Chapter 3 - THE FABRICATED THREAT
Two weeks passed after the night in the alley, and Naomi had almost convinced herself that Daniel Han was a strange, isolated anomaly she would never cross paths with again. She went back to her grueling routine—double shifts at the clinic, wiring half her paycheck to her mother in Tacoma for the mortgage, and checking in on her brother’s tuition payments.
Then, the subtle terror began.
It started on a Tuesday night. When Naomi walked out to her beaten-up Honda Civic in the hospital parking garage, she found an unmarked manila envelope tucked beneath her windshield wiper. Inside was a single black-and-white photograph of herself sitting at a diner three days prior, eating lunch alone. On the back, written in thick black marker, were five words: YOU ARE STANDING TOO CLOSE.
A day later, a black SUV with dark tinted windows began parking across the street from her apartment building in Capitol Hill. It didn't move. It didn't hide. It simply sat there with its engine idling, an ominous shadow against the pavement.
By Friday, Naomi’s nerves were pulled taut as piano wire. When she left work at 11:00 PM, she noticed a tall man in a heavy coat trailing fifty paces behind her as she walked toward the light rail station. Every time she sped up, he sped up. When she stopped, he paused in the shadows of an overhang.
Panic, cold and sharp, finally pierced through her usual stoic composure. She ducked into the lobby of an upscale hotel, her heart hammering against her ribs, and pulled out her phone. She had only one number in her contacts that belonged to someone capable of handling shadows.
She dialed the unlisted number Daniel had given her on a slip of paper the night he dropped her off.
He answered on the second ring. “Naomi.”
“Someone is following me,” she said, her voice dropping into a hurried whisper as she glanced through the glass doors of the lobby. “There’s a man outside. I found photos on my car two days ago. Daniel... you said danger follows you. Is this your doing? Are your enemies targeting me because I sat in your car?”
A heavy pause echoed over the line, filled with the static of the storm brewing outside.
“Where are you?” Daniel’s voice was instantly razor-sharp, laced with terrifying authority.
“The Fairmont lobby downtown.”
“Stay inside where there are cameras,” Daniel commanded. “I am two minutes away. Do not move.”
Less than one hundred and twenty seconds later, a sleek black sedan screeched to a halt in the hotel’s drive court. Daniel stepped out into the rain without an umbrella, moving with fluid, predatory speed into the lobby. He wore a dark wool coat, his hair damp from the rain, his jaw set in a rigid line of absolute fury.
When his eyes landed on Naomi sitting on a velvet couch in the corner, a visible wave of relief washed over his features. He crossed the floor in long strides, towering over her as he reached out and gently took her face in his hands, scanning her for any signs of physical harm.
“Are you hurt?” he demanded softly, his thumbs brushing against her cheekbones.
“No,” Naomi breathed, her hands instinctively rising to touch his wrists. “No, I’m okay. But Daniel... he was right behind me. He was watching my apartment.”
Daniel’s eyes darkened into something pitch-black, a terrifying abyss of murderous intent. He pulled her up from the couch and wrapped his arm securely around her waist, tucking her against his side as if he were preparing to shield her from a hail of bullets.
“You’re coming with me,” Daniel stated, his tone leaving no room for argument. “My penthouse has military-grade security and full surveillance. Whoever is doing this will not reach you there.”
As he ushered her out to the waiting car, Naomi looked over his shoulder toward the street. The tall man who had been following her was nowhere to be seen. The black SUV across the street had vanished into the rain.
May you like
She looked up at Daniel’s rigid, protective profile as he held the car door open for her. She saw the fierce devotion in his eyes, the absolute certainty that he would burn the city down to keep her safe.
And for the first time, a small voice in the back of her mind whispered that something about this heroic rescue was entirely too convenient.
