Chapter 34: THE BLACKMAIL

The night was unusually quiet as Oliver drove us to his safe house, a small but secure apartment on the outskirts of town. The tension in the car was palpable, each of us lost in our thoughts. Oliver had managed to shake off the men who had followed us, but I knew that danger still lurked.

Once inside the apartment, Oliver took a deep breath and turned to me. “I need to explain everything now. My past actions and the threats against us.”

“Go on,” I urged, my anxiety barely contained.

Oliver hesitated before speaking. “I was involved with a group that had a lot of influence in the corporate world. When I was assigned to investigate you, I didn’t realize how deep the connections went. I’ve been involved in some activities that now seem to have made me a target.”

Before Oliver could elaborate, my phone buzzed with a notification. It was a text message from an unknown number. I opened it to find a single, chilling line: *"Rachel has something on you. Meet her if you want to protect yourse