Pov (Kira)
I didn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Julian Thorne's icy gaze. I saw the way he looked at me—not like a person, but like a piece of art he was about to tear apart.
The next morning, I stood in front of the massive black-glass tower that served as the headquarters for Thorne Industries. I looked like a normal girl in jeans and a faded sweater, but inside, I felt like I was walking to the gallows.
The receptionist didn't even ask for my name. "Mr. Thorne is expecting you, Miss Rossi. Top floor."
The elevator ride was silent and fast. When the doors opened, the entire floor was empty except for Julian. He wasn't behind his desk this time. He was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out over the city he owned.
"You're five minutes early," he said without turning around. "Punctuality is a good trait for a debtor."
"Let's just get this over with," I said, my voice steadier than I felt. "Where is the contract? Where is the proof that Leo is safe?"
Julian turned slowly. He held a black leather folder in his hand. He walked toward me, his expensive shoes clicking against the marble floor. He stopped just inches away, forcing me to tilt my head back to look at him.
He smelled like sandalwood and cold rain. It was a scent that made my heart race for all the wrong reasons.
"In this folder is the Night Clause," Julian said, his voice a low vibration. "Read it carefully.
Once you sign, there is no turning back. If you break a single rule, your brother goes back to the basement. Do you understand?"
I snatched the folder from his hand and opened it. My eyes scanned the lines, my blood turning to ice with every word.
The Rules of The Night Clause:
The term shall be for one hundred consecutive nights.
The Subject shall arrive at the Thorne Residence at exactly midnight and depart at dawn.
Total Darkness: No lights shall be used during the hours of the contract.
Anonymity: We don't address each other by our real-world titles. No personal questions shall be asked.
Absolute Obedience: The Subject shall follow all directives without hesitation.
I looked up at him, horrified. "No lights? No real world titles? What kind of sick game is this, Julian?"
"I told you yesterday," he said, his face a mask of stone. "In the light, people lie. In the dark, we are who we truly are. And as for the names... I don't want to be Julian Thorne for these hundred nights. And you shouldn't want to be the girl who hates me."
"I will always be the girl who hates you," I snapped. "You took everything from my father.
You took our home. You took my future."
Julian's eyes darkened. He stepped closer, invading my personal space until I was backed against the cold glass of the window.
He leaned in, his face inches from mine.
"I didn't take your future, Kira. You gave it up the moment you stopped playing. I'm simply giving you a new one."
"This isn't a future. It's a prison."
"It's a transaction," he corrected.
He reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a small silver blade. My breath hitched. Was he going to kill me?
He didn't. He grabbed my hand. His skin was hot against mine, a startling contrast to his cold demeanor. Before I could pull away, he made a tiny, sharp prick on the tip of my thumb.
"Ow! What are you doing?"
"A contract this important shouldn't be signed in ink," he whispered.
He pressed my bleeding thumb against the signature line of the document. The red stain smeared against the white paper, looking like a fresh wound.
"There," Julian said, his voice dropping to a hypnotic level. "Now you belong to the night. And for the next hundred nights, you belong to me."
I pulled my hand back, cradling my thumb. I felt marked. Branded.
Julian straightened his suit jacket, the predatory businessman returning. "A car will pick you up at 11:45 PM tonight. Wear something comfortable. You'll be doing a lot of sitting."
"Sitting? That's it?"
"We'll see where the night takes us, Little Shadow," he said with a ghost of a smirk.
"Now, leave. I have an empire to run."
I turned and practically ran for the elevator.
My thumb was still stinging, but the real pain was in my chest. I had saved Leo. I had cleared the debt. But as the elevator doors closed, I saw Julian watching me.
He didn't look like a man who had just made a business deal. He looked like a man who had just caught the only thing he ever really wanted to hunt.
I spent the rest of the day in a blur. I told Leo he was safe, that the debt was handled through a "legal settlement" with my old piano connections. He was too relieved to ask questions. He didn't see the bandage on my thumb. He didn't see the hollow look in my eyes.
As midnight approached, the city grew quiet. A black sedan pulled up to the curb of my cramped apartment building. The windows were tinted so dark I couldn't see the driver.
The door opened automatically.
I took a deep breath, thinking of the piano I used to love and the life I used to have. Then, I stepped into the car.
"See you at midnight, Little Shadow," Julian's parting words echoed in my head.
The hunt had officially begun.