Rain fell harder by the time Ava stepped away from the glittering tower. The city no longer looked magical. It looked dangerous.
She wrapped her arms around herself as she walked toward the curb. The memory of Ethan Cross's sharp smile and Damien Blackwood's steady, unsettling gaze replayed in her mind like scenes she hadn't agreed to audition for.
"You don't know me… but I've been waiting for someone like you."
Damien's voice lingered in her ears.
"Stop it," she muttered to herself. "You're overthinking."
A sleek black car rolled to a slow stop beside her.
Ava froze.
The tinted window slid down.
Ethan Cross.
Rain tapped against the polished surface of the vehicle as his eyes studied her, amused.
"You're walking home in this weather?" he asked calmly.
"I can manage," Ava replied, lifting her chin.
His smile deepened. "I'm sure you can. But you shouldn't have to."
She hesitated. Every warning Lina had ever given her rang like an alarm bell.
"I don't get into cars with men I met two hours ago," she said.
Ethan leaned back slightly. "Good. You shouldn't. But I'm not offering you a ride because I'm interested in impressing you."
"Then why?"
He held her gaze steadily.
"Because someone else is."
Her stomach tightened.
Before she could respond, another car pulled up behind Ethan's. This one darker. Less polished. More intimidating.
The back door opened.
Damien stepped out.
He didn't carry an umbrella. The rain soaked his dark hair and coat, but he didn't seem to care. His presence alone shifted the air.
"Ethan," Damien said evenly.
"Damien," Ethan responded just as smoothly.
Ava looked between them.
This wasn't coincidence.
"You two know each other?" she asked quietly.
A shadow of something unreadable passed over Damien's face. "Unfortunately."
Ethan's jaw tightened. "You shouldn't be here."
Damien ignored him and turned his attention fully to Ava.
"You left too quickly."
"I didn't realize I needed permission to leave," she replied.
For a split second, something flickered in Damien's eyes — approval.
"You don't," he said. "But you should know when you're being watched."
Her heart skipped.
"Watched?" she repeated.
Ethan stepped out of his car now, rain immediately dotting his tailored suit.
"That's enough," he said sharply. "Don't involve her."
"Too late," Damien replied calmly.
Ava's pulse began to race. "Involve me in what?"
Neither answered immediately.
The silence was heavy. Calculated.
Finally, Ethan spoke.
"You received that invitation tonight for a reason."
"Yes. Because it was a public event."
"No," Damien cut in softly. "Because someone wanted you in that room."
The rain seemed louder now.
"I don't understand," Ava said, trying to keep her voice steady.
Damien stepped closer, lowering his voice.
"There are two powerful corporate empires in this city," he said. "Mine. And his."
Ethan's expression hardened but he didn't deny it.
"We don't cross paths," Damien continued. "We don't share assets. We don't share allies."
"And we definitely don't share leverage," Ethan added coldly.
Ava blinked.
"I'm not leverage," she said.
Damien's eyes held hers intensely.
"Not yet."
Silence crashed between them.
Ethan exhaled sharply. "You're scaring her."
"I'm telling her the truth."
Ava took a step back. "What truth?"
Ethan hesitated — and that hesitation told her more than words.
Damien didn't hesitate.
"You've been shortlisted for a strategic assistant position," he said. "At one of our firms."
Her brows furrowed. "I didn't apply anywhere."
"You didn't need to."
Her breath caught.
"This isn't normal," she whispered.
"No," Damien agreed. "It isn't."
Ethan ran a hand through his damp hair. "This was supposed to be controlled."
"Controlled?" Ava repeated.
Damien's voice softened slightly. "You were recommended. Highly."
"By who?"
Neither man answered.
Ava's thoughts raced. She lived in a small apartment. Worked freelance design jobs. Kept her life simple. Quiet.
Why would billion-dollar empires be discussing her?
"I'm not interested," she said firmly.
Ethan's gaze sharpened. "You haven't heard the offer."
"I don't need to."
Damien stepped closer again — not threatening, but deliberate.
"You'll have access," he said. "Resources. Opportunities. A life far beyond that apartment you're going back to tonight."
She stiffened.
"How do you know where I live?"
The mistake flickered in Ethan's eyes.
That was answer enough.
"You investigated me?" Her voice trembled now — not from fear, but anger.
"It was protocol," Ethan said.
"I'm not a business merger!"
"No," Damien murmured. "You're a variable."
The word stung.
Rainwater dripped from her hairline as she stared at both of them.
"Let me be very clear," Ava said slowly. "I am not a pawn in whatever rivalry you two have."
Ethan stepped forward urgently. "You're not. That's exactly why—"
"Why what?" she demanded.
He stopped.
Because saying it out loud would make it real.
Damien finished the sentence.
"Because someone inside one of our companies is planning to destroy the other."
The world seemed to tilt.
"And you," Damien continued, eyes darkening, "are somehow connected."
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears.
"That's impossible," she breathed.
Ethan's voice was lower now. Controlled. Dangerous.
"We thought so too."
A black SUV drove past slowly.
All three of them noticed.
Damien's posture changed instantly.
Ethan noticed it too.
"You weren't followed," Ethan said under his breath.
"I wasn't," Damien replied quietly.
The SUV slowed.
Then stopped.
Ava felt it — the shift. The tension snapping tight.
Damien moved closer to her protectively without thinking.
Ethan stepped in front slightly.
The SUV door opened.
A man stepped out.
Suit. Expressionless. Watching.
"Is that part of your 'offer' too?" Ava whispered.
Neither man answered.
Because for the first time that night—
They looked uncertain.
And when two of the most powerful men in the city look uncertain…
That's when you should be afraid.
The stranger began walking toward them.
And Ava realized—
This wasn't about a job.
It wasn't about attraction.
It wasn't about rivalry.
It was something far bigger.
And somehow…
She was already in the middle of it.
The man stopped just feet away.
He looked at Ava.
Not Ethan.
Not Damien.
Her.
Then he said quietly—
"She doesn't know yet?"
Ethan's jaw tightened.
Damien's hand subtly curled into a fist.
The stranger's eyes darkened.
"Then you're already too late."
And before anyone could react—
Ava's phone buzzed in her hand.
Unknown number.
One message.
RUN.