Jamaica – 2:13 a.m.
Kasha sat on the balcony overlooking the dark ocean of Jamaica, laptop open, face illuminated by the glow of code.
Monica stepped outside with two glasses of wine.
“Please tell me you are not hacking somebody on vacation.”
“I am not hacking,” Kasha said calmly.
Pause.
“I am… strategically investigating.”
Monica handed her the glass. “Lord, protect whoever thought this was a good idea.”
Marcus Reed from Innovare Systems was on video call.
“Okay,” Marcus said, fingers flying across his keyboard. “The photo sent to you wasn’t live.”
Kasha frowned. “Timestamp said ten minutes.”
“Metadata says it was taken three days ago.”
Monica blinked. “So somebody wanted her to think they were outside her house right now?”
“Exactly,” Marcus said.
Kasha’s jaw tightened.
“Can you trace the number?” she asked.
“Already did.”
Silence.
Then Marcus leaned back.
“You’re not being stalked by your ex.”
Kasha felt an unexpected wave of relief.
“Then who?”
Marcus hesitated.
“The number is routed through a corporate proxy server.”
Her stomach dropped.
“Which corporation?”
Another pause.
“TechCore Solutions.”
The same place where Darren stole her ideas. The same place she had just resigned from.
Monica’s mouth fell open. “Oh this is messy.”
Kasha’s mind started connecting dots rapidly.
The day she announced her resignation. The security badge deactivation drama. Darren’s tight smile. The way he said, “Innovare’s loss prevention isn’t as strong as you think.”
She whispered, “He was trying to intimidate me.”
Marcus nodded. “It looks like someone in upper management accessed archived address records from your HR file.”
Monica gasped. “That is illegal illegal.”
Kasha felt something shift again — but this time it wasn’t fear.
It was fire.
The Next Morning
Back home.
Kasha stood in her living room — the same one where the lights flickered weeks ago.
Sunlight streamed through the curtains she installed herself.
Her phone rang.
Darren.
She put it on speaker.
“Hello, Darren.”
“Kasha,” he began, too casually. “I heard you’ve been making… allegations.”
“Not allegations,” she corrected. “Digital footprints.”
Silence.
“You accessed my personal address after I resigned,” she continued calmly. “Then someone used a corporate proxy to send me a threatening message.”
“You can’t prove that,” he snapped.
She smiled.
“Oh, I can.”
Monica was sitting on the couch eating popcorn.
Because of course she was.
“And here’s the fun part,” Kasha added. “Innovare’s legal team already contacted your board this morning.”
Darren’s breathing changed.
“You’re blowing this out of proportion.”
“No,” she said evenly. “You tried to scare me back into shrinking.”
Pause.
“I don’t shrink anymore.”
Click.
He hung up.
Monica jumped up. “OH. MY. GOD. I need this in screenplay form.”
Kasha laughed for the first time in days — deep, free, victorious.
One Week Later
Darren was placed on administrative leave pending investigation.
TechCore Solutions issued a “privacy policy review” statement.
And Kasha?
Kasha started her first day at Innovare Systems.
Her own office. Her name on the door. Her team waiting.
Marcus met her in the hallway.
“You good?” he asked.
She looked around.
Calm. Bright. Earned.
“I’m better than good.”
Later that evening, she pulled into her driveway in her silver Lexus.
Engine off. House steady. No cars watching.
She stepped inside, set her bag down, and looked around her space.
Her house. Her career. Her peace.
Her phone buzzed.
Monica.
“Dinner tonight?” Monica asked. “Celebration edition.”
Kasha smiled.
“Absolutely.”
Before leaving, she paused in the hallway mirror.
Forty-nine. Divorced. Homeowner. Director-level cybersecurity specialist. Unbothered.
She whispered softly to her reflection:
“I can do hard things. I can do new things. And I can do them by myself.”
Then she grabbed her keys.
Outside, the neighborhood was quiet.
And this time?
The only one watching Kasha Hubert…
Was Kasha.
Series Title Reveal:
Curtain Rods & Consequences
Because freedom isn’t just about leaving.
It’s about standing tall when someone tries to make you small.
Simply Reesi 