The morning after the vault was shown to her, Elena didn't sleep.
Her body had lain still beside Aiden, but her mind roamed endless corridors of uncertainty. Everything he revealed last night—every photo, every file—was not just a record of enemies, but a mirror of who he had become to survive.
She watched him now, in the soft light of morning. He was still asleep, one arm over his eyes, the other draped loosely on the sheets. For the first time, he looked human—unguarded, vulnerable, exhausted.
Aiden Blackwood, the man feared by CEOs, senators, and arms dealers alike, was just a man beneath the armor.
But so was every monster.
The mansion buzzed with a strange kind of energy as Elena descended to the lower halls. There was a tension in the air that hadn't been there before. Guards who used to nod politely now avoided eye contact. Maids whispered as she passed.
She could feel it—someone had noticed the shift.
"You shouldn't be down here alone," a voice said.
It was Rowan, Aiden's head of security. Cold, professional, always watching.
"I'm just walking," Elena said. "I needed to clear my head."
Rowan stepped in front of her. "Don't mistake freedom in this house for safety. You're not invisible anymore."
"I never was," she replied.
He hesitated. "If you need anything, Elena... be careful who you trust."
That chilled her more than any threat.
By midday, Aiden was in his study, barking orders into the phone. He hadn't spoken to her much since the vault. She wondered if he regretted showing her. If a part of him had hoped she'd turn away.
He didn't know she'd already made her choice.
Elena stepped into the room without knocking. He glanced up briefly, then gestured for her to sit while he ended the call.
"Problem?" she asked.
"Always," he muttered. "There's been a leak."
"A leak?"
"Information I had locked down is out. A senator from D.C. just received an anonymous envelope containing photos from my archive. Blackmail from someone with access to the vault—or knowledge of it."
She felt her blood run cold. "You think it was me?"
He looked up, his gaze sharp, searching. "I don't know what to think. I trust you... but trust isn't something I give easily. You've been the only new factor."
Elena stood up slowly. "Then find out the truth before accusing me of betrayal."
"I didn't accuse—"
"You didn't have to."
She left the room without another word.
The walls of the mansion began to close in on her after that. She stayed mostly in her suite, avoiding the staff, avoiding Aiden, avoiding her own reflection.
Until the night someone tried to kill her.
It happened in the conservatory.
She had gone there to breathe—her chest tight from the weight of secrets and accusations. The room was quiet, filled with moonlight and the scent of orchids. A place of calm.
Until a shadow moved.
Elena turned just in time to see the glint of a blade.
She screamed and stumbled back, the knife grazing her arm before she hit the marble floor.
The attacker wore black, face hidden. But he was fast—too fast.
She kicked hard, sending him stumbling into a glass case. The sound of shattering echoed like a gunshot.
"Elena!" Aiden's voice roared behind her.
Gunshots followed.
The attacker bolted through the side door.
Aiden was instantly by her side, grabbing her arm, inspecting the wound.
"Who the hell let someone through the perimeter?" he yelled into his earpiece.
"I'm fine," she whispered, shaking. "I'm okay."
"You're bleeding."
"It's just a scratch."
He stared at her like he didn't believe her. Like he couldn't believe she was still here—still standing.
"Why would someone come after me?" she asked.
"Because someone wants to send me a message," he said. "And you're the loudest message they could send."
She swallowed hard. "Then give them an answer."
His jaw clenched. "I will
The next few days passed in a blur of lockdown, interrogations, tightened security. Elena's wound was treated, but the scar that began to form was deeper than skin.
Aiden had guards follow her now. Not just for safety, but for surveillance.
She hated it.
"You're not a prisoner," he told her one night.
"Then stop treating me like one."
"It's for your protection."
"I didn't sign up for this war."
He stepped closer. "You walked into my life. That's the same thing."
"I walked into your home, Aiden. I never agreed to be your collateral damage."
"And I never planned to care this much."
The silence between them felt like another storm.
He reached for her, but she stepped back.
"I need air," she said.
She left him standing in the hallway, hands clenched.
---
That night, Elena found herself outside again, barefoot on the wet grass, the moon casting silver light over the estate.
She thought she was alone—until she heard it.
A whisper.
"Elena."
She turned.
Rowan stood behind a tree. "I need to talk to you."
"About?"
He stepped closer. "About the leak. About the attack."
"What do you know?"
He hesitated. "More than Aiden thinks. This wasn't just about betrayal. Someone inside wants you gone. You're not just collateral, Elena. You're the threat now."
"What?"
"Your presence is making him... soft. Vulnerable. Some of us have been with him for over a decade. We know what happens when leaders fall in love. They forget how to survive."
"Are you saying this was internal?"
"I'm saying you're not safe with him anymore."
A chill swept through her.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I owe your father a debt."
She froze. "You knew my father?"
Rowan nodded. "He wasn't just a journalist. He was an asset. One of ours. He died trying to protect something... someone."
Her throat tightened. "Me?"
Rowan didn't answer.
Just turned and walked away.
---
Back in her room, Elena sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the scar on her arm.
Everything she thought she knew was crumbling.
Aiden. Her father. The life she'd left behind.
She wasn't just a pawn in this game.
She was the piece no one had expected.
The queen that moved diagonally across the board—unpredictable, dangerous.
That night, she didn't cry.
But she didn't sleep either.
Because now, it wasn't about surviving Aiden Blackwood.
It was about surviving what she was about to become.