Owned by the cold billionaire

The uninvited shadows

Lena didn’t sleep.

Not even for a second.

She spent the night sitting on the edge of Elias’ bed, knees pulled to her chest, staring at the faint glow of the city through the wide glass windows. The sky looked bruised, dimly lit by streetlamps and high-rise reflections. Her mind kept replaying the same horrors — the masked intruder breaking into her apartment, the voice on the phone threatening her, the stranger at the gala watching her.

It felt like she couldn’t breathe unless she saw Elias in her line of sight.

He wasn’t asleep either.

He sat in the armchair near the window, a shadow of power and tension, elbows resting on his knees, fingers steepled as if he were calculating ten different outcomes at once. The silence between them wasn’t awkward — it was heavy. Loaded. Like the air before a storm breaks.

Around 4 a.m., he finally spoke.

“You’re trembling,” he said quietly.

She hadn’t realized she was until he mentioned it. Her fingers shook slightly, gripping the edge of the blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

“I’m fine