The heavy glass doors of Vane Towers hissed shut behind me, cutting off the pressurized, expensive air of Liam's empire. I stood on the sidewalk for a full minute, the gold pen still clutched in my hand like a cursed relic. The London sun was pale, but it felt blinding after the dim, predatory lighting of the penthouse.
My phone vibrated so hard in my pocket I thought it was going to explode.
I pulled it out to see forty-seven missed calls and a string of texts that were mostly emojis of screaming faces and champagne bottles. I didn't even have time to scroll before the screen lit up with another group call.
I swiped 'Accept' and didn't even get a chance to say hello.
"LIA! TELL US EVERYTHING OR I AM CALLING THE POLICE TO REPORT A KIDNAPPING!" Sarah's voice blasted through the speaker. I winced, holding the phone away from my ear.
"I'm alive," I muttered, starting to walk toward the tube station. "Barely."
"Alive? Girl, we saw you! We saw the black SUV! We saw the security guards who looked like they were auditioning for The Matrix!" Mia's face popped onto the screen, her eyes wide. "We waited outside your dorm for three hours. A moving crew just showed up, Lia. They had a manifest with your name on it and a Vane Industries seal. They're packing your socks! Your actual socks!"
I stopped dead in the middle of the sidewalk, nearly getting trampled by a businessman. "They're what?"
"They said you're relocating to 'Executive Housing' effective immediately," Sarah squealed, clutching her cheeks. "Lia, please tell me you didn't just sell a kidney. Please tell me this is because of that billionaire from the club."
I leaned against a brick wall, rubbing my temples. "It's not a kidney. It's a job. I'm... I'm his new Senior Risk Analyst and Personal Assistant. He offered me five times the industry standard."
The silence on the other end of the line lasted exactly two seconds before the screaming started again.
"FIVE TIMES?" Mia yelled. "Lia, that's not a job, that's a winning lottery ticket! You're going to be breathing the same air as Liam Vane! Do you realize how many women would kill to be in your shoes? People have literally started fan clubs for his jawline!"
I rolled my eyes so hard it actually hurt. "Seriously? You guys are acting like he's some kind of "prince or king". He's just a guy, okay? A very rich, very arrogant guy who doesn't understand the word 'privacy.' He's just... ordinary. With better suits."
"Ordinary?" Sarah gasped, looking genuinely offended. "Lia, the man is a literal genius. He's twenty-three and he owns half the satellites in the sky. He's not ordinary. He's a deity in a charcoal blazer. Did he touch you? Did he look at you with those 'I-own-your-soul' eyes?"
"Ugh, stop," I groaned, moving again. "He's a nightmare. He's bossy, he's possessive, and he has this low-tone voice that makes you think he's casting a spell on you. He told me I 'belong' to the firm twenty-four hours a day. It's a cage, guys. A golden, high-tech cage.
"Then lock me in and throw away the key!" Mia laughed. "I'm a PR major, Lia. I know a power move when I see one. He didn't hire you for your GPA. He hired you because you're the only girl in London who didn't drop her drink when he walked in. He's hunting you."
"He's not hunting me. He needs a Risk Analyst," I insisted, though my heart gave a traitorous little thump at the memory of his thumb on my jaw. "He said he read my thesis. He said he wants my brain."
"He wants more than your brain, sweetie," Sarah said, her voice turning uncharacteristically serious. "Be careful. Men like Liam Vane don't play fair. They don't take 'no' for an answer, and they definitely don't let go once they've marked something as theirs."
"I can handle him," I said, more to myself than to them. "I studied Risk Management, remember? I know how to handle a volatile asset. I'll do the job, take the massive paycheck, and in a year, I'll be gone."
"Sure, Jan," Mia teased. "Just make sure when he's staring at you across a mahogany desk, you remember to breathe. Send us the address of the new apartment! We're coming over for a housewarming party, with the expensive wine you can now afford!"
I hung up, shaking my head. They were my best friends, but sometimes their obsession with the "Billionaire Lifestyle" was exhausting. To them, this was a Cinderella story. To me, it felt like I'd just signed a contract with the devil, and I wasn't sure if my soul was included in the benefits package.
I reached my dorm ten minutes later, only to find two massive men in black suits standing guard outside my door. My neighbors were peeking out of their rooms, whispering and pointing.
"Miss Woods," one of the guards said, bowing his head slightly. "The relocation is almost complete. Mr. Vane requested that you leave your old laptop and phone behind. New encrypted devices are waiting for you at the residence."
"I'm not leaving my phone," I snapped, reaching for my door handle. "That has my photos, my music"
"Everything has already been backed up to the Vane Cloud, Miss," the guard said, his voice as immovable as a mountain. "Mr. Vane insists on total security. Your old devices are a 'risk.'"
I stared at him, the anger bubbling up in my chest. Risk. That was his favorite word.
"Fine," I spat, shoving past them into my room. It was nearly empty. My books, my clothes, even my favorite coffee mug were gone, packed into neat, high-end crates.
On the center of my bare mattress sat a small, velvet box.
I opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a sleek, black smartphone, no branding, just a small 'V' etched into the back. Next to it was a note in that same sharp, aggressive handwriting.
"The car is waiting downstairs. Don't make me come and get you myself, Lia. You belong to the schedule now."
I slumped onto the bed, the reality finally hitting me. I wasn't just a Finance grad anymore. I was a piece of Liam Vane's empire. And as much as I rolled my eyes and told my friends he was just a man... I knew better.
Liam Vane wasn't a man. He was a force of nature. And I was directly in his path.