Chloe had called three times.
Then five.
Then ten.
Each attempt met with the same cold response:
No answer.
Her manicured fingers tightened around the phone as she paced the length of her living room.
"Pick up…" she muttered under her breath.
Voicemail.
Again.
Her jaw clenched.
Loren Vex did not ignore calls.
Not hers.
Not after what she had paid him.
Not after the risks they both carried.
She dialed again.
The ringing echoed in her ear like mockery.
Then—
Voicemail.
Chloe froze.
A strange unease crept up her spine.
This wasn't like him.
Vex was many things — greedy, calculating, cautious — but he was never careless with communication.
Never unreachable.
"Damn it, Loren…"
She tried another number.
One of his backups.
Disconnected.
Her pulse spiked.
She immediately opened her messages.
Nothing.
No updates.
No coded confirmations.
No reassurances.
Only silence.
And silence…
Silence was dangerous.
Across the city.
Raina watched Chloe's rising panic unfold across her own screens.
Albert stood nearby.
"The hospital incident has been classified as cardiac failure," he reported calmly.
Raina didn't blink.
"And Chloe?"
Albert tapped the tablet.
"She's been trying to contact Vex for the last forty-two minutes."
Raina's lips curved faintly.
Cold.
Knowing.
"Good," she murmured.
On-screen, Chloe dialed again, frustration now bleeding into fear.
Back in her apartment, Chloe slammed the phone onto the table.
Something was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
Her mind raced.
Had he run?
Had he betrayed her?
Had someone—
Her breath hitched.
A memory surfaced.
Raina.
That funeral.
Those eyes.
That terrifying calm.
"No…" Chloe whispered.
But doubt had already rooted itself.
She grabbed the phone again, dialing with shaking fingers.
One last attempt.
One final call.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Then—
A mechanical voice.
Flat.
Emotionless.
"The number you are trying to reach is no longer available."
Chloe's blood ran cold.
Her hand trembled violently now.
Unavailable?
That wasn't normal.
That wasn't protocol.
That wasn't Loren Vex.
And deep down…
She knew.
Something had changed.
Something had broken.
Something had begun moving without her control.
Inside the study, Raina leaned back slowly.
Eyes gleaming like sharpened glass.
"She feels it," Albert observed.
Raina's voice was soft.
Deadly calm.
"Of course she does."
Her gaze remained fixed on Chloe's pale, shaken reflection on the screen.
"Predators always sense when they've become prey."
Silence filled the room.
Heavy.
Anticipatory.
Then Raina whispered:
"Now let's see what fear does to her."