Darkness swallowed the hallway, thick and suffocating.
Lena's breath hitched as she pressed her back against the door, her fingers tightening around the key card Damian had given her. The faintest shift of movement echoed through the silence, and every instinct in her body screamed at her to run.
But where?
The estate was vast, unfamiliar in the dark. Whoever lurked in the shadows had the advantage.
Forcing herself to remain calm, she reached for the door handle, sliding the key card into the lock with trembling fingers. The soft beep that followed felt deafening.
A whisper of sound a footstep.
Too close.
Lena pushed the door open and slipped inside, locking it behind her just as a presence stopped on the other side.
Silence.
Then fingertips grazing the wood. A test.
A chill ran down her spine.
Whoever they were, they weren't here by accident.
Swallowing her fear, she turned toward the desk, her hands shaking as she reached for the nearest object a paperweight, cold and solid in her grip. It wasn't much, but it was something.
The seconds dragged.
Then, just as suddenly as the power had gone out
The lights flickered back on.
Lena exhaled sharply, heart pounding. But before relief could set in, a sharp knock shattered the silence.
"Lena."
Damian.
His voice was tight, controlled but there was an edge to it. One she hadn't heard before.
Slowly, she unlocked the door and pulled it open.
Damian stood there, his posture rigid, his expression unreadable. But his eyes—his eyes—burned with something lethal.
"You shouldn't be here," he said, stepping inside, scanning the room with a quick, practiced gaze.
Lena clenched the paperweight in her hand. "Someone was outside the door."
His gaze snapped to hers. "Did you see them?"
She shook her head. "No, but I heard them. They"
Before she could finish, Damian closed the door behind him, locking it with a quiet click. Then, without warning, he reached out and gripped her wrist, prying the paperweight from her fingers.
"You were planning to fight off an intruder with this?" His voice was low, but something dangerous curled beneath it.
She pulled her hand free. "I didn't have many options."
For a moment, he just looked at her, something unreadable passing through his gaze. Then, he exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair.
"This wasn't random," he muttered. "They cut the power to the east wing."
Lena's stomach twisted. "Then who"
"I don't know," Damian admitted. And that—that—was the most terrifying part.
Because Damian Blackwood always knew.
And for the first time, Lena saw something in his eyes she never had before.
Not control.
Not calculation.
But the slightest flicker of uncertainty.
And that meant only one thing.
Whoever had been outside that door wasn't just a threat.
They were a message.
And it was only the beginning.