt. This was not a business trip; it was a search. A time to face the truth. I had given up too much; now it was time to get it back.

I went to an inconspicuous hotel under a fake name, Mason Clarke, that was clean and hard to find. The city below was buzzing, but it didn't care that I was there. I wasn't there to fit in.

I walked across downtown with purpose in my fitted blue suit. Juniper, every stride brought me closer to her. Fierce, defiant, and hiding more than she let on.

When I got to Cobalt Interiors, I stopped, brushed down my jacket, and snuck inside without anyone seeing me. The lobby was elegant and smelt like polished wood and fresh paint. But my eyes were only on one thing.

There she was.

Juniper was leaned over a design table with her hair pulled back and her mouth set in fierce concentration. Her emerald eyes moved over the drawings, not noticing the storm that was about to hit her.

I hid the strong feeling that was building up inside me behind a serene face. Charm. Take charge. I smiled at the receptionist in a calm way.

"Mr. Clarke," I responded, reaching out my hand. "Here to talk about a project."

She looked at my badge and then back at me. "Right this way."

I kept my eyes on Juniper as I followed. She hadn't seen me yet, but I knew she would soon, like the first clap of thunder before a storm.

My jaw got stiff. This city wasn't ready for what was about to happen.

Not yet.

But I was.

I sat crouched over the blueprints, tracing lines with my fingers but not really paying attention. I felt a slight shiver run up my spine, the kind that comes from feeling like someone is watching you when they shouldn't be.

I looked up and saw the street outside the studio window. The faces of the people in the crowd changed and blurred, but the feeling stayed with me like a shadow at my back.

"Maybe I'm just being paranoid," I said to myself as I forced my eyes back to the drawings. But the hair on the back of my neck stood up in alarm.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed, interrupting the quiet. The private investigator Callum had submitted Claire's name to the screen.

I answered, trying to keep my voice calm. "What is it?"

Claire replied softly, "Callum's in Chicago," her voice full of urgency. "He's in your area." "Watching."

I felt a cold knot in my stomach. I gulped, and my heart beat louder than the city's murmur.

"Thanks," I said softly and hung up.

The feeling of being hunted got stronger. It wasn't simply being paranoid anymore. Someone was getting closer.

I looked towards the window again. There were a lot of people on the street, and they all walked by without knowing the danger that was all around them.

I clinched my fists, and the panic turned into determination. So far, I had kept myself and my son safe. I wouldn't let anyone, including Callum, take charge of what was mine.

The rules of the game were shifting. And I was ready.