Laila's pov
Rafe's footsteps echoed sharply against the marble as he closed the distance between us. His presence was a shield I didn't know I needed — fierce, unyielding. Yet beneath his hard exterior, I sensed the same fear gnawing at him, the same helplessness Adrian wielded like a weapon.
Adrian didn't flinch, though. His dark eyes gleamed with a cold, calculating light. From his pocket, he produced the device — small, sleek, ominous. The remote in his hand felt like a ticking bomb in the room.
"What's that?" Rafe demanded, voice low but tense.
Adrian's lips curved into a thin smile, venomous. "A failsafe. If you don't sign by midnight, this little beauty ensures your brother's fate is decided long before dawn breaks."
My heart slammed against my ribs. The words echoed in my ears, as if the room itself was shrinking around me. The device felt like a noose tightening.
I glanced at Rafe, searching for the defiance I saw moments ago, but his face was pale, lips pressed into a thin line. Even his stubborn resolve couldn't erase the shadow of doubt creeping in.
"Let me make one thing clear," Adrian said, voice dripping with menace. "I'm not here to negotiate. This is a warning. You sign, and your brother walks free. You refuse—well, I'm sure you can guess."
The rain outside intensified, hammering against the windows in relentless waves. The storm was a wild symphony that matched the chaos in my mind.
I swallowed hard, my hand trembling as it hovered over the pen resting on the contract. The weight of the choice was suffocating.
Rafe stepped forward again, placing a firm hand on my shoulder. "Laila, don't. There has to be another way."
I looked up at him, the fierce determination in his eyes a lifeline. "I don't have time. I can't wait."
Adrian's gaze snapped to me, sharp and hungry. "Good. Then sign. Now."
The seconds stretched unbearably, the silence broken only by the storm's fury and the pounding of my own heart.
Just as my fingers closed around the pen—
The lights flickered once.
Twice.
And then, the entire office was swallowed by darkness.
For a heartbeat, everything was still.
Then, a single, chilling voice cut through the black:
"Laila… don't."
---
The room was plunged into silence, but the tension was electric — and the question lingered:
Who had spoken? And what did it mean for the choice I was about to make?
The darkness wrapped around us like a suffocating blanket, thick and absolute. The storm's roar outside seemed to fade, swallowed by the oppressive silence of Adrian Voss's office gone black.
My breath hitched. The pen was still clutched tightly in my fingers, the cold metal suddenly alien in the pitch black.
"Laila…" The voice was barely a whisper, yet it echoed louder than the thunder — familiar, desperate.
Rafe's hand gripped my arm. "Stay close." His voice was strained, eyes searching the darkness for the source.
Adrian's silhouette remained poised near the desk, but now his posture was less confident. "Power outage," he said smoothly, but even his voice wavered just slightly.
The room suddenly felt smaller, more dangerous — every shadow a threat.
A crackle sparked somewhere near the windows, then a sudden, sharp sound — glass shattering.
"Shit!" Rafe cursed and pulled me behind him.
Before I could react, a sharp, chilling click echoed — unmistakably the sound of a gun's safety being disengaged.
"Stay still," Adrian's voice sliced through the dark, low and deadly. "One wrong move and this all ends."
The scent of cedar was gone now, replaced by the sharp tang of fear and something metallic.
I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting to steady my breath, but my mind raced — what had I stepped into? What game was this?
Then, a soft glow lit up on the far side of the room — a small screen flickering to life.
The glow illuminated a face.
Not Adrian's.
Not Rafe's.
A stranger.
"Good evening, Laila," the figure said, voice distorted but unmistakably cold. "Did you really think it would be this easy?"
The screen went black again.
The lights suddenly snapped back on, flooding the room with harsh brightness.
Adrian was gone.
Rafe was gone.
And so was the contract.
I was alone.
Except for a single note left on the desk.
Written in elegant, looping script:
"Choose wisely. Because now, you have no idea who's really controlling the game."