The streetlights flickered past the window as Zara's car sped through the sleeping city. No one said much on the ride home. The night had been… strange. Elena kept her thoughts close, replaying every word, every glance from the man in the shadows — Cassian.
At home, she barely changed before crawling into bed. Sleep came fast. Too fast.
And then—
The screams.
The blood.
The fire.
She was seven again, hiding behind the velvet curtain as masked men stormed in. Her mother's necklace shattering against the marble floor. Her father yelling her name. Smoke and silence.
Always the same.
Always ending in silence.
Elena bolted upright, gasping. Her skin damp. Her breath uneven. The dream always left her chest heavy — as if something had been stolen, but she couldn't remember what.
She rubbed her temples. The headache was already blooming. Morning light crept through her blinds.
At the office, the buzz of beauty products and branding pitches filled the air. Elena walked in late, Zara tossing her a knowing glance from the front desk.
"You good?" Mina asked, handing her a coffee.
"Nightmare," Elena muttered.
"Again?" Zara raised a brow. "You really need to talk to someone."
"I'm fine," she lied.
They moved through their tasks, meetings, emails, reviewing campaign drafts for their new fragrance launch. Around noon, word spread: the new CEO was arriving today — an investor from overseas who had just bought majority shares.
"Apparently, he's loaded and ruthless," someone whispered in the hallway. "Fired a whole department in Milan for wearing the wrong color."
"Typical rich control freak," Mina scoffed.
Their manager called everyone to the glass boardroom. Elena followed, still nursing her headache. She stood in the back, half-distracted, until the doors opened… and silence fell.
He walked in like smoke.
Tailored black suit. Cold eyes. The same unreadable smirk.
He scanned the room — slowly — until his gaze landed on her.
He didn't blink,neither did she.
"Good afternoon," his voice cut through the air like a blade. "I'm Cassian De Luca, your new CEO."