Contract Marriage with My Secret Partner in Crime-Chapter 98: Who Are You?

Kendrick’s gaze lingered on Zephany for a moment. She looked nervous, unsure, not the kind of person you’d expect at a high-profile event like this. He watched her approach Pia, who immediately linked arms with her like a protective older sister. He almost smiled. Almost.

"You’re late," he muttered under his breath, as if Zephany could hear him through the screen. "But at least you’re here."

He leaned back slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. His posture was relaxed, but his mind was moving fast. He wasn’t supposed to be watching this event so closely. Not today. But Cassius had sent him a quiet message that morning, no explanation, just coordinates and a time. Kendrick knew better than to ignore it.

He glanced at another screen showing an exterior view of the hotel. The crowd had begun to settle down after the ribbon was cut, but something else caught his eye. A shadow, near the edge of the frame. Movement that didn’t belong.

Kendrick sat up straighter, narrowing his eyes. The camera wasn’t high resolution, but it was clear enough. A tall figure hovered in the background, half-concealed by a pillar near the service entrance. The posture. The way he kept glancing over his shoulder. It was familiar.

Too familiar.

"No way," Kendrick whispered.

He switched to a different feed, pulling the view closer. The shadow moved again. And then, like clockwork, another figure stepped into the frame from the opposite direction.

Reynold.

Kendrick’s eyes sharpened.

He watched as Reynold suddenly changed pace, his posture shifting from passive to alert. And then he moved. Fast.

Straight toward the figure in the shadows.

Kendrick’s fingers hovered over the keyboard, uncertain whether to freeze the frame or zoom in further. He didn’t need to. He had already seen enough.

His heart began to race, but his face stayed calm. His breaths came slower, more controlled. Years of training kept his panic buried beneath the surface.

He stared at the screen, replaying the last few seconds in his mind.

Why is Reynold chasing someone?

And why is that someone... that shape, that movement—why is it so familiar?

Kendrick’s mind moved faster than his fingers could keep up.

"Isn’t he supposed to be locked up?" he said out loud to no one. "In solitary. No contact. No light."

He reached for his earpiece. Cassius hadn’t checked in for the past hour. Not unusual, but inconvenient now.

He typed in a message: Confirmed. He’s out. R moved. What now?

No reply.

He glanced at another screen showing thermal signatures around the hotel perimeter. One red dot blinked near the service entrance, then vanished.

Reynold was chasing a ghost.

Kendrick leaned back in his chair, dragging a hand down his face. His voice was low, nearly inaudible. "If that man’s really out... we’ve got bigger problems."

The weight of that possibility settled on his shoulders. He thought of his mother. Of Levy. Of what it had taken to build this quiet life for them after everything. And now?

A single breach could ruin it all.

Still staring at the screen, he reached for a photo stuck to the edge of the monitor. A small snapshot of Christy and Levy, taken in front of the bakery. Levy was sticking out her tongue, pretending to shove Kendrick away, while Christy tried to hold them both for the picture. He smiled faintly.

He remembered how Levy had teased him for fifteen minutes afterward.

"You’re so stiff, Ken. You look like a tree in every photo. A grumpy tree."

He had responded with his usual quiet snark. "Better than looking like a gremlin."

"You wish you were this cute."

That was Levy. Loud, dramatic, and annoyingly lovable.

He dropped the photo gently and returned his attention to the screens.

Zephany had made it to Brent Diamond, and the interview had started. She was doing fine—tentative, but steady. He watched her, noting the small tremor in her hand, the way she glanced down to double-check her notes, the way she nodded after each answer as if she needed the affirmation more than Brent did.

"You’re better than you think," Kendrick muttered.

He didn’t know why he said it. Maybe to calm himself. Maybe because watching her manage her nerves was oddly grounding.

But then the camera shifted again, and he caught a final glimpse of Reynold disappearing around the side of the building.

Kendrick didn’t like the direction this was going.

He stood up, stretched his back, and cracked his knuckles.

He pulled out his phone and opened his call log. Still no message from Cassius. He wasn’t surprised. Cassius always enjoyed keeping things close to his chest.

"I hate that guy sometimes," Kendrick muttered.

Still, he owed him. Cassius had given him this new life. This apartment. This tech setup. The freedom to live a double life, one where Kendrick could be the soft-spoken, friendly son who helped his mom carry groceries and still protect everything they had from the shadows.

Cassius had made it possible. But now, with that shadow figure back in play, Kendrick couldn’t stay still.

He sat back down and switched his screen to the secure network.

If Reynold was already chasing the threat, then it meant the breach wasn’t random.

Someone planned this.

And Kendrick needed to figure out who.

His phone buzzed once.

Cassius: Stay low. Don’t interfere yet. Eyes open.

Kendrick stared at the message, lips pressed into a thin line.

"Too late," he whispered.

He turned his gaze back to Zephany, who was now smiling slightly, accepting Pia’s proud pat on the shoulder. The moment was brief, but genuine.

Kendrick didn’t know her beyond what the files said. Soft-spoken. Overthinker. Often anxious but sharp. Brilliant behind the screen, terrible under pressure. Nothing in her record suggested she was dangerous. Or so he thought.

But every time he saw her, there was something familiar.

He couldn’t place it. freёwebnoѵel.com

Maybe it was her eyes. Maybe the way she moved, like she was always two steps away from running. Or maybe it was just that he saw something of himself in her.

A double life. A mask. A quiet desperation to be seen... but not too clearly.

He stared at the screen a little longer, then whispered, "Who are you, Zephany Draven?"

No one answered.

But Kendrick found himself watching her, his heartbeat quickening without him even realizing it.