The footsteps echoed like a heartbeat—slow, deliberate, unstoppable.
Ethan's eyes narrowed. His body tensed as he positioned himself between Aria, Sophia, and the long hallway leading to the main entrance.
"Another one?" Aria whispered, clutching her hands together. Fear and frustration mixed in her chest. She hated that her heart raced—not just from danger, but because Ethan's presence made it impossible to breathe normally.
Sophia, standing slightly closer to Ethan than she should have been, barely breathed. Her pulse hammered in her ears. She had never felt so drawn to anyone—so alive—and terrified at the same time.
Ethan didn't speak. He didn't need to. Every movement was silent, calculated, predatory.
The intruder appeared—a tall man in black tactical gear, face masked. He moved with lethal precision, knife in hand.
Ethan reacted instantly.
He stepped forward, shadowing the attacker.
The man lunged.
Ethan sidestepped, caught the wrist, twisted, and sent him crashing into the wall.
Sophia gasped, clutching Aria's arm. "He's… unstoppable!"
Aria's chest tightened. She wanted to tell her friend to stop staring, to stop being mesmerized—but she couldn't. Even she couldn't take her eyes off him.
The intruder recovered quickly and charged again. Ethan didn't hesitate:
He grabbed the attacker mid-lunge.
Flipped him over his shoulder with controlled strength.
Snatched the knife out of the man's hand and threw it across the hallway.
Sophia's hands trembled as she whispered, "I… I think I could watch him all day…"
Aria's stomach twisted. Jealousy. Irritation. Fear. Desire. Everything tangled together.
Then the man pushed a small remote device. A piercing alarm echoed, and a panel on the wall slid open—revealing another attacker, this one larger, armed with a gun.
Ethan's jaw tightened. "Back," he commanded, gesturing to the girls. "Stay behind me."
Aria did, but she noticed Sophia inch closer, almost as if her body was magnetically pulled toward him.
Ethan's eyes flicked to Sophia. Just a glance—no words—but something in his gaze made her heart skip even faster.
The gunman fired.
Ethan grabbed Aria and Sophia, pulling them behind a heavy console.
The bullet smashed into the floor just inches from their feet.
"Stay down!" Ethan barked.
The girls stayed pressed against him. Their bodies were almost touching his back. Almost.
Aria's mind spun. She couldn't deny it any longer—her body reacted to him, to his presence, to the danger he radiated.
Sophia, on the other hand, whispered breathlessly, "I… I think I could fall for him right now."
Aria's green eyes snapped to her friend. "Sophia!"
Sophia only blushed but didn't look away.
The gunman advanced. Ethan moved like a shadow:
He disarmed the man in a fluid motion.
Twisted his wrist.
Sent him sprawling onto the floor.
But even as the immediate threat fell, another figure emerged from the darkness—a silhouette tall, muscular, with movement too precise to be human.
Ethan's eyes narrowed. This was no ordinary attacker.
"Get back!" Ethan barked. "Now!"
Aria and Sophia huddled behind him, hearts pounding.
The new intruder didn't speak. Didn't hesitate. Just moved. Like a shadow with a weapon glinting in the dim light.
Ethan stepped forward to confront him. Every step radiated deadly confidence.
But something in his posture—something in the way he looked at Aria—made her chest seize.
The intruder lunged.
Ethan intercepted him.
Steel clashed. Sparks flew.
The girls gasped.
Sophia whispered, almost to herself: "He's… mine. I need him to survive."
Aria's jaw clenched. "I… I can't let her have him," she thought. Without realizing, her heart was screaming it, too.
Then—just as Ethan gained the upper hand—the intruder vanished into the shadows, leaving only a faint echo of footsteps and a terrifying message scrawled on the wall in red paint:
"She dies tonight."
Ethan froze. His dark eyes flashed with steel.
The mansion had become a trap.
And the real game had only just begun.