Chapter 2 The Stranger I Love

Christabel POV.

. .

The door creaked open and there he was-Cole. Tall, handsome, familiar. My safe place. I should've run into his arms. But I didn't. Instead, I stood frozen, my heart pounding like a war drum. "Babe," he said, setting his suitcase down. "I got here as fast as I could. How's your dad? You okay?" I nodded, slowly. "Yeah... yeah, I'm okay." I wasn't. He pulled me into a hug. Too tight. Too warm. For a moment, I let myself melt into him. Until my phone buzzed. UNKNOWN NUMBER: Ask him about Madrid. You don't know who's watching. My blood turned to ice. Madrid. The place he first told me he loved me. The place I gave him all of me. I pulled away from the hug before I could drown in it. "You mind if I shower first?" he asked, already heading toward the bathroom. "Sure," I said, barely above a whisper. The moment I heard the water running, I moved. His suitcase sat half-open by the door. I dropped to my knees beside it. Clothes. Cologne. Chargers. A neatly packed laptop. And something else. A sleek black folder. No markings. Just clean leather, slightly worn at the edges. I stared at it for a second. Then opened it. Inside-photos. Of me. At school. At work. Leaving my apartment. Buying coffee. At the hospital. Everywhere. My stomach flipped. Then came the pages-typed, clinical, precise. SUBJECT: CHRISTABEL WILLIAMS OBJECTIVE: OBSERVATION. EMOTIONAL INVOLVEMENT. POSITIONING. I swallowed the rising panic. What the hell was this? The last page stopped me cold. Filed for: D.B. No name. Just initials. But I knew. I didn't know how. I just knew. And suddenly, I couldn't breathe. Behind me, the shower stopped. And then- "You weren't supposed to see that," Cole's voice said from the hallway. Low. Flat. Dangerous. I turned slowly. He was standing there, towel around his waist-dripping, calm, eyes unreadable. And in his hand- His phone, still lit up with a message. UNKNOWN NUMBER: Plan compromised. Handle it.