CHAPTER 27 — THE MOMENT THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
Eva couldn't focus for the rest of the morning.
Her lips still tingled from Derek's kiss. Her heartbeat kept remembering the way he said mine like it wasn't a question, not even a request—just a truth he'd already decided.
But beneath the heat… something lingered.
Something unsettling.
Natalia's expression—sharp, knowing—haunted her thoughts.
This isn't over, she had said.
Over what?
Eva checked her phone again. Still nothing from Derek. Not unusual… but today felt different. His kiss, his intensity, the crack of jealousy in his voice—it left her wanting answers.
When noon arrived, her phone buzzed.
Derek: Driver is downstairs. Come now.
No greeting.
No softening.
Just a command wrapped in velvet.
Her stomach knotted with anticipation as she took the elevator down. The moment she stepped outside, a sleek black car pulled up. The driver—silent, stone-faced—opened the back door for her.
"Mr. Blackwell is waiting at the penthouse," he said.
Penthouse.
Eva's pulse jumped.
This wasn't just lunch.
This was… something else.
The Ride
The city passed in blurs of glass and concrete. Eva's thoughts spun.
She thought about the kiss.
About his rival Jordan.
About Natalia's smirk.
She thought about Derek's secrets—the ones she sensed but didn't understand.
And about the question she hadn't dared ask:
What exactly are his 'secret arrangements'?
The car glided into an underground parking space beneath a luxury high-rise. Security men in dark suits stood like pillars. One of them nodded at the driver and opened the door for her.
"Miss Sterling. Mr. Blackwell is expecting you upstairs."
Her mouth went dry.
She followed the guard into a private elevator.
Only two buttons existed:
PENTHOUSE
GARAGE
No floors between.
No chance of escape.
The elevator rose fast.
Too fast.
The Penthouse
The doors opened into silence.
A long corridor of black marble stretched ahead, lit by soft golden strips. The air smelled faintly of cedar and something darker—like expensive cologne and secrecy.
Eva stepped inside.
"Derek?" she called softly.
No answer.
Her heels clicked as she walked through the open living space—floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing the sprawling city skyline, furniture sleek and dark, everything painfully immaculate.
Too immaculate.
A glass on the table.
A file folder open but empty.
A jacket thrown across a chair—like he'd left in a hurry.
Where is he?
She moved deeper into the penthouse.
"Derek?"
Her voice echoed.
Then she heard it.
A low voice.
Muffled.
Coming from farther inside.
She walked toward the sound, following it past a hallway, past abstract paintings, past a closed office door.
The voice grew clearer.
Angry.
Not Derek's.
Someone else. Someone male.
She froze.
"—you can't keep delaying this, Derek. They're expecting an answer."
Eva held her breath.
Derek replied then—low, controlled, edged in steel.
"I don't give answers when I'm being threatened."
Her pulse spiked.
Threatened?
The other man laughed—a bitter, chilling sound.
"You're already in deeper than you want to admit. Don't pretend you didn't make this deal willingly."
Eva's eyes widened.
Deal?
What deal?
She should walk away. She knew she should. She should go back to the living room, pretend she heard nothing—
But she couldn't move.
The office door was cracked just slightly. Enough for voices to slip through. Enough for Eva to breathe danger.
"We need the girl, Derek."
Eva's heart stopped.
Girl?
Which girl?
Silence.
Heavy.
Deadly.
Then Derek's voice, icy enough to cut through bone:
"You're out of your mind if you think I'll let you near her."
Eva's breath hitched so loudly she clapped a hand over her mouth.
Not me.
Not me.
Please not me—
The other man spoke again.
"If you don't cooperate, you know what happens. You know how they handle disobedience."
A thud.
Furniture shifting.
Derek must have stood up.
"I'll handle the consequences," Derek said. "But I won't give her to you."
Her stomach dropped.
Her legs turned weak.
He was talking about her.
Why?
Why would someone want her?
What did Derek get himself into?
The other man hissed, "You think you can protect her from this world? From us? You're already part of it."
"Get out," Derek said.
"You'll regret this."
"Get. Out."
Footsteps stormed toward the door.
Eva leaped back—just in time to vanish behind a corner. She pressed herself against the wall, heart slamming.
The office door yanked open.
A tall man in a dark suit marched out, fury radiating off him. His eyes flicked around the hall like a predator checking for witnesses.
Eva held her breath and prayed.
The man moved past her.
Steps echoing.
Door slamming behind him.
Silence returned.
But it wasn't peaceful.
It was the kind of silence that comes after a bomb drops but before the smoke clears.
Eva closed her eyes.
She should run.
She should leave before Derek found her.
She shouldn't know any of this.
But her feet moved on their own—toward the office door, still slightly open.
She pushed it gently.
And froze.
What She Saw
Derek stood facing the window, fists clenched at his sides, chest rising and falling with controlled rage. His reflection in the glass looked like a storm barely contained—a man pulled apart by violence and choices he couldn't undo.
But that wasn't the shocking part.
On the desk behind him…
Eva saw documents.
Photos.
Names.
Her name.
Her address.
Her work schedule.
Her ID photo.
Information she had never given him.
Her blood went cold.
Next to her file was something worse—far worse—
A list titled:
CANDIDATE EVALUATION — FINAL SELECTION
And her name was circled.
Not once.
But three times.
Eva's breath collapsed inside her chest.
What is this?
What selection?
What arrangement?
What had she been dragged into?
Derek turned.
His eyes locked onto hers instantly.
Shock.
Fear.
Something else—raw, unmasked.
"Eva."
She stepped back.
"How… how do you have all this?" she whispered.
He moved toward her slowly, like approaching a wounded animal.
"It's not what you think."
"Then what is it?" Her voice cracked. "Why is my name here? What am I to you, Derek?"
His jaw tightened. His eyes closed briefly.
Then he opened them—with a truth that broke her in half.
"You were never supposed to find out this way."
Her heart stuttered painfully. "Find out what?"
Derek's voice was barely a whisper.
"The real reason I met you."
The room spun.
Her knees almost buckled.
"What do you mean?" she breathed.
Derek stepped closer—too close, too dangerous.
He swallowed hard.
"Eva… you weren't an accident."
Her vision blurred.
"You were chosen."
Eva's world shattered.