The night after his meeting with Marcus Sterling, Ethan did not head straight back to his apartment.
His car stopped in the basement of a private office building he rarely used. The building was not registered as the company's main office. No large logos. No receptionists.
Only a private elevator and the top floor, which belonged entirely to him.
Vivian stood beside him as the elevator doors opened.
"Are you serious?" she asked softly.
Ethan stepped out without answering.
The room was dark until the automatic lights turned on one by one. A large desk in the center, monitor screens on the walls, and a hidden steel safe behind a wooden panel.
"I don't like being controlled," he finally said.
Vivian crossed her arms. "Marcus is not just anyone."
"Exactly."
Ethan stared at the blank screens in front of him.
"If he once saved me, that means he knows all my weak points."
"And you're only realizing that now?"
Ethan was not offended. He just smiled faintly.
