Elara didn't sleep.
She sat on the edge of her bed in her nearly empty apartment, staring at the city lights bleeding through her curtains.
Forty-eight hours.
That was what he had given her.
Forty-eight hours to prove she didn't kill a woman whose death had already rewritten her life.
Her phone lay beside her.
No job.
No money.
No home in two days.
And a brother who knew nothing yet.
She couldn't tell him.
She wouldn't let him see her like this.
At 8:03 a.m., her phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
She already knew who it was.
"Have you decided?" Adrian's voice was smooth, unreadable.
"I didn't kill her," she said immediately.
"That wasn't my question."
Her silence answered him.
"Come to Vale Tower," he said. "Bring identification."
The line went dead.
---
The second time she entered Vale Tower, it felt different.
Not intimidating.
Inevitable.
She wasn't a visitor now.
She was prey walking into the lion's den with open eyes.
The elevator ride felt longer.
When the doors opened, Adrian wasn't standing by the window this time.
He was seated at the long black conference table.
A document lay in front of him.
Thick.
Official.
Waiting.
"Sit," he said.
She didn't.
"What is this?" she asked.
"A solution."
"To what?"
"To my patience."
Her jaw tightened. "You don't have proof."
"And you don't have options."
The words landed softly.
But they crushed.
He slid the document toward her.
She looked down.
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT.
But the terms were nothing like a normal job.
Personal assistant to Adrian Vale.
On-call availability.
Full confidentiality.
Residential requirement.
Termination at employer's discretion.
Her stomach dropped.
"You want me to live here?"
"In the penthouse guest suite."
"That's insane."
"It's controlled."
"I'm not your prisoner."
His eyes lifted slowly to hers.
"Aren't you?"
Silence.
Her throat burned.
"You ruined my life," she whispered.
He didn't flinch.
"You were present when mine was destroyed."
She pushed the document back toward him.
"This is punishment."
"Yes."
At least he was honest.
"For something I didn't do."
"That remains to be seen."
---
The room felt colder.
The air heavier.
"Why me?" she demanded. "If you think I planned this, why keep me close?"
His expression shifted slightly.
Because that was the real question.
"I want to see you," he said quietly. "Every day."
She felt her pulse spike.
"I want to know if you flinch when her name is mentioned. I want to know if guilt keeps you awake at night."
His voice lowered.
"And if you're innocent…"
He leaned back slightly.
"Then you'll have nothing to fear."
That was the first lie.
They both knew it.
---
Her phone buzzed again.
She glanced down.
A message from her landlord.
Locks changed. Please collect remaining items by arrangement only.
Her vision blurred for a second.
Adrian noticed.
Of course he did.
"You move in tonight," he said calmly.
"I haven't agreed."
"You will."
"You're blackmailing me."
"No," he replied. "I'm offering you protection."
"From who?"
He held her gaze.
"The world."
She almost laughed.
"You mean from you."
Something dark flickered across his face.
"Sign the contract."
Her hands trembled as she picked up the pen.
Not because she was weak.
But because she understood what this meant.
Control.
Isolation.
Living under the same roof as a man who believed she destroyed him.
If she refused—
He would erase her completely.
If she agreed—
She would be stepping inside the storm.
But maybe…
Maybe that was the only way to survive it.
Her signature cut across the page.
Sharp.
Final.
Adrian watched her sign without expression.
But something inside him shifted.
He hadn't expected her to do it so quickly.
He had expected tears.
Begging.
Breaking.
Instead, she placed the pen down calmly.
"When do I start?" she asked.
His jaw tightened slightly.
"Now."
---
By evening, her suitcase sat in the corner of the penthouse guest suite.
The room was luxurious.
Glass walls.
City view.
Silk sheets.
And no lock on the outside.
She noticed that immediately.
The door locked from inside.
But not outside.
A subtle detail.
A calculated one.
She walked toward the window.
From this height, the city looked small.
Manageable.
Like something that could be crushed in a fist.
Behind her, the door opened quietly.
She didn't turn.
"You'll be assigned tasks tomorrow," Adrian said.
"I'm not your servant."
"You're my employee."
"Under coercion."
He didn't respond to that.
After a moment, she spoke again.
"If I prove I'm innocent, what happens?"
Silence lingered before he answered.
"Then you'll be free."
"And if I don't?"
His voice dropped slightly.
"Then this becomes permanent."
Her chest tightened.
Permanent.
She turned to face him.
For the first time, they stood in silence without shouting.
Without threats.
Just tension.
"You're making a mistake," she said softly.
He stepped closer.
Close enough that she could see the exhaustion beneath his control.
Close enough to notice he hadn't slept either.
"I already made one," he said.
It was barely audible.
Then he stepped back again.
Walls up.
Control restored.
"Dinner is at eight," he said. "Don't be late."
As he walked out, the door closed softly behind him.
Elara stood alone in a room that felt too beautiful to be safe.
And somewhere in the city below, unseen and unnoticed—
A black car idled at a red light.
Inside, a man watched Vale Tower through tinted windows.
And smiled.
Because everything was unfolding exactly as planned.