The photograph sat between them on Lyra's coffee table like a third presence.
Neither of them touched it.
Outside, the city hummed with its usual indifference, traffic lights blinking, distant sirens passing like background noise to a world that had no idea a private war was tightening its grip.
Lyra crossed her arms. "Start talking."
Aurelian didn't sit. He remained standing, gaze fixed on the image.
"That picture wasn't taken by paparazzi," he said. "Too clean. Too patient. Too far."
"Then who takes pictures like that?"
"People who don't care about gossip," he replied. "Only leverage."
Lyra felt a chill crawl up her spine. "Leverage for what?"
"For later."
The word hung in the air like something unfinished.
"You're saying this started before we even met?"
"Yes."
Her laugh was hollow. "That's insane."
Aurelian didn't argue.
Because it wasn't.
---
Lyra walked to the window, pulling the curtain aside just enough to look down.
Every parked car felt suspicious now.
Every shadow deliberate.
"I don't like this," she said quietly.
"You're not supposed to," Aurelian replied.
She turned. "You live like this?"
"Yes."
"And you thought it was normal to drag me into it?"
"I didn't know it would reach you," he said.
"That's not the same as saying you didn't bring me close to it."
He had no answer for that.
---
Aurelian's phone buzzed.
A message from his security head.
Number traced. Disposable device. Signal last pinged near the East Financial District.
He typed a reply without looking away from Lyra.
Send me the location history.
Lyra watched him. "You're still calm."
"I'm not," he said. "I'm focused."
"On what?"
"Finding who decided you were part of this."
She studied him for a long moment. "You sound angry."
"I am."
"Because of me?"
"Because someone thinks they can use you to get to me."
That answer did something to her chest she didn't want to examine.
---
Later that night, Lyra couldn't stop replaying the note.
This was never chance.
Her mind went back to the summit.
The way she had felt watched but dismissed it as nerves. The way Aurelian had approached her with unsettling precision. The way everything since then had felt too tightly woven to be coincidence.
A memory surfaced.
A man in a gray suit standing near the exhibition hall exit. Not speaking to anyone. Just observing.
She had forgotten him.
Until now.
Her breath caught.
She grabbed her phone and began scrolling through old event photos online.
There.
Blurry. Background. Unimportant.
The same man.
Watching.
---
Aurelian was still in her apartment when she found it.
She showed him the screen without a word.
He leaned closer.
His expression shifted immediately.
"I know him," Aurelian said.
Lyra's heart pounded. "Who is he?"
"Not Loxley."
"Then who?"
Aurelian's jaw tightened. "He used to work for me."
The room went very quiet.
"What?" Lyra whispered.
"He handled risk assessment. Surveillance. Competitive intelligence."
"You fired him?"
"No," Aurelian said slowly. "He resigned."
Lyra stared at the photo. "Why do I feel like that's worse?"
Because it was.
---
Aurelian's mind moved quickly now, connecting pieces he hadn't seen before.
The timing of the leaks. The precision. The psychological angle.
This wasn't corporate sabotage.
This was personal.
Calculated.
Patient.
"He knows how I think," Aurelian muttered.
Lyra's voice was barely audible. "And now he knows me."
Aurelian looked at her.
Really looked at her.
And for the first time since this began, something close to guilt surfaced in his eyes.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly.
Lyra shook her head. "Don't apologize yet. We don't even know what he wants."
Aurelian did.
Control.
Not of markets.
Of people.
---
Her phone buzzed again.
Unknown number.
This time, a photo.
Taken minutes ago.
Of her building.
From across the street.
Lyra's hands began to shake.
"He's outside," she whispered.
Aurelian was already moving to the window.
He didn't pull the curtain. He didn't need to.
He knew the angle.
Knew where someone would stand to get that shot.
"He's not here to hurt you," Aurelian said calmly.
"How do you know?"
"Because if he wanted to, he already would have."
That didn't comfort her.
It terrified her more.
---
Another message came through.
You finally see it now, don't you?
Lyra's throat felt tight.
Aurelian took the phone gently from her hand and typed.
What do you want?
The reply came almost instantly.
I want you to understand what it feels like to be watched.
Aurelian's expression hardened into something cold and unrecognizable.
Because now—
He knew exactly who this was.
And why this wasn't about business anymore.