Ivy stood near the window of the penthouse where she was told to stay, her heart pounding in her chest. The events of the past few days had been a whirlwind. Lu Cheng had been absent for two days since the attack, and she had barely slept, replaying every moment in her mind, the shots fired, Lu Cheng protecting her, and the blood soaking through his shirt. Her hands still trembled at the memory.
But she wasn't sure what scared her more, seeing Lu Cheng vulnerable or the fact that she was getting used to this world of danger, betrayal, and secrets.
She couldn't afford to fall apart now. She was in too deep. The lines between her work as his assistant and something more personal had blurred beyond recognition, and now she found herself entangled in a war that didn't belong to her. But she couldn't walk away. Not when Lu Cheng had risked his life for hers.
A sharp knock on the door jolted her from her thoughts.
It was Zhao Jun, one of Lu Cheng's other assistants. His face was as stoic as ever, but Ivy could see the tightness in his jaw, the worry that mirrored her own.
"Miss Ivy, you're needed at the office," Zhao Jun said.
Ivy blinked. "Has Lu Cheng returned?"
Zhao Jun hesitated, his eyes flickering with something unreadable. "It's complicated. You need to come with me."
She grabbed her coat and followed Zhao Jun out of the penthouse, her mind racing with questions. What did "complicated" mean? Was Lu Cheng still recovering? Or had something else happened?
As they rode in the sleek black car, the tension in the air thickened. Ivy could feel Zhao Jun's unease, though he remained silent. It was unnerving, he was usually the calm, unshakable one. Something was very wrong.
When they reached the office, it was eerily quiet. Ivy's heels echoed in the marble hallways as she followed Zhao Jun to Lu Cheng's private office. Her stomach churned with a mix of dread and anticipation.
She walked in, and there he was. Lu Cheng, sitting behind his massive mahogany desk, looking as cold and untouchable as ever, though his face was paler than usual. His usual aura of invincibility seemed cracked, like there was something deeper brewing beneath the surface.
"You called for me," Ivy said, her voice steadier than she felt.
Lu Cheng didn't immediately respond. He studied her, his dark eyes piercing through her like he was trying to read her mind. The silence stretched, thick and uncomfortable.
Then he stood up and walked toward her, his movements slow and deliberate. "Ivy," he said, his voice low and dangerous, "you're coming with me."
"Where?" she asked, her heart pounding. The way he was looking at her sent chills down her spine.
"To finish what we started," he replied, his expression unreadable. "We're leaving for a business trip, and I need you there."
Again?
Before she could protest or even question what he meant by "finish what we started," Lu Cheng had turned away, already preparing to leave. There was no room for argument.
But as she watched him, a sinking feeling settled in her gut. This wasn't just another business trip. This was something much darker. And whatever it was, she was about to be dragged into it, whether she was ready or not.
The trip began quietly enough, but Ivy couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Lu Cheng was more distant than ever, speaking in clipped sentences, avoiding eye contact. His three male assistants, Lin Wei, Zhao Jun, and Cheng Rui, hovered around him, exchanging looks that only added to the tension.
By the time they arrived at their destination, a remote, sprawling estate on the outskirts of the city, Ivy felt like a ticking bomb was about to go off.
The estate itself was grand, but there was an eerie, unsettling atmosphere hanging over it. As they walked through the gates, Ivy noticed men patrolling the grounds, all wearing the same grim expression. This wasn't just a business trip. This was a battlefield.
"What's going on, Lu Cheng?" she finally asked, unable to hold her silence any longer. "Why are we here?"
Lu Cheng's eyes flickered toward her, and for the briefest moment, she saw a flash of something, regret? Fear? But then his mask of control slipped back into place.
"You'll understand soon enough," he said quietly. "Stay close to me. Don't trust anyone else."
And that was when Ivy knew, something big was about to happen. Something that could change everything.
As the sun dipped below the horizon and the shadows of the estate grew longer, Ivy's heart raced with a mix of fear and anticipation. Whatever was coming, she had a feeling it would be the turning point, the moment when everything she thought she knew would be thrown into chaos.
Because in the world of the mafia, nothing was ever as it seemed.