Laila's pov
The office felt impossibly empty without Adrian or Rafe. My fingers trembled as I stared at the note, the elegant handwriting mocking me with its calm certainty. "Choose wisely."
But choose what? The contract was gone. The man in the video was a stranger. And the storm outside was still raging, as relentless as the questions flooding my mind.
I reached for my phone, fingers fumbling, but the screen stayed stubbornly dark. No signal. No connection. Like the world outside this office had vanished.
"Great," I muttered. Alone. Cut off. Trapped.
Suddenly, a new sound — faint, almost inaudible at first — but unmistakable. The steady rhythm of footsteps. Slow. Deliberate.
I whipped around.
From the shadows stepped a figure, tall, lean. Face hidden beneath a hood.
"Who are you?" I demanded, trying to keep my voice steady, but my heart raced.
The figure stopped, then slowly pulled back the hood.
It was someone I never expected to see again.
"Laila," the voice was soft but edged with something cold — "You should never have come here."
A flash of recognition struck me. My breath caught.
"Why are you here?" I whispered, dread curling in my stomach.
He smiled, but there was no warmth in it.
"Because your choices have consequences. And now... it's my turn to decide your fate."
Before I could react, the door slammed shut behind him, locking with a chilling click.
I was trapped.
And this time, there was no one coming to save me.