Chapter 34: The Things She Left Behind
Raina's estate welcomed her with silence.
Not the peaceful kind.
The heavy kind.
The kind that pressed against the walls like something unseen was waiting.
She walked through the grand entrance slowly, heels echoing across marble floors, her mind still locked on Albert's last words.
Ten days before Selena died.
A four–minute call.
Somewhere inside that call…
Was the beginning of everything.
Albert followed behind her, tablet already active.
"I'll continue tracing the number, Miss," he said calmly.
Raina nodded once.
"Find it."
Albert didn't hesitate.
He never did.
Hours later, the mansion had gone dark.
Only the soft glow of lamplight filled Raina's private sitting room.
Before her lay a single box.
Selena's belongings.
Untouched.
Preserved.
Frozen in time.
Raina stared at it for a long moment before finally lifting the lid.
The scent hit her first.
Faint perfume.
Memory.
Ghost.
Her fingers moved slowly through its contents — books, small trinkets, folded letters, fragments of a life interrupted.
Then—
She froze.
A camera.
Old.
Compact.
Silver.
Her breath stilled.
"I gave this to her…"
The memory flickered sharply.
Younger days.
Laughter.
Selena teasing her for being sentimental.
Raina's fingers tightened slightly as she powered it on.
The screen flickered.
Static.
Then—
Video.
Tape 1
Selena appeared on the screen.
Alive.
Smiling faintly, though something restless lingered behind her eyes.
"I met a woman on the walkway today," Selena said softly.
Raina leaned forward instantly.
Selena continued:
"She bumped into me. She was running… like she was fleeing from something."
The camera shifted slightly, Selena's voice lowering.
"There were men behind her. Dressed in black."
Raina's pulse slowed.
Predatory focus.
Selena's brows tightened.
"She slipped something into my handbag."
A pause.
"I didn't notice until I got home."
The tape ended.
Raina's fingers trembled.
Just slightly.
She clicked the next file.
Tape 2
Selena looked unsettled now.
Less composed.
"I had an unknown call."
Raina's breath caught.
Selena's voice softened.
"It was a woman."
A flicker of hesitation.
"She sounded afraid."
Raina's eyes narrowed.
Selena continued:
"She wanted to meet."
The camera shifted again.
"And she was the same woman from the walkway."
Silence filled the room.
Selena's voice dropped:
"I met her at a café… one Raina and I used to love."
Raina's chest tightened.
Selena's expression darkened.
"She told me about the chip."
Raina froze.
Chip.
Selena whispered:
"She told me to keep it safe."
A pause.
"I didn't understand her."
The tape cut.
Raina's mind raced violently now.
Questions detonating.
Who was the woman?
Why Selena?
Why the chip?
Tape 3
Selena looked nervous.
Restless.
"I took the chip to work."
Raina leaned closer.
Selena continued:
"I asked my employees."
Her voice tightened.
"One of them said they knew somebody."
A pause.
"They took me to him."
Raina's pulse thundered.
Selena swallowed.
"We checked it."
Silence.
Then—
Selena's voice cracked.
"It contained files."
Raina's breath stalled.
Selena whispered:
"Blueprints of a nuclear weapon."
The room went cold.
Selena continued hurriedly:
"One capable of destroying an entire country."
Raina's grip tightened around the camera.
Selena's voice trembled:
"I told him not to share the contents."
The screen went black.
Raina stood abruptly.
Shock.
Rage.
Disbelief.
Selena hadn't been hunted.
She had been carrying something catastrophic.
Tape 4
Selena's face was pale.
Eyes hollowed by fear.
"I saw her on the news."
Raina's breath slowed.
Selena whispered:
"The woman."
Silence.
"She had been murdered."
Selena's hand trembled visibly.
"I got scared."
Her voice cracked.
"I threw up."
Days passed in seconds as Selena continued:
"I began feeling watched."
Raina's jaw clenched.
Selena's voice broke:
"My employee…"
A pause.
"…dead."
Another pause.
"The specialist…"
Silence.
"…dead."
Selena's eyes filled with terror.
"They died the same way."
The tape cut violently.
Raina's breathing had changed now.
Slow.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
She clicked the final file.
Last Tape
Static.
Blurred movement.
Darkness.
Then—
Selena.
Panicked.
Struggling.
Raina's heart slammed violently.
Selena's voice screamed through the speakers:
"No—please—!"
Raina's body went rigid.
A figure.
Tall.
Shadowed.
Face partially visible.
Selena fought.
Desperate.
Terrified.
The struggle was chaotic, frantic—
Then—
Stillness.
The screen froze.
For one fraction of a second—
The killer's face turned.
Clear.
Visible.
Unmistakable.
The camera slipped from Raina's hands.
But she didn't notice.
Because her world had just ignited.
Her eyes burned.
Not with grief.
With war.
Raina whispered, voice shaking with fury:
"I know you."
Silence swallowed the room.
Her gaze turned lethal.
Cold.
Certain.
Unforgiving.
"I finally know who you are."