Lena couldn't shake the conversation with Ethan Calloway.
The way he had looked at her, the way Damian had dismissed her questions—it all pointed to something bigger. Something she wasn't meant to know.
But she was part of this world now, whether Damian liked it or not.
That night, unable to sleep, she stepped out onto the balcony of her suite. The estate stretched out before her, its gardens bathed in silver moonlight. The air was crisp, carrying the distant hum of the city beyond Blackwood's private grounds.
A flicker of movement caught her eye.
Down by the gates, a shadow shifted in the darkness.
Lena's breath hitched.
A trick of the light?
Or was someone watching the house?
She turned to grab her phone, but before she could dial security, a voice behind her sent a jolt through her spine.
"You shouldn't be out here alone."
She spun to find Damian standing in the doorway, his silhouette sharp against the dim glow of the hallway.
Lena steadied herself. "You walk so quietly, it's unsettling."
He didn't move closer. "Did something happen?"
She hesitated, glancing back toward the gates. The figure—if it had been real—was gone.
"No," she said finally. "Just… thinking."
Damian studied her, his expression unreadable. "Be careful where you look, Lena. Sometimes curiosity is more dangerous than ignorance."
Her pulse quickened. "Is that a warning?"
"A fact."
The weight of his words settled between them. She wasn't sure what disturbed her more—the idea that she was truly being watched, or the knowledge that Damian was keeping things from her.
But one thing was clear.
She wasn't imagining the danger.
And sooner or later, it would come knocking.