The hum of the car engine was steady, almost soothing, but Elena couldn't relax. She sat pressed against the window, her forehead cool against the glass, eyes on the blur of neon lights and darkened shops rushing past.
She should have felt relief, she was going home, back to her small, familiar apartment where the walls didn't smell like money and power. But Alexander's words lingered, echoing through her chest like a second heartbeat.
Her hands curled into fists on her lap. Why did everything with him sound like a warning? Why did he have to say things that burrowed into her head and refused to leave?
"Miss Hayes?"
Elena blinked, turning toward the front. Daniel, the driver, had spoken for the first time since they left the penthouse.
"Yes?" she asked, her voice cautious.
"Mr. King asked me to remind you to call if anything feels… out of place," Daniel said carefully, his eyes never leaving the road. "He doesn't like leaving things to chance."
Elena gave a soft, humorless laugh. "That doesn't surprise me."
Daniel didn't answer, and she was grateful. She didn't want to talk about Alexander. She didn't want to think about him or the way her stomach tightened every time his eyes lingered on hers.
Her phone buzzed in her bag, startling her. She pulled it out, heart lifting when she saw the name flashing on the screen. It was Sophie.
Elena swiped to answer, pressing the phone to her ear. "Sophie! I was just thinking about you."
"Elena—" Sophie's voice was tight, rushed, nothing like the playful best friend who usually teased her for working too much. "Where are you? Are you okay?"
Elena frowned. "I'm fine. I'm on my way home. Why? What's wrong?"
There was a pause, the faint sound of shuffling on Sophie's end, like she was pacing. Then Sophie whispered, "I think someone's been watching me."
Elena sat up straighter. "What? Sophie, what do you mean?"
"I mean—" Sophie's breath hitched. "There's this woman. She came to my apartment this afternoon, asked about you. She knew your name, your shifts, even the street we live on. I didn't tell her anything, Elena, I swear, but she wasn't asking, she was… threatening."
A chill ran down Elena's spine. She didn't need Sophie to describe the woman. She already knew it was Vivian.
Her fingers tightened around the phone until her knuckles ached.
"What did she say to you?" Elena forced her voice to stay calm, though her heart hammered in her chest.
Sophie hesitated. "She said… if I cared about you, I'd tell her where you've been spending your time. She said she knows you're hiding somewhere Elena, who is she?"
Elena's throat closed. She glanced at Daniel, but his attention was fixed on the road, unreadable. She lowered her voice. "Listen to me, Sophie. Whatever she said, don't believe her. Don't talk to her again. Do you hear me?"
"Elena—"
"I mean it, Sophie!" Her voice cracked with urgency. "I'll handle it."
But even as the words left her mouth, doubt gnawed at her. Handle it? How? She was already in over her head. She wasn't a fighter. She wasn't like Alexander, standing tall with his unshakable calm. She was just Elena, the girl who worked double shifts and barely kept her bills paid.
And now her best friend was in the crosshairs because of her.
"Elena, please," Sophie whispered, her voice breaking. "Tell me what's going on. I'm scared."
Elena squeezed her eyes shut, torn between the truth and the lie. If she told Sophie everything, she'd drag her deeper into this mess. But if she kept quiet, Sophie would be blind to the danger circling around her.
The choice suffocated her.
"Just trust me," Elena whispered finally. "Go home. Lock your doors. And don't talk to anyone you don't know. Promise me."
There was silence on the line, then a shaky, "I promise."
The call ended, but Elena's pulse didn't slow. Her reflection in the car window looked like a stranger, fear etched into every line of her face.
Vivian had found Sophie somehow.
The car rolled to a stop in front of Elena's apartment building, a modest three-story structure. Elena didn't move at first. Her hand hovered on the door handle, her chest rising and falling too fast. She had lived here for years, she knew every crack in the sidewalk, every loose hinge on the stairwell door. But tonight, the building looked foreign, shadowed, almost threatening.
"Miss Hayes?" Daniel's voice broke the silence.
Elena glanced at him. His expression was unreadable, but his gaze was sharp and steady.
"Do you want me to come up with you?" he asked simply.
"No," Elena said quickly, then softened. "Thank you, but no. I'll be fine."
Daniel studied her for a beat, then nodded. "If you need anything, call this number." He handed her a sleek business card with nothing but a phone number embossed in silver. No name, no title. Just numbers.
Elena tucked it into her bag with shaky fingers and stepped out of the car. The night air was cool, heavy with the scent of rain on the pavement. She hurried up the steps and unlocked the front door, the creak of the hinges echoing in the empty stairwell.
