Alexander Wolfe stood in stunned silence long after the elevator doors swallowed her up.
Elena Vales.
No, not his Elena. Not anymore.
This version of her was wildfire wrapped in lipstick and war paint, burning everything she touched including him.
He loosened his tie with a curse, striding toward the minibar in the corner of his office. Pouring two fingers of scotch, he tossed it back without tasting it.
She'd walked in like she owned the room because she did. Her words echoed in his head.
"By the way. Your empire? I'm coming for it."
It shouldn't have affected him. He'd buried whatever remained of his emotions five years ago. But damn it did she still smelled like jasmine and thunder. Still kissed like vengeance and honey.
And she wasn't bluffing.
Blackvale Industries had gone from a whisper to a roar in just four years. Its rise had eaten through Wolfe Enterprises' market shares like acid, forcing his board into panic.
He'd sent lawyers, negotiators, even bribes.
But not once did he think the ghost from his past was behind it all.
He remembered the sonogram she left on the table five years ago. The child.
Their child.
And she had kept it from him.
Meanwhile…
Elena stepped into her car, her fingers still trembling as she closed the door. The moment she was alone, the mask cracked. Just for a second.
Her heart pounded like it was trying to escape her chest.
That kiss.
It wasn't supposed to happen. She came here to destroy him, not fall into the same damn fire. But the way his mouth devoured hers, the way his hands gripped her like he was desperate…
He hadn't changed and yet, he had. Colder. Sharper. More dangerous.
And that made him easier to burn.
She turned to her driver. "Home. And send the press release to the board."
"Yes, ma'am."
She rolled down the window and looked up at the towering glass building of Wolfe Enterprises.
Her past lived in that building.
And it was about to crumble.
Later that evening — Wolfe Penthouse
Alexander poured another drink, but this time, he didn't touch it. He stared at it like it might give him answers.
Then, for the first time in five years, he opened the locked drawer beneath his desk.
Inside: the sonogram.
The only proof that for a fleeting moment, he had been capable of love.
His phone buzzed.
"Incoming report: Blackvale Industries has acquired PrimeTech Media."
His knuckles whitened.
PrimeTech was a key partner Wolfe had been negotiating a deal for months.
Now Elena owned them.
"Son of a bitch," he muttered, grabbing his phone. "Get my legal team. I want to know everything she owns and how she got it."
"Understood, sir."
But he already knew.
She'd used the pain he gave her to build an empire.
And now she was using that empire to destroy him.
He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
For the first time in years…
Alexander Wolfe was scared.
Elena's Penthouse — 2 a.m.
Sleep evaded her.
She sat at the edge of her king-sized bed, staring at the moonlit skyline.
In the next room, soft breathing rose and fell. Her four-year-old son, Elias, lay curled up with his favorite stuffed lion.
The spitting image of his father.
Same dark hair. Same storm-colored eyes.
But with her heart.
She rose quietly and walked to his door, watching him sleep.
"I kept you safe," she whispered. "I left so he couldn't turn you into him."
But now?
Now that man wanted back in.
Morning — Wolfe Enterprises
Alexander strode into the boardroom as murmurs fell to silence. Every shareholder's eyes were on him.
"We're under threat," he said bluntly. "Blackvale has begun a hostile takeover. And its CEO is my ex-wife."
Gasps. Whispers.
"You let her go," one of the older board members said. "And now she's using everything you taught her to destroy us."
"She didn't learn it from me," Alexander growled. "She was always this smart. I just never let myself see it."
"So what's the plan?"
He paused.
Because part of him didn't want to fight her.
But another part—the ruthless CEO—already had one.
"I'm going to seduce her back," he said.
Dead silence.
Then chaos.
"You think this is some kind of rom-com....?"
"She's not the same woman you married!"
"She hates you!"
Alexander only smirked.
"Exactly. That means she still feels something."
He stood.
"And I'm going to use it."
That Night — Charity Gala at the Crystal Orchid
Elena entered the ballroom like a queen come to collect her crown.
In a midnight velvet gown that hugged every curve, her skin glowing like polished moonlight, she turned heads with every step.
She wasn't just here to be seen.
She was here to win.
Her assistant leaned in. "Wolfe just arrived."
She didn't turn. "Good."
Then she felt him before she saw him.
That familiar energy hot, dangerous, undeniable.
Alexander Wolfe.
In a black tux that belonged in a museum. He moved toward her with the calm of a predator that already knew the ending.
"Elena," he murmured, bowing slightly. "You look…"
"Unattainable?" she offered.
He smirked. "I was going to say dangerous."
"Both are true."
Their eyes locked.
For a moment, time bent.
Then, he leaned in close enough to whisper at her ear, "Dance with me."
She should've refused.
Instead, she turned to face him fully and held out her hand.
One song.
One trap.
On the dance floor, their bodies moved in perfect sync. Like they never stopped.
"I see you're charming the board again," she said, voice honeyed poison.
"I see you're stealing my assets," he replied.
She smiled, slow and wicked. "You always did underestimate me."
He pulled her close, their hips brushing. "I never made that mistake again."
"Then why are you trying to seduce me?"
"Because I still want you."
The air between them crackled.
She stopped moving, mid-step, forcing his body against hers.
"And that's your first mistake."
She walked off the floor without another word.
And Alexander knew:
This wasn't going to be a war.
It was going to be a bloodbath.