Chapter 21: The License Plate

Derek traced the gray sedan before evening. The vehicle belonged to a small rental company, but the person who had rented it had used identification belonging to an employee of a consulting firm. That employee claimed he had never rented the car. Someone had copied his information.

"Professional enough to hide the renter, amateur enough to let Freya notice the same vehicle twice," Derek said over the phone. Louis stood near the apartment window while Freya worked in her bedroom. "Maybe they wanted to be noticed," he replied.

Derek became quiet. "To pressure you?" "Or to see how I respond." Louis looked down at the street. Two men from his private security network had already taken positions nearby, disguised as ordinary residents and delivery workers. Freya knew nothing about them.

"Knox Group?" Derek asked. "Possibly." "Hale?" "Unlikely." Ethan Hale was cautious, but surveillance this obvious wasn't his style. Besides, Louis had already confirmed Serena's meeting with Freya had been accidental.

The next morning, Freya discovered Louis waiting in the living room when she prepared to leave. "Why aren't you at work?" she asked. "I don't technically have a job." She paused. "That's depressing when you say it like that."

Louis ignored the comment. "Where are you going?" "Courier shop, supermarket, then home." "I'll drive you." Freya looked him up and down. "With what car?" Louis was silent for half a second. "Derek is downstairs."

Freya immediately shook her head. "I'm not making your former assistant chauffeur me around because I need tomatoes." "He has something nearby." That was a lie, but Freya didn't know it. After a moment, she agreed.

Derek greeted her cheerfully downstairs. The black sedan seemed suspiciously expensive for a supposedly unemployed former assistant, but Freya assumed Derek came from a wealthy family. She loaded her packages into the trunk and sat in the back beside Louis.

At the courier shop, Louis stayed in the car while Derek accompanied her inside. Freya gave him a sideways look. "Are you my bodyguard now?" "Temporary assistant." "Whose assistant?" "That's currently under negotiation."

On their way to the supermarket, Freya suddenly spotted a gray sedan at an intersection. Her body stiffened. "That one." Derek immediately checked the mirror. Louis looked through the rear window. The car turned away before the light changed.

Derek quietly sent the plate number to someone. This time they had the complete registration. Freya noticed the exchange. "You have people who can investigate license plates that quickly?" Derek smiled. "Louis used to run a very large company. We know people."

Freya accepted the explanation, though not entirely. At the supermarket she deliberately bought enough groceries for several days. If someone was actually following her, she could reduce unnecessary trips until Louis figured out why.

That evening, Derek received the new result. The second gray sedan wasn't the same rental car. It belonged to a private investigation agency. Someone had hired professionals after the first surveillance attempt failed.

Louis's eyes turned cold. "Find the client." Derek nodded. "Already working on it." Neither man noticed Freya standing just beyond the hallway corner. She hadn't heard everything, but she had heard enough to understand one thing clearly: Louis knew far more about dealing with surveillance than any ordinary bankrupt businessman should.

Neither of them realized that the small changes in their daily life were slowly pulling them deeper into the conflicts left behind by the original story. What had begun as a temporary arrangement after bankruptcy was becoming something far more complicated, and the people watching Louis were beginning to understand that Freya was no longer the predictable weakness they had expected her to be.