Sadie
The next day at the office was eerily quiet. The buzzing energy of the accounting firm had been replaced by a hushed, tense atmosphere. People whispered in small groups, their eyes wide with a mix of shock and morbid fascination. I walked to my cubicle, my stomach in knots. Bill Collins's desk was empty. His nameplate was gone.
I sat down, my hands trembling as I opened my laptop. I knew, with a certainty that chilled me to the bone, that this was my doing. It was a terrifying realisation. Zane hadn't just promised to hurt Bill; he had made it happen, and he had done it in less than twenty-four hours.
My fears were confirmed when I heard two interns whispering in the hallway.
"Did you hear?" one said, her voice barely a breath. "Bill Collins was escorted out yesterday. They're saying there's a federal investigation into his offshore accounts."
"My dad told me his wife filed for divorce this morning," the other intern said, a hint of awe in her voice. "Apparently, his entire life is crumbling. They're saying he's going to be a cautionary tale for the next few years."
I felt a wave of dizziness wash over me. The world tilted on its axis. Zane had said he would ruin him, and he had done exactly that. He hadn't just made him lose his job; he had destroyed his entire life, his career, his family, all with a single phone call. I was a third-year accounting student. My biggest concern was usually a difficult case study. Now, I had a monster on my side, a beautiful, terrifying monster who wielded power like a weapon. A predator, and I was his prey.
My phone vibrated, and I pulled it out, my heart pounding against my ribs. It was an unknown number, but I already knew who it was. My hand shook as I answered.
"Hello, princess," his low voice rumbled in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. "Did you have a better day at the office?"
His question was not a question, but a statement. He knew. He knew what had happened, and he was calling to confirm.
"How…how did you do that?" I whispered, my voice thick with awe.
He let out a low, dark chuckle. "Did you like it?"
I was speechless. A part of me, the part that was a girl who just wanted to be safe, felt a strange, chilling sense of satisfaction. I had told him about a problem, and he had made it disappear. It was a terrifying reality, but it was also a promise of safety.
"Yes," I said, the word coming out as a whisper. "Yes, I did."
"Good," he said, a note of dark triumph in his voice. "I told you, princess. You're mine. And I will protect you from the shadows, even if I'm the one casting them."
He hung up, leaving me standing in the middle of a silent, tense office, my heart pounding in my chest. He had shown me his world, and I had stepped into it. I knew I should be running, but all I could do was smile. I was in his world now.