By the time she reached her apartment on the second floor, her nerves were stretched thin. She slid her key into the lock and froze.
The door wasn't fully shut.
Her stomach dropped. She always locked it. Always.
Heart pounding, she pushed it open slowly.
"Elena?"
Relief flooded her knees so fast they almost gave out. Sophie stood in the living room, arms wrapped around herself, eyes wide and rimmed with red like she'd been crying.
"Sophie!" Elena rushed inside, shutting the door behind her. "You scared me half to death. What are you doing here?"
Sophie gave a weak laugh that didn't reach her eyes. "I didn't want to be alone. After that call earlier, I just… I couldn't sit in my apartment by myself. So I came here. I used the spare key."
Elena's chest ached. She pulled Sophie into a hug, holding her tightly. "You should have called me first. You nearly gave me a heart attack."
Sophie clung to her, then pulled back, her expression troubled. "Elena, that woman… she's not normal. She called me again. Three times. She said she knows you're with someone powerful, someone who's hiding you. She—" Sophie's voice cracked. "She said if I didn't tell her more, she'd make sure I regret it."
Elena's skin went cold. It had to be Vivian.
She guided Sophie to the couch, forcing her legs to stop shaking. "Listen to me. Whoever she is, don't pick up the phone again. Block her number. Don't let her scare you."
Sophie shook her head. "It's not that easy, Elena. She… she knew things. Personal things. Stuff I never put online, never told anyone but you."
Elena's throat tightened. Vivian wasn't just prying, she was digging deep, using resources Elena couldn't even imagine.
And if Vivian had Sophie under her thumb, then Elena wasn't just in danger. She was a liability.
A knock sounded at the door, sharp and controlled.
Both women froze.
Sophie's grip on Elena's hand tightened. "Don't answer it. What if it's her?" she whispered.
Elena's heart raced. No one knocked on her door this late. Not unless—
"Elena."
Her breath caught at the sound of his voice. Low, calm and unmistakable.
It was Alexander
Sophie blinked, confused. "Who… who is that?"
Elena rose slowly, every step toward the door heavy with dread. She opened it, and there he was towering in the dim hallway light, his suit jacket gone, sleeves rolled to his elbows, a storm brewing in his gray eyes.
"You shouldn't be here," Elena hissed, stepping into the hall to block his view inside.
"And yet here I am," Alexander replied smoothly, his gaze flicking past her to the faint outline of Sophie on the couch. "I told you distance wouldn't keep you safe. You didn't believe me."
Elena's pulse jumped. "Don't drag Sophie into this. She has nothing to do with you."
"On the contrary," Alexander said softly, leaning in just enough that his words brushed against her skin like smoke. "Your friend has already been dragged in. Elena stiffened.
The faintest curve tugged at his mouth. Not amusement. Grim confirmation. "She's using your friend to get to you. To get to me."
Behind her, Sophie shifted uneasily, her voice trembling. "Elena, is that him? What is going on?"
Elena's chest squeezed. She couldn't answer. Not with Alexander's eyes pinning her in place, not with the truth burning on her tongue.
Alexander's gaze softened just a fraction as he looked at her. "Let me in, Elena. We can't have this conversation in the hallway."
Elena hesitated, torn between instinct and reason. Letting him in would blur the lines even further. But keeping him out wouldn't stop the storm that was already breaking through her walls.
She stepped aside.
Alexander entered with quiet authority, his presence filling the small apartment like he belonged there, though everything about him screamed he didn't. His eyes swept the room, landing briefly on Sophie, who shrank back under his assessing stare.
Then his focus returned to Elena. "We need to talk."
Elena folded her arms, trying to summon courage she didn't feel. "Then talk."
For a moment, the room was silent but for the hum of the old refrigerator. Then Alexander spoke, his words sharp as a blade.
"Vivian Dawson is not just an ex. She's dangerous. And now, because she can't touch me directly, she's coming for you. Through your friend."
Sophie gasped softly, her hand flying to her mouth. Elena's knees weakened, but she held her ground.
"Why me?" she demanded. "Why not anyone else? Why does she care about me?"
Alexander's eyes darkened. His answer came without hesitation.
"Because you're mine. I choose you."
The words hung in the air, heavy and undeniable.
Elena's heart stuttered, her breath catching on the edge of disbelief. Sophie's gaze darted between them, shock plain on her face. "Elena…"
Elena couldn't answer. She wasn't sure she knew herself anymore.
All she knew was that her world had just tilted off its axis.