NOVEL NEXT Chapter 8: Confrontations, Investigations, and a Hunter's Trap
First-Person POV – Evelyn
It was official.
Out of everything that had tried to kill me in the last twenty-four hours—bounty hunters, assassins, and my own poor decision-making—nothing was as terrifying as Claire Lawson sitting on my couch.
Arms crossed. Brow furrowed. Expression firmly locked in "I'm done with your bullshit" mode.
I had barely made it back from dodging Jason Cross, and now?
Now, I was being interrogated in my own damn apartment.
I slowly closed the door behind me, taking in a deep breath.
"Okay," I exhaled, trying to buy myself time. "Before you say anything, let me just—"
"No," Claire cut me off immediately, voice sharp. "You sit. You explain."
She pointed at the couch.
Like a disappointed parent catching their kid sneaking in past curfew.
Oh god, she's terrifying.
I sighed, defeated, and sat down.
Claire let the silence stretch, letting the weight of her unspoken words settle in.
Then:
"Start talking."
Third-Person POV – Detective Marcus Reed
Detective Marcus Reed sat in his cramped NYPD office, staring at his latest unsolved case.
The mystery girl from the alleyway fight.
She had no official records. No known identity.
Yet somehow, she was popping up in underground bounty circles.
Reed leaned back in his chair, flipping through recent reports.
📄 Case File #407: Jackson Rourke (Missing/Presumed Dead)
📄 Case File #408: Unidentified Female – "Ghost" (Linked to multiple underground sightings)
He exhaled, rubbing his temples.
Then his phone buzzed.
📩 New Message from Unknown Contact:
"Your mystery girl is worth $500,000 alive. Might want to look into that."
His stomach tightened.
Half a million dollars. Alive.
That wasn't a bounty.
That was a target acquisition.
Who the hell are you, lady?
First-Person POV – Evelyn
Claire was not letting up.
"First," she said, arms still crossed, "why the hell were you running across rooftops like a freaking assassin at 6 AM?"
I hesitated.
Then went for the half-truth.
"…Self-defence."
Claire gave me a look.
"Oh, sure. Self-defence. Because normal people totally train to move like that."
I sighed. This was going to be a long conversation.
[Multiverse Chat Group]
👾 Administrator (Me): Claire knows something's up.
🕷️ Peter Parker: YOU GOT CAUGHT?!
💀 I'm Not a Bad Slime: F.
⚔️ The Lone Wolf: Assess. Can she be trusted?
👾 Administrator (Me): …I think so.
🕷️ Peter Parker: So what's your move?
👾 Administrator (Me): Trying to survive the interrogation first.
Claire let out a slow breath, her frustration shifting into something more serious.
"Look. I don't care if this is some vigilante thing, secret agent mission, or whatever." Her tone was firm. "But don't lie to me."
She locked eyes with me.
"Not after I saw someone try to shoot you with a tranquilizer."
I winced.
Damn it. She saw that much?
She wasn't going to let this go.
Fine.
I took a slow breath.
"I can't tell you everything," I admitted. "But I can tell you this: Someone put a bounty on me, and I don't know why."
Claire's expression shifted immediately.
The frustration vanished.
Replaced by something colder. Sharper.
"…What?"
"Yeah. Someone very powerful wants me alive. And I don't think it's for a good reason."
Claire was silent. Processing.
Then she sighed.
"You are so much worse than a normal neighbour."
Third-Person POV – Jason Cross
Jason Cross adjusted the tracking software on his wrist display.
Evelyn Reyes had escaped once.
But he had tagged her.
She didn't realize it yet.
📡 Tracker Beacon: Active.
Jason didn't rush.
The best traps were set with patience.
And Evelyn Reyes?
She was walking into one.
First-Person POV – Evelyn
📍 9:30 AM – Outside My Apartment
I was finally catching my breath.
Claire had backed off—for now—but I knew this wasn't the end of that conversation.
For now?
I had bigger problems.
Jason Cross wasn't done hunting me.
I had barely sat down when my phone buzzed.
📩 New Message from Unknown Number:
"Don't go home. You're tagged."
My blood ran cold.
I glanced down at my sleeve—
A tiny red blinking light.
A tracker.
My breath hitched.
Jason hadn't lost me.
He had just been waiting.