CHAPTER 2 — The Secret Hidden Inside My Camera
The moment Nathan Cross gave the order...
the entire gallery changed.
Every man around him moved instantly.
No questions.
No hesitation.
Heavy steel doors slammed shut beneath us.
Old locks clicked into place.
The abandoned building that had felt forgotten only minutes before became a fortress.
A prison.
Or a shelter.
I wasn't sure which one terrified me more.
I pressed my back against the cold stone wall, trying to understand what was happening.
“What’s going on?”
Nathan didn't look at me.
His eyes remained fixed on the shattered windows above.
“Someone knows you witnessed the meeting.”
My heart sank.
“I don't even know who those people were.”
“You don't have to.”
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
“They already know enough about you.”
A chill ran through me.
“What does that mean?”
Nathan finally looked at me.
“It means your name, your face, and your connection to this place are already in someone's hands.”
Before I could ask another question—
CRACK.
The sound ripped through the silence.
The window exploded.
Glass rained across the floor.
I barely had time to react.
One of Nathan's men grabbed my shoulder and pulled me down.
A bullet tore through the frame where my head had been seconds earlier.
I froze.
Someone was shooting at me.
Not threatening me.
Not warning me.
Trying to erase me.
Nathan moved instantly.
He stepped in front of me.
No hesitation.
No calculation.
His body became the only barrier between me and the bullets outside.
“Stay behind me.”
The command was quiet.
But absolute.
I had seen fear.
I had seen powerful men panic.
Nathan Cross did neither.
He stood there like the gunfire was nothing.
Like protecting me was the only thing that mattered.
More shots echoed through the gallery.
His men returned fire from the windows.
Footsteps thundered across the upper floor.
“Boss!”
A guard rushed toward him.
“They’re surrounding the building.”
Nathan's expression didn't change.
“How many?”
“At least eight.”
Silence.
Then Nathan looked at me.
Not at the attackers.
Not at his men.
Me.
“They aren't here for me.”
My throat tightened.
“Then who are they here for?”
His answer came without hesitation.
“You.”
The word hit harder than the gunshots.
“Why?”
Nathan walked toward the fallen camera on the floor.
He picked it up carefully.
The screen was cracked.
The lens was damaged.
But the memory card remained.
“Because they believe you have evidence.”
I shook my head.
“I don't have anything.”
Nathan removed the memory card.
His eyes stayed focused.
“They won't care.”
“What are you doing?”
“Making sure nobody else gets this.”
He slipped the card into his pocket.
“I'll return it when you're safe.”
I stared at him.
“You're protecting my camera?”
“No.”
His eyes met mine.
“I'm protecting what someone thinks is inside it.”
Before I could respond, the entire building shook.
A violent explosion erupted from below.
Dust poured from the ceiling.
The floor trembled.
Then came the sound of stone breaking.
One of the old marble columns collapsed across the staircase.
Blocking the only path down.
A guard looked over the railing.
His face changed.
“Boss.”
Nathan turned.
“They're coming through the rear entrance.”
The sound of footsteps echoed below.
Slow.
Heavy.
Getting closer.
Nathan inhaled slowly.
For the first time since I met him...
I saw something different.
Not fear.
Anger.
Then he did something that surprised everyone.
Especially me.
He removed his black suit jacket.
The same jacket that made him look untouchable.
The same jacket that carried the reputation of Nathan Cross.
And he placed it around my shoulders.
Carefully.
Gently.
“You're cold.”
I stared at him.
Of all the things happening...
that was the thing I couldn't understand.
“You're protecting me?”
Nathan looked at me.
“I made you a promise.”
“You don't even know me.”
A pause.
Then his voice softened.
“I know enough.”
The approaching footsteps grew louder.
Nathan turned away.
His expression hardened again.
“To them, you're a witness.”
His hand tightened into a fist.
“To me…”
He stopped.
His phone vibrated.
One message.
One photograph.
And whatever he was about to say disappeared.
Nathan looked at the screen.
The warmth vanished instantly.
The mafia boss returned.
“Boss?”
One of his men stepped closer.
Nathan didn't answer.
He simply stared at the image.
I noticed his jaw tighten.
“What is it?”
Slowly, he turned the phone toward me.
The photograph showed a building.
My building.
My apartment.
Yellow police tape surrounded the entrance.
My stomach dropped.
“No…”
But that wasn't the worst part.
Standing beside the police tape was a man.
Holding something in his hand.
A camera.
A camera identical to mine.
Nathan's voice became dangerously quiet.
“They already searched your home.”
The blood drained from my face.
“My apartment?”
He nodded.
“And they weren't looking for you.”
I looked at him.
“Then what were they looking for?”
Nathan placed the phone down.
His eyes turned colder than before.
“The original evidence.”
A silence fell.
“What evidence?”
Nathan looked toward the memory card hidden in his pocket.
Then back at me.
“The evidence your camera captured without you knowing.”
I felt my heartbeat stop.
“I don't understand.”
Nathan stepped closer.
“Claire…”
The way he said my name made me realize something.
He was afraid.
Not for himself.
For me.
“Before my men found you, someone else was inside that gallery.”
My breathing slowed.
“Someone who wasn't there to kill the man downstairs.”
“Then why were they there?”
Nathan looked toward the sealed doors.
Because outside...
the people hunting me were getting closer.
And inside...
the man everyone feared was preparing to risk everything to protect me.
“They were there to steal your camera.”
A pause.
“And they already knew exactly what they were looking for.”
The lights flickered.
The footsteps below stopped.
Everyone in the room became silent.
Nathan reached for his weapon.
Then he whispered the sentence that changed everything.
“Claire…”
“You weren't an accident.”
My eyes widened.
“What?”
His gaze locked onto mine.
“You were the reason they held that meeting.”
A cold wave moved through my body.
I had walked into the abandoned gallery thinking I was photographing a forgotten building.
But I was wrong.
Someone had brought me there.
Someone had wanted me to see something.
And now the most dangerous man in Boston was standing between me and the people who knew why.
Nathan Cross looked toward the door.
Then said:
“Stay close to me.”
“Because from this moment on…”
May you like
“They're not hunting a witness anymore.”
“They're hunting you.”
