Chapter 4 Shadows in the Empire

The office had never felt more suffocating.

Marble floors stretched endlessly beneath my heels, polished to perfection yet unforgiving in their cold reflection. Glass walls surrounded me like a cage, a prison made of ambition and power, a place where mistakes were currency and scars were liabilities.

And I, scarred and cautious, was painfully aware of every one of my imperfections.

Selene's laughter echoed from the boardroom down the hall, a soft, poisonous chime that reminded me how carefully she curated every move.

Every glance she cast my way, every subtle tilt of her head, was a calculated stab designed to remind me of my inferiority.

She thrived on control, and I was nothing more than a pawn in her game.

I clutched my handbag tighter, fingers pressing against the leather like it could shield me from the storm of manipulation swirling in the air.

The elevator doors slid open, and I stepped out, careful to remain invisible. My heels clicked against the floor in a muted rhythm, but I felt eyes on me cold, precise, measuring.

Cassian Vale.

He was standing near the window, hands clasped behind his back, eyes scanning the city below like it was a chessboard and he knew every move in advance.

His jawline was sharp, his storm-grey eyes distant yet piercing, and even from across the room, I felt the pull of that magnetic presence that had haunted me since childhood.

He hadn't spoken to me since the boardroom incident, but I knew he was aware of me. I could sense it. The subtle tightening of his posture when I passed, the flicker of recognition that danced briefly in his gaze before he masked it with authority.

I forced myself to focus on the mundane files, schedules, client calls but it was impossible. Every thought, every pulse of awareness, led me back to him.

To the boy I once saved. To the man who didn't recognize me yet held the power to unravel everything I had spent years building.

Selene appeared suddenly, gliding through the glass doors like she owned the world or at least, like she thought she did.

Her platinum hair shone under the fluorescent lights, her porcelain skin flawless, her blue eyes calculating. She smiled at Cassian, and I felt that familiar sting of envy twist in my chest.

"You've been distant today," she said smoothly, her voice a silken thread of manipulation. "You've barely glanced at me. Is something troubling you, my love?"

Cassian's expression didn't change, but I saw it , a small, almost imperceptible flicker of agitation. He straightened, jaw tightening. "Business matters, Selene," he said coolly. "Focus on your assignments."

Her eyes flicked toward me, and a smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. A warning. A challenge. She was aware I existed, aware of the tension she was cultivating, and I realized with a jolt that she had planned this moment carefully.

I kept my head down, pretending to type, to be invisible, but every instinct screamed that I couldn't remain silent forever. Selene had stolen my place, my connection to him, and I couldn't allow her to solidify her deception unchallenged.

The afternoon dragged on, heavy with unspoken tension. Every time I dared glance up, Cassian's eyes met mine for a heartbeat too long, then darted away. Recognition hovered at the edges, teasing, taunting, refusing to fully reveal itself.

By the time the sun dipped behind the skyline, painting the city in bruised oranges and purples, I knew I had to act.

I approached the private staircase leading to the executive floor, heart hammering. Every step I took was calculated, careful and yet, I knew I was walking into a storm. Cassian's office loomed above, a fortress of steel and glass where decisions were made and power was exercised without mercy.

I paused outside the door, inhaling deeply. If he realized the truth now, it could shatter everything his trust, my carefully constructed life, and perhaps even the fragile sense of safety I clung to.

The door opened before I could knock.

Cassian stood there, commanding, authoritative, and impossibly close. His grey eyes swept over me with intensity, as though reading the story my body told in silence.

"You followed me," he said, voice low, a dangerous edge beneath the control.

"I... wanted to speak," I murmured, my hands trembling slightly. "There are things that... need clarification."

His gaze narrowed. "Clarification?"

"Yes," I said, swallowing hard. "About... Selene. About what's real, what's been twisted. You deserve the truth, even if it's... complicated."

His expression softened, just slightly, but his voice hardened. "You tread dangerous ground, Miss Ashford."

"And yet you invited me here," I whispered.

The corner of his mouth twitched almost a smile, almost recognition. My heart lurched. The memory of the boy I once knew, the boy who had looked at me with awe and trust, threatened to surface, but I forced it down, locking it behind steel and fear.

Selene's interference was everywhere. She had planned this meeting, or at least anticipated it, weaving herself into every glance, every whispered word.

Her presence was inescapable, and I knew that any misstep could allow her to claim victory permanently.

Cassian stepped aside, allowing me entry, and the room felt impossibly intimate despite its size. The skyline stretched beyond the windows, the city alive below, but all I could see was him.

He gestured toward a chair, but I remained standing. "Speak," he commanded softly. "And make it worth my attention."

I drew in a shaky breath. "The woman beside you... the one you think saved you... it's not her."

His eyes flicked sharply, storm clouds gathering behind that icy calm. "Explain."

"It's me," I said, voice low but steady. "Liora. I... I'm the girl from your past. The one you remember."

The room seemed to freeze. The skyline beyond the glass vanished. Time slowed.

Cassian's hand clenched on the desk, jaw tightening, and for a heartbeat, I saw the boy I had known. Vulnerable, hurt, trusting. And then, the man he had become controlled, dangerous, unyielding surged back to the surface.

"Liora..." he breathed, the name tasting foreign yet familiar on his tongue.

"I know what you're thinking," I continued, stepping closer despite the fear clawing at me. "That it's impossible. That she couldn't have survived. That she couldn't be standing here now. But it's true. It's me."

His eyes searched mine, storm-grey depths scanning, measuring, seeking proof. Recognition hovered, threatening to break, but he stopped short.

Selene's voice, silk and poison, echoed in my mind, reminding me of the threat looming even here. And then, it happened.

A sound from the office corridor, a footstep too deliberate to be coincidence. Selene. Watching. Waiting. Smiling.

Cassian's gaze flicked toward the door just long enough for me to feel the panic surge. I had seconds to act. To speak. To make him see before she interfered again.

"I" I began, but the words caught in my throat.

And then the door burst open. Selene entered, flawless, radiant, predatory. "Cassian," she said, voice honeyed, eyes locking on mine with amusement, "I see you've met her. How... intriguing."

Everything went cold.

Cassian's eyes darted between us. Confusion. Curiosity. Suspicion. Rage. And then , a flicker, a heartbeat of understanding, as though the memory had almost surfaced, almost broken through.

I realized with a jolt that this confrontation this impossible, high-stakes collision of past and present was far from over.

Selene's smile widened, a shark circling prey. "I do hope you remember the way things work in this office," she said softly, "because not every shadow can be trusted... and not every scar tells the full story."

Cassian's jaw tightened. My pulse raced. The memory of our childhood, the truth I carried, the deception Selene had spun.

It all hung in the balance.

And then, without warning, he moved.

But not toward me.

Toward Selene.

My breath caught.

Because I realized, in that instant, that the next choice he made could change everything.

Not just for me.

But for the entire empire.

And in that frozen moment, I understood something terrifying:

This was only the beginning.