I knew it.
The second I walked into the empty living room and saw her coffee cup on the counter
half drunk, lipstick still fresh I knew she'd ignored me.
I didn't even have to check upstairs. Sienna Hart was many things stubborn, brilliant, reckless but obedient wasn't one of them.
"Unbelievable," I muttered, pulling out my phone.
I scrolled through my messages. Nothing from her. No "don't worry, I'm fine," not even a passive-aggressive emoji. She'd gone dark on purpose.
Typical.
I ran a hand through my hair and let out a slow breath, trying to decide whether I wanted to throttle her or kiss her when I saw her again. Probably both.
ʚ♡ɞ ʚ♡ɞ ʚ♡ɞ ʚ♡ɞ ʚ♡ɞ ʚ♡ɞ ʚ♡ɞ
The drive to the office was quiet, too quiet. My thoughts were louder than the engine.
I'd spent half the night going over the files I dug up on Blackwood and the more I read, the uglier it got. Money laundering, shell companies, offshore accounts tied to names I recognized from the underworld. The man wasn't clean not by a mile.
And if Sienna's company was on his radar, it meant one of two things: he wanted to own it… or destroy it.
Either way, she was walking into a viper's den.
And now she was doing it without me.
ʚ♡ɞ ʚ♡ɞ ʚ♡ɞ ʚ♡ɞ ʚ♡ɞ ʚ♡ɞ ʚ♡ɞ
By the time I got to her building, I'd already gone over a dozen possible ways this conversation would go.
Half of them ended with her furious at me. The other half ended with me carrying her out of there while she shouted about independence.
I parked, ignored the receptionist's startled greeting, and made my way to the elevator. The moment those metal doors slid shut, I finally let out the curse that had been sitting on my tongue all morning.
When I stepped out onto her floor, Mitchell's eyes widened like she'd seen a ghost.
"Mr Vale good morning," she stammered. "Miss—uh, Miss Sienna is—"
"In her office?" I asked flatly.
He hesitated. "Yes, sir. With… a guest."
I paused mid-step. "A guest?"
She nodded nervously. "Mr. Louis. Kai Louis."
For a moment, I just stood there, jaw tight. Then I gave a short, humorless laugh. "Of course she called him."
The same man I told her to stay away from. The one tied to Blackwood in ways I couldn't fully trace yet.
And she invited him in for coffee.
I didn't barge in though every nerve in my body screamed at me to. Instead, I stopped just before her office door, hearing faint voices through the glass. Hers calm, clipped, the way she spoke when she wanted control. His smooth, too confident.
I hated how easily his tone slid under my skin.
Taking a slow breath, I adjusted my cufflinks, forcing myself to stay rational. If I walked in angry, I'd lose the upper hand. Sienna didn't respond to orders; she responded to strategy.
Still, my pulse wouldn't slow down.
She was in there, dealing with a man who could ruin her and she didn't even know half of what I'd found out yet.
Mitchell cleared his throat softly behind me. "Should I… announce you, sir?"
I smirked. "No. I'll announce myself."
And with that, I opened the door.