Page 3 of Through the Flames
Well, technically his parents and my trust fund did, but same difference.
Didn’t change the fact that, although it held fond memories for me, I’d never keep it based solely on whose money had funded it. Money I didn’t want.
Every dollar felt like a shadow of everything I’d fought to overcome. I wanted to earn this life, I wanted it to be mine, to be real. Everything else was just tainted.
Now this room would have a different purpose. As I strode through the length of it, I pulled out my phone, compiling a list of things I needed to buy.
Shehad derailed my blueprinted future and rewritten my plans without even fucking knowing the impact she had.
I’d been watching her for months and was involved in every part of her life — a fact of which she was blissfully unaware.
With the cloned device, her world was wide open. Every ding, every DM, every pathetic little heart emoji — all of it went straight into my fucking bloodstream.
Setting it up when she left her phone at a party had been fucking child’s play.
A quick window of opportunity was all I’d needed.
Although three years of a cybersecurity degree at BRU looked good on paper, my real education started long before that.
The kind of jobs you would never list on a résumé. The kind that taught me how easy it was to make someone disappear online. Compared to that, sliding into Ella’s phone was hardly considered practice.
I knew who she was messaging and what she was saying. I knew that she’d been searching for a roommate, and I’ve been removing her options,one by one.
Deleting messages from interested girls and flagging her ads until she thought Craigslist itself hated her.
Every. Single. Time.
I was patient. Controlled. The only emotion I allowed myself to feel was anticipation — pure,throbbinganticipation.
Soon, my Blaze would be desperate. That was when I’d make my move, when I’d offer her Colt’s room.
***
The house was quiet, almost disturbingly so, after living with Colt and Hailey for months.
I was still adjusting to being alone, with only the quiet hum of my devices providing background noise.
The three monitors in front of me were the only source of light in my dim room.
One monitor was pulled up to Ella’s social feed. One displayed an anonymized housing board. And the third featured open chat logs from her cloned device.
My eyes flitted from screen to screen, watching, cross-referencing, and checking IP activity. I’ve been keeping tabs on her for so long, this sequence has become my standard protocol.
A tagged photo popped up on her social feed, and I greedily clicked it, my gaze scanning every detail.
Her dark red hair, contrasting sharply with her tanned skin, was pulled into its usual high ponytail. Her smile was breathtaking, radiating joy even through a screen, and I felt that now familiar tightness in my chest.
Only when I’d finished my perusal did I pay attention to the person next to her. At this point, I knew everyone who she came in contact with.
Including the blonde girl smiling next to her. Not nearly as pretty.
The only reason I was sparing her a glance at all was to get a grasp of the situation. Both girls were beaming in a faintly familiar living room.
Which didn’t add up. Searching the screen, the caption caught my attention.
“Moved in and already loving it ??”
My stomach dropped, and I gave a slow blink.
