The next morning, Lena walked into the Arcadia offices armed with coffee and exhaustion. She had barely slept, Nathaniel's words still circling her brain like a storm she couldn't shake.
Survival, Leverage,Terms.
Her boss, pale and anxious, rushed past her. The entire floor buzzed with whispers. Something was wrong.
"Lena!" a coworker hissed. "You haven't seen the news?"
Before she could answer, the office screens flickered to a live business feed. A sharp-faced anchor announced:
"Cross Enterprises has filed an injunction against Arcadia's latest expansion claiming breach of exclusivity clauses. Arcadia stock dropped eight percent overnight."
Gasps rippled across the office. Lena's stomach plunged. This was Nathaniel's doing. It had to be.
Her phone buzzed, unknown number.
She stepped into a quiet corner, answering sharply. "What did you do?"
Nathaniel's voice was smooth, calm. "Good morning to you too."
"You sabotaged us."
"Not sabotage. Positioning, i warned you everything changes today."
"You're destroying Arcadia."
"No, Lena." His tone hardened. "I'm testing you. How badly do you want to survive?"
Her throat tightened, but before she could respond, another voice cut in silky and venomous.
"Is this a bad time, sweetheart?"
Lena froze. Isabella Rhodes had appeared in the office doorway, designer bag on her arm, eyes glinting with cruel amusement.
"How did you even"
"Connections, darling." Isabella stepped closer, smiling like a cat with a trapped mouse. "Nathaniel's little assistant told me where to find you."
Lena's fists clenched. "What do you want?"
"Simple. Stay out of his way. You think you're special, but trust me women like you? He burns through them."
Lena bit back the sharp retort on her tongue. Isabella leaned in, voice low enough for only her to hear.
"Arcadia will fall. And when it does, Nathaniel won't be at your side. He'll be at mine."
She straightened, lips curling in satisfaction, and swept out of the office like she owned it.
Lena's phone was still pressed to her ear. Nathaniel hadn't hung up.
"You let her do that," Lena whispered.
"I didn't send her," Nathaniel said evenly. "But if you can't handle Isabella Rhodes, you'll never last in my world."
Her pulse raced. "Maybe I don't want to be in your world."
"Liar," Nathaniel said softly, then ended the call.
By noon, the office was chaos. Arcadia's lawyers were scrambling, investors calling nonstop. Lena buried herself in files, trying to find any loophole that could prove Cross Enterprises wrong.
At 3 p.m., a message arrived on her desk. No signature, just a location:
Penthouse, Cross Tower. Tonight. 9 p.m.
Her stomach knotted. A summons. No explanation.
She told herself not to go. That it was reckless, stupid, maybe even dangerous.
But when the clock struck nine, Lena found herself standing in front of the towering glass building, city lights blazing behind it.
The elevator carried her up, each floor a reminder she was heading deeper into Nathaniel's domain.
The doors opened to a sleek penthouse office floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city. Nathaniel stood at the glass, back to her, phone in hand.
"yes, double it. I want every share Arcadia has left on the market. No survivors."
Lena's breath caught. He turned, expression unreadable.
"You came."
"You're buying us out?" she demanded.
"Correct. Arcadia is bleeding. I'm simply finishing the cut."
Her voice shook with fury. "You think this is a game?"
Nathaniel stepped closer, eyes locked on hers. "Everything is a game. The only question is whether you're playing or being played."
Before she could fire back, the elevator chimed again.
Isabella Rhodes swept in, champagne glass in hand, eyes glittering with triumph.
"Perfect timing," she purred. "Now the three of us can talk business."
Lena stiffened. "What is this?"
Nathaniel didn't answer. He just smiled, dark and dangerous, as the city glowed behind him.
And in that silence, Lena realized she was standing in the middle of a trap.