Kai immediately changed the topic. "Continue."
Ryan hesitated but resumed. "As I was saying, everything is under control. No witness statements, no—"
Thud. Thud. Thud. Voice of Footsteps fast ones. Ryan stopped mid-sentence. He slowly looked up toward the stairs. "I definitely heard."
Kai's jaw tightened. "You're imagining things."
Ryan stood up. "Is there someone in your house?"
Kai didn't answer. Ryan's eyes widened. "Should I call the police? What if someone trespassed? I mean—this is your house." He reached for his phone. Just then—
"Why isn't the water coming?!" A woman's voice echoed from upstairs. Ryan froze, and Kai closed his eyes.
Alina came into view, descending the stairs briskly, wrapped in a bathrobe, hair slightly damp, irritation written all over her face.
"I didn't know you had a water issue," she complained aloud, tugging the robe tighter as she walked. "I can't even open the tap properly—"
She reached the bottom step. Then she saw Ryan, and Ryan saw her. Time stopped. Their eyes locked. For one horrifying second, neither of them moved. Then—
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Alina screamed.
Ryan jumped back. "WHAT THE—"
Alina spun around and ran back upstairs at full speed, clutching her bathrobe like her life depended on it. Her footsteps disappeared. Silence. Absolute, deafening silence. Ryan stood there, stunned, mouth slightly open, phone forgotten in his hand. He slowly turned to Kai.
"…What...." Ryan said carefully, "...was that?"
Kai straightened his cuffs. "Nothing."
Ryan stared at him. "Nothing?"
Ryan opened his mouth, closed it, then sighed. "I'm going to pretend that didn't just happen," he said.
Kai led Ryan outside without another word. The space opened into a wide, architectural driveway—sleek concrete, polished stone, and warm recessed lighting embedded into the ceiling above. The structure loomed modern and sharp, layers of dark metal and glass stacked like silent power.
Black luxury cars stood parked beneath the canopy. Low. Glossy. Predatory. Their bodies reflected the golden lights overhead, edges so precise they looked sculpted rather than manufactured. The air smelled faintly of leather, engine heat, and expensive restraint.
Kai stopped beside the nearest car. "It's not like what you think," he said flatly.
Ryan crossed his arms, looking around once, then back at Kai. "I definitely know something is going on between you two."
Kai's jaw tightened. "Shut up, Ryan." His voice wasn't loud, but it was dangerous.
Before Ryan could react, Kai shoved him back. Ryan's spine hit the car door with a solid thud. The metal vibrated under the impact. Ryan sucked in a sharp breath. "What the—"
"What is it," Ryan demanded, straightening himself, eyes narrowed, "that you're hiding?"
Kai stepped closer. Too close. He leaned in, one hand braced against the car beside Ryan's shoulder, caging him in without touching him. For a moment, Kai said nothing. Then—
"It all started last night...''
The room was too quiet. Not the peaceful kind where every breath felt loud, every second stretched thin, as if the walls themselves were listening. Kai stood near the table, shoulders squared, eyes sharp, still calculating. Still believing there was a way out of this. There always was.
Alina sat across from him, one leg crossed over the other, posture relaxed—almost careless. As if the man standing in front of her wasn't Kai Arden. As if she hadn't just turned his world sideways.
"You're enjoying this," Kai said coldly.
"I warned you," she said softly while smiling. "You never listen."
Kai's jaw tightened. "Vale is still unconscious."
"I know."
"You said you had the cure."
"I do."
"Then stop playing games," he snapped, "and give it to me." he paused for a second and continued "If anything happens to him—"
"It won't," Alina said. "Because I wouldn't let it." She paused, then added softly, "But you don't know that for sure, do you?"
That was when it hit him that Vale was supposed to be in the main hall among the people seen. Alive. Laughing. And instead, he was here unconscious. In the same room with Kai Arden. Alina stood, and she walked to the table and slid a folder toward him. Kai didn't touch it.
"What is this?" he asked.
"A solution," she said. His eyes lifted slowly to her face as she leaned down, palms resting lightly on the table, bringing her face level with his.
Kai opened the folder, but his expression didn't change. But something in his eyes did. He flipped the page. Then another. Then stopped. Kai looked up at her.
"You planned this," he said.
She met his gaze without blinking. "From the moment that phone arrived."
"You let me believe I was pulling you in," he said.
"I let you believe you were in control," she corrected.
"You knew I wouldn't risk Vale," Kai said.
"I counted on it."
"You knew I'd have to sign."
"Yes."
Kai closed the folder. For the first time that night, there was no move left to calculate.
"You blackmailed me," he said quietly.
Alina didn't deny it. "I gave you a choice," she said. "Sign—or wait and see what happens to Vale while the world watches."
His pen lay on the table. Untouched. "Once he wakes up," Kai said, voice low, "this ends."
Alina straightened. "Once he wakes up," she said, "You know what I'm going to do." And that was worse. Because Kai Arden didn't lose. He was simply outplayed.
***
She told me if I signed the papers," Kai said, "she'd give the cure."
Ryan stared at him. "You're saying you agreed?"
Kai didn't answer immediately. He straightened, stepping back from Ryan, running a hand through his hair once, slow, frustrated. "I didn't have a choice."
Ryan laughed once, sharp and unbelieving. "You? Helpless?"
Kai turned back, eyes cold. "If Vale hadn't woken up in time," Kai said, each word measured, "everything would've fallen on me."
Ryan's face changed the humour vanished. "You would've been held liable," Ryan said slowly.
"Yes." Silence stretched.
Ryan shook his head. "No way....Kai Arden doesn't get cornered like that."
Kai exhaled, long and controlled. "She planned it."
Ryan's voice dropped. "And you let her blackmail you?"
Kai said nothing because that was the answer. Ryan stared at him like he was seeing a stranger. "You let someone put you in that position."
Kai's fingers curled slowly into a fist at his side. "She outplayed me," he said quietly.
Ryan swallowed. "That's not like you."
Kai didn't deny him; he just looked at the house on the upper floor. The driveway lights hummed softly overhead, reflecting off the cars—machines built for speed, control, dominance. And yet, for the first time, Kai Arden stood there having lost control not to an enemy—but to a woman who knew exactly when he'd break.
The driveway lights burned low and steady, casting long reflections across the polished black cars. Kai didn't speak; instead, he reached into the inner pocket of his coat and pulled out a folder—thin, matte black.
He handed it to Ryan he took it casually at first. Still half-annoyed. Half-curious. "What is this?" he muttered, flipping it open. Then, His posture changed.