Chapter 49: The Warning
The warning arrived three days later. And unlike the first envelope, this one found its way directly to Liliana.
It happened after model training. She had just finished a runway evaluation when one of the reception staff approached her.
The young woman looked uncomfortable, nervous and almost afraid.
"Miss Walker?"
Liliana looked up. "Yes?"
The receptionist hesitated before handing over a large brown envelope.
Immediately, Liliana froze. Because it looked familiar.
There was no return address, no company logo. Nothing on it.
Just her name.
Liliana Walker.
The room suddenly felt colder.
The receptionist lowered her voice. "It arrived twenty minutes ago."
Nearby, Nicolo noticed her expression. "What happened?"
When Liliana slowly opened the envelope, several torn magazine pages fell onto the floor.
There was complete silence.
The pages came from the Gucci campaign.
The beach photographs, the coffee shop photos, even the rooftop photographs.
Every image featuring Chris had been ripped apart. Only Liliana remained intact.
Then a handwritten message slid out.
YOU’RE MINE.
The room stayed silent.
Nicolo’s face darkened immediately. "What the hell?"
Liliana felt her hands tremble. Not because of the words. But because she finally understood that the person watching her hadn’t disappeared.
Not at all.
They were getting closer. Much closer.
Within fifteen minutes, the entire executive floor knew.
After half an hour, Matthew St. Claire had called an emergency meeting.
The Sterlings and Pulse were gathered inside the Chairman’s office. Nobody looked happy. Especially Chris.
His expression terrified everyone. Because he wasn’t angry. He was furious. And he looked dangerous.
Matthew placed the torn pages on the conference table.
Nobody spoke. The message spoke for itself.
Everyone had a different reaction.
Aaron had a frown on his face while River looked disturbed.
Leo looked ready to personally hunt down whoever sent it.
The cousins remained unusually quiet, but they were scared. Especially Liliana.
Chris stared at the ripped photographs. Then finally, he broke the silence.
"I want a personal security team assigned to her."
Nobody argued. Not even Matthew.
The chairman nodded immediately. "Already arranged."
Chris frowned.
Matthew sighed. "I called security before you arrived."
Amanda would have been proud. It’s for their daughter in law afterall.
Chris relaxed only slightly. Because the threat still existed.A security team couldn’t change that.
Matthew looked toward the head of security. "Twenty-four-hour protection."
"Understood."
"No exceptions."
"Yes, sir."
"Nobody approaches her without clearance."
The man nodded. "Understood, sir."
The room immediately realized how serious the situation had become.
This wasn’t fan mail anymore or a curiosity. This was an obsession. And a dangerous one.
Afterward, Matthew called another emergency meeting. This time with the security department, the IT division and the building administration.
Every available CCTV recording was requested.
From every entrance, hallway, parking area and to every delivery point.
The investigation started immediately.
Later that evening, Matthew sat inside his office. The ripped magazine remained on his desk. His expression darkened. Then he made another call.
Victor Reyes answered immediately.
"Mr. St. Claire."
"We need to meet."
The tone alone was enough.
Twenty minutes later, Victor arrived, accompanied by Sarah Clifford.
The investigator immediately noticed the atmosphere. Something happened and it was definitely bad.
Matthew handed over the torn magazine pages.
Victor and Sarah studied them carefully. Then the handwritten message.
YOU’RE MINE.
The room became quiet.
Victor’s jaw tightened. "What is this?"
"The latest delivery." Matthew answered.
Sarah carefully picked up the paper, examining every detail. She frowned while staring at every mark and every crease. Then her expression changed. A subtle change.
But Matthew noticed. "What?"
Sarah looked toward him. "This is escalation."
The two men frowned.
"Meaning?" Victor asked.
Sarah placed the paper down.
"The first envelope focused on exposing information." She pointed toward the torn photographs. "This one is personal."
Another pause. "Possessive. Dangerous."
Nobody liked that answer.
Especially Matthew. He folded his arms.
"Progress?"
Sarah sighed, which was not a good sign.
"We’ve identified several possible sources connected to the first envelope."
Victor immediately leaned forward.
"And?"
"We’re narrowing the list."
Matthew frowned. "That’s not enough."
"I know."
Sarah hated saying those words because she always found answers. But this person remained hidden, acting very carefully and always ahead of them. He was patient and now becoming increasingly unstable.
Sarah looked once more at the words written across the photograph.
YOU’RE MINE.
Then she spoke quietly. "Whoever sent this..." She paused. "...isn’t interested in Chris."
Matthew immediately looked up.
Sarah’s eyes shifted toward Liliana’s photograph.
"This person is interested in Liliana. Only her."
Matthew looked at the pages. Every picture of Chris had been destroyed.
Every single one of them. Only Liliana remained untouched.
Sarah’s voice lowered. "This person is obsessed with her."
The room fell completely silent.
Because suddenly, the threat became far more frightening than anyone had imagined.
They knew that when admiration turns into obsession, it can manifest in highly intrusive and dangerous ways like stalking and invasion of privacy.
Overly fixations can lead to a fan tracking down a celebrity’s home. And sometimes, it could lead to physical confrontation.
"Do you think this is the same person?"
Sarah nodded slowly.
"I do."
"What makes you so certain?" Matthew asked.
"The behavior."
She tapped both envelopes.
"The first sender wanted everyone to know about Liliana by making it look like he’s targeting Chris."
She pointed at the latest note.
"The second message reveals motive. It already shows that he’s after Liliana by directly sending the envelope to her."
Victor’s face darkened.
"So the first envelope wasn’t the end."
Sarah slowly shook her head.
"No. The message is clear. It’s definitely not the last."
She met Matthew’s eyes.
"I believe..." A brief pause.
"This was only the beginning. And there will be more."
An uneasy silence settled over the office.
For the first time, everyone understood the terrifying reality before them.
They weren’t dealing with an ordinary fan.
They were hunting someone whose obsession with Liliana was growing stronger—and whose next move could be far more dangerous than a simple warning.
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