Chapter 6 - The Ghost in the Machine
The paranoia had finally set in for Grant. He was no longer the arrogant prince; he was a hunted man. He had burned bridges with his remaining social circle, accusing his own friends of conspiring with me to destroy him.
He didn't realize that the "ghost" he was chasing wasn't a person—it was a digital footprint he had helped create.
I spent Chapter 6 in the digital trenches. I found an encrypted drive in a safety deposit box that Grant thought was his alone. It contained recordings—not of business, but of the abuse. Audio of him belittling me, audio of Evelyn mocking my family, and the cold, calculated plans they had made to drain my inheritance the moment they felt I was no longer 'useful.'
I didn't keep them for blackmail. I kept them as a monument to my own survival.
One evening, my security system pinged. Someone was at the door of my new residence—not the apartment, but the backup location. I checked the cameras. It was Grant. He looked haggard, his clothes wrinkled, his eyes sunken and manic. He wasn't there to apologize. He was there to demand the keys to his old life back.
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He pounded on the door. "Clara! I know you're in there! I’ll make you regret this! You’re nothing without me!"
I watched him from my laptop, safely miles away. I pressed a button, triggering an automated call to the authorities. By the time he managed to pry the lock, the police were waiting. He was hauled away for trespassing and harassment, screaming my name to a street that no longer cared.
