Chapter 5 Beneath the Mask

The clock struck midnight, and the Knight Tower's top floor glowed like a lighthouse against the dark city. Behind the smoked-glass walls of his private office, Adrian sat at the head of a long, obsidian table. The gala suit was gone, replaced with a tailored black shirt rolled at the sleeves, the look of a man prepared for war. Around him, six of his most trusted lieutenants waited, each one scarred in their own way by the life they had chosen.

On the surface, the Knight fortune was built on real estate, luxury chains, and global trade. But here in this circle truth wore no disguise. The empire lived and breathed because of the shadows: shipments routed through unmarked docks, politicians greased with blood money, silence bought at the edge of a knife.

Adrian's gaze cut across the table like a blade. "There's been talk," he began, his voice smooth but edged with steel. "A leak in our Marseille line. Two shipments light in the last month. Someone thinks I won't notice."

The men shifted, exchanging tense glances. No one spoke.

Adrian leaned forward, the gold watch on his wrist glinting under the low light. "I always notice. Find me the rat, or I'll assume you've all grown too comfortable."

The room thickened with silence. Everyone knew what his words meant. Comfort in Adrian Knight's world was a prelude to death.

When the meeting ended, his men filed out one by one, each carrying the weight of his warning. Adrian poured himself a drink, amber liquid catching the skyline's reflection. He should've been thinking of routes, of control, of blood debts owed and collected. But instead, unbidden, another image rose in his mind: Elena.

Her lips, her trembling whisper on the balcony. The way she had kissed him back despite every reason not to. A dangerous distraction one that could unravel everything if he let it.

And yet, he couldn't stop the hunger that gnawed at him.

Across town, Cassandra Knight wasn't sleeping either.

Her penthouse bedroom, all sharp lines and cold elegance, felt like a gilded cage tonight. Cassandra stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, her reflection merging with the city lights. Fury licked at her veins, but her face remained a mask of control. She was a mafia wife, after all. Rage was useless without direction.

She pressed a button, and within minutes, her trusted enforcer arrived. A tall man in a gray suit, his scarred knuckles visible even in the dim light. Behind him trailed Leo-slick smile, restless energy, a predator eager for scraps.

"Her name is Elena," Cassandra said, her voice calm, almost bored. She slid a photograph across the table. "I want eyes on her. Where she lives, who she speaks to, where she goes. Nothing is too small."

The enforcer nodded, tucking the photo into his pocket.

"And if she's a problem?" Leo asked, leaning forward, his tone mocking but hungry. "Should I... solve it?"

Cassandra's eyes flicked to him, sharp and cold. "Not yet. She's a seed. I want to see how far she thinks she can grow before I cut her down."

Her lips curved, but it wasn't a smile-it was a blade.

Elena knew nothing of the storm gathering around her.

She sat in her modest apartment the next morning, a mug of coffee cradled in her hands. The sun slanted through the blinds, but it didn't warm her the way it should. Not after the kiss. Not after the fire Adrian had left burning in her veins.

She had sworn to herself she wouldn't think of him. And yet every sip of coffee, every quiet second, carried him back to her. His voice, his touch, his impossible presence.

"You're a fool," she muttered to herself, setting the mug down. A man like Adrian belonged to another world one she had no right to trespass.

But as she gathered her things for work, a prickling sensation crawled up her spine. She paused at the door, frowning. Across the street, a black sedan idled, windows tinted too dark. Nothing unusual for the city, she told herself. Still, when she stepped outside, she couldn't shake the feeling that eyes followed her.

At work, she buried herself in tasks, convincing herself it was paranoia. But when she left that evening, the same car was there, parked two blocks down. And later, walking home, she swore she heard footsteps echoing hers, only to vanish when she spun around.

Her heartbeat quickened. Was she imagining things?

Midnight again.

Adrian sat in his study, half a bottle gone, city lights stretching endlessly below him. He should've been at Cassandra's side in their penthouse, but the thought of her presence made his jaw tighten. Instead, Elena's face haunted him like a phantom.

And across the city, Cassandra watched a live feed flicker across her screen Elena leaving her apartment, glancing nervously over her shoulder, unaware of the camera hidden down the block.

Cassandra leaned back, a glass of red wine in her hand, her smile sharp as broken glass.

"You have no idea what storm you've walked into, darling," she whispered to the screen.