The glass walls of Vega Tower had always made Elena uneasy. They were beautiful in the daytime, reflecting the sun, catching the clouds, dazzling the skyline, but at night, they became mirrors. Too many reflections, too many shadows that didn't always belong to her.
Lately, even daylight couldn't chase away the feeling that she was being watched.
She tried to tell herself it was paranoia, a byproduct of living under scrutiny, the tabloids, the whispers, Cassandra's sudden reappearance. But paranoia didn't explain the envelope she'd found slipped beneath her office door that morning.
It was cream-colored, unmarked. Inside, a photo: her mother, sitting in the hospital garden, smiling faintly as she fed the birds. On the back, in neat, slanted handwriting:
"She looks peaceful. Would be a shame if that changed."
Elena's hands had gone cold.
She hadn't told Adrian. Not because she didn't want to, but because she didn't trust what he'd do. His protection always came with a cost, and she wasn't sure she could pay it this time.
Now, hours later, she stood at the top floor of Vega Tower, looking out through the glass. Adrian's reflection approached from behind her, broad shoulders, immaculate suit, power in every measured step.
"You've been quiet," he said.
She turned slightly, forcing calm. "There's a lot to think about."
He watched her closely. "You've been avoiding my calls."
"I was working."
His brow lifted. "Working," he echoed, voice low. "Or hiding?"
Her pulse jumped. "I don't hide from anyone."
He stepped closer, enough that she could feel the heat of him at her back, his reflection towering behind hers. "Good. Because the moment you start hiding, they'll come for you."
Elena froze. The words struck her like static, too specific, too knowing. "What do you mean by they?"
Adrian didn't answer right away. Instead, he reached past her to touch the glass, fingers brushing faint smudges she hadn't noticed before, like someone had pressed their hand there earlier. His jaw tightened.
"Vega Tower has enemies," he said finally. "People who think destroying me starts with you."
Her throat constricted. "You knew?"
"I suspected," he said. "Now I'm certain."
She faced him then, anger burning through the fear. "You should have told me."
He met her gaze, eyes storm-dark. "And what would you have done, Elena? Called the police? Run to the tabloids?"
"I would've been careful!" she snapped. "Instead, you let me walk around blind!"
He stepped closer, until there was barely an inch between them. "I let you live without fear for a few more days. Don't mistake that for negligence."
Something flickered in his expression, protectiveness, guilt, maybe even tenderness, but it vanished as quickly as it came.
"You're not a pawn in this," he said. "You're the target. Which means I have to control every move we make from now on."
Her chest tightened. "Control," she repeated bitterly. "That's always your answer."
"Elena…"
"No," she said, voice trembling. "You don't get to cage me and call it safety."
He exhaled sharply, turning away. "If I don't, you'll get hurt. You think I'd survive that?"
The rawness in his tone startled her. He never said things like that, not aloud.
Before she could speak, his phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen, and all warmth drained from his face. "Stay here," he ordered.
"Adrian…"
"Stay. Here." He said sternly.
He strode out, voice already clipped and cold as he spoke into the phone. She caught only fragments: "breach," "security feed," "someone inside."
Her heart pounded.
When the elevator doors closed behind him, silence swallowed the room. She stared out again at the skyline, bright, glittering, and full of lies. Then she noticed something new: a faint red dot blinking on the far corner of the window.
A laser.
Her breath caught. She stepped closer, squinting, and saw a small black device suctioned against the outside glass.
Not a reflection. A camera.
She stumbled back, dread clawing up her spine. Whoever was behind this wasn't watching from afar. They were inside Vega Tower.
And as the city lights flickered below, Elena realized what Adrian had meant all along—
the danger wasn't waiting outside.
It was already here, breathing through the walls of their empire of glass.
The security alarms blare. Adrian's voice cuts through her phone speaker… "Elena, get out of my office. Now."