Page 86 of The Guru: Shadow

“Not that I am aware of.”

Good. So, she isn’t out for blood.

“Let her go. I wanna see how this turns out.”

It’s either gonna be gold or there will be damage control to do, but either way, it will reveal a lot.

She had nowhere to go, the paparazzi waited everywhere for her, and for some reason, he could tell she would not face them. Her personality was a hidden one; she had no interest in being in the spotlight, so she would go somewhere to hide. Only she had nowhere to hide. She had no family nearby, no money. Maybe she’d try for Julie, or Julie’s friends.

“Ed, have a tap on Julie too. I wanna know what’s going on there. Let me know if she contacts her in any way.”

“Done. Look at Emma’s Instagram.”

There it was: a photo, supposedly of her and him from the back at JFK airport.

“AI?”

“I believe as much, but it’s good, really good, not the typical glitches.”

“The paparazzi are leaving,” he said while staring at the feed from the entrance. “She has them fooled. How is she so good at all this?”

“I don’t know. We have no history of her using AI tools, nor researching it. Maybe from the agency?”

“Ed, there is something about her we do not know, it’s getting clearer and clearer by the day. Find. It. Out!”

How he hated not knowing. Especially with her being connected to everything. And he couldn’t just shake the feeling of a coming betrayal lingering on his doorstep.

Switching to the cameras in the underground garage, he saw her. She didn’t even try to hide it, she actually stared into the camera, and ashe zoomed in, he saw something in her eyes for the briefest of moments. A sweet, angry glare while she mouthed the words, “Game over.”

It made his heart jump in apprehension, unable to suppress the grin appearing on his face. So, the game was still on. And he would win, either way.

The rush, it’s the rush. She wants to feel alive.

Only a part of him wasn’t sure to what length she would go after her threat. It could be anything. She had called him in once, she could have him arrested for Carl, although she’d be in the firing line too. She could have him in for illegally tapping her phone and for stalking. But then, he had things on her too. Only she did not know.

“She’s taking the Audi.”

“It’s the most common one, she doesn’t want to be noticed,” he told Ed, not that Ed didn’t suspect as much.

“Team’s in place. Sending you the GPS of the Audi”

But he would not intervene. Not if absolutely necessary. He needed to see the extent, see the consequences, and most of all, he wanted to feel the moment of triumph when she realized he would always win.

Always.

21

EMMA

PLAYLIST: HOW VILLAINS ARE MADE - MADALEN DUKE

Game on baby.

Using her own methods against her. It was still a game to him.

He seeks the rush.

He wants to feel alive.