Zane
I sat in my office, staring at the report on my desk. Every detail of Bill Collins's downfall was laid out in crisp, professional fonts. The offshore accounts, the tax evasion, the misappropriation of company funds, all of it. A cautionary tale. I had asked Mark to be discreet, and he had been. The media would have a field day, and the government would do the rest. He would be ruined, his reputation, his family, his career, all of it gone. A small, dark smile played on my lips. It was a beautiful thing, the swift, precise execution of power.
My phone vibrated with an incoming call, and I answered. It was her. My princess. I had just gotten the report from my security team that Bill Collins was gone for good. My heart was a drum against my ribs. I had been waiting for her to call me.
"Hello, princess," I said, my voice low and laced with an edge.
"How…how did you do that?" Her voice was soft, laced with a mix of fear and awe.
I let out a low, dark chuckle. "Did you like it?"
"Yes," she said. The word was a whisper, but it was all I needed to hear. My heart swelled with a feeling I couldn't quite name. It wasn't love, it was something else. A possessive, consuming, dangerous kind of affection. She was mine. And she knew it.
"Good," I said, a note of dark triumph in my voice. "I told you, princess. You're mine. And I will protect you from the shadows, even if I'm the one casting them."
I ended the call, leaving her to her thoughts. She had come to me, to the monster, to the shadows, for protection. And I had given it to her. I had shown her that my threats weren't just words, that my promises weren't empty. She had chosen to step into my shadows, and now she would see what they were capable of. The darkness in my heart was a beast, and it was finally free.
I walked over to the window, staring out at the cityscape, a dark, dangerous smile on my face. My security team would be sending me a new report soon. I knew she was in my city, in my territory, and I was going to keep her safe. A new game had just begun.