Hours had passed and Emily was still trapped in Tony's office.
She sat in Tony's oversized leather chair, her body feeling small and brittle against the expensive hide. The adrenaline that had fueled her frantic search had evaporated, leaving behind a cold residue of defeat.
She stared at the digital clock on the desk. Every click of the second hand felt like a shovelful of dirt on her own grave. She had looked for an escape; checked the windows, only to find reinforced glass that wouldn't shatter for anything less than a grenade. She had scavenged the desk drawers, finding nothing but gold pens and a loaded snub-nosed revolver. She had stared at the gun for a long time, her heart banging, before slamming the drawer shut. She wasn't a killer. Not yet.
She had surrendered.
The ding of the elevator didn't trigger her and when the tap-tap sound of footsteps finally approached, climbing the stairs with a heavy, purposeful cadence, she didn't bother to hide. She simply sat there, eyes fixed on the door, waiting for the bolt to turn and for Tony's hand to wrap around her throat.
But the footsteps didn't stop at the door. They moved past, heading toward the master suite.
"Emily? Emily!"
The voice was muffled, but it hit her like a lightning strike. It wasn't Tony's calculated baritone. It was Alex.
Emily scrambled out of the chair, her legs nearly giving way as she rushed to the door. She banged her fist against the wood. "Alex! I'm here! Alex!"
A sharp silence followed, then the sound of the handle being rattled violently. "Emily? Why the hell are you locked in his office?"
"It's a long story. But you need to get me out before he comes back."
"Hold on," Alex commanded, his voice tight with a mixture of fury and panic. "There is a spare key in the library."
Seconds felt like hours. Emily pressed her forehead against the cool wood, her breath seizing. Then came the frantic scrape of metal against metal, and the heavy clack-clack of the double-bolt retracting.
The door swung open.
Alex stood there, his hair disheveled, his coat still on, looking as if he had run all the way from the Texas tarmac. The moment their eyes met, the world outside the office ceased to exist. Emily didn't think; she simply lunged, her arms wrapping around his neck with desperate, bruising force.
Alex caught her, his hands gripping her waist as he pulled her flush against him. For a heartbeat, the fear of the sanitarium and the impending wedding were drowned out by the heat of his skin. He leaned down, his mouth finding hers in a kiss that tasted of desperation, and a hunger that terrified them both.
"I saw the guards at the door," Alex whispered against her lips, his forehead resting against hers. "Is he now keeping you prisoner?"
Emily nodded. "I'm not allowed to go anywhere and even if I were to, they follow me, watching like a hawk. He has my phone and devices too."
Emily slipped into the hall, and Alex clicked the door shut, turning the key until the bolts slid back into their housing. To any passerby, the room looked exactly as Tony had left it.
As they moved toward the shadows of the hallway, Alex gripped Emily's arm. "There's something I came to tell you. I'm not even supposed to be here-"
"I know," Emily's voice was a soft whisper. "Your wedding is this weekend."
Alex is taken aback. "How-"
"I overheard Tony's discussion with your father."
A wave of confusion settled on Alex's face.
"I was able to speak with Lawrence again. She said to meet up at the latest this weekend. Meanwhile, Tony is planning to send me to a place called Blackwood Sanitarium by Monday."
Alex's blood turned to ice. "A sanitarium? No. He can't."
"He already signed the transfer." Emily "The only way out is-"
"To get to Lawrence before Monday," Alex completed it.
They share a look. Then it hits Alex, "My wedding!"
Ding.
The sound was the elevator opening.
"Go," Alex hissed, shoving her toward the master suite. "Act like you've been asleep. I'll handle him."
Emily vanished into the bedroom just as the heavy thud of Tony's boots hit the marble foyer below. Alex didn't hide. He smoothed his jacket, took a steadying breath, and descended the grand staircase.
He met Tony halfway up.
Tony stopped, his hand resting on the banister. He looked Alex up and down, his expression unreadable, though his eyes were as sharp. "Alex. What a surprise. I was told you were being settled into your new apartment."
Alex leaned against the railing, forcing a nonchalant shrug. "I guess they report every movement of mine to you now and my father."
Tony's lips didn't move, but the air around him seemed to chill. "Come on lad, you know we only want the best for you."
"I know and that's why I came to apologize," Alex said, the lie tasting like ash. "My father and I had a talk. I realize now that I've been... difficult. I've let my emotions regarding the Lawson girl cloud my judgment. I'm ready to take the company seriously. I'll marry Victoria. And play my part as a member of this family."
Tony didn't move for a moment. He simply stood there like an apex predator watching a cub try to roar.
Then he let out a sigh, "Finally! Good to see you are coming to your senses."
He stepped closer, patting Alex's shoulder; "Now, go home. You have three days to plan your wedding."
Alex nodded and walked out without looking back. He had played the part. He had bought them time.
***
Tony stood at the top of the stairs, a statue carved from ice, until the echo of the front door's click signaled Alex's departure. He didn't go to the master suite to confront Emily. He didn't reach for a drink to dull the edge of the moment.
Instead, he walked straight back to his office.
The heavy double-bolt gave way under his key with a satisfying, metallic thud. He sat at his mahogany desk, ignoring the Project Titan blueprints and the Blackwood papers. His focus was singular. He pressed the power button on his computer, the hum of the machine the only sound in the suffocating silence.
With a few precise clicks of the mouse, he navigated into the depths of the penthouse's hidden CCTV network.
He tracked Alex's path, watching the footage of his nephew move from the foyer, up the grand staircase, and through the hallway until he came to a dead stop at the office door.
Tony switched the feed. This time, he pulled the footage from the high-definition lens concealed behind the glass of the grandfather clock. He wound the timestamp back ten minutes and hit play.
The screen flickered, revealing the truth. Tony watched in a silence so profound it felt lethal as Alex and Emily emerged from the room. He didn't flinch at the way they clung to each other, nor did he blink at the desperate, forbidden heat of the kiss they shared right outside his door. He watched Alex's thumb brush her cheek with a tenderness Tony had never allowed, and he saw the way Emily's lips moved against Alex's ear.
He watched the entire exchange twice.
He didn't look angry. In fact, a slow, terrifyingly calm smile spread across his face. He leaned back in his chair, the blue light of the monitor reflecting in his dark eyes like a predator watching prey walk into a trap.
With a slow, deliberate movement, Tony reached for the sleek black handset on his desk. He dialed a number that wasn't saved in any directory.
"Blackwood?" he said, his voice a low, terrifying hum.
He paused, his eyes fixed on the frozen image of Emily's face on the screen. A cold, sly smile twitched at the corner of his mouth.
"Change of plans." He tapped a rhythmic beat against the mahogany desk. "Move the Blackwood transport to Saturday night. 7pm. Right after our event. Will send the location once it's settled."
He hung up the phone without waiting for a reply and looked back at the frozen image of the kiss on the screen.
"Oh Alex, what have you gotten yourself into?" Tony whispered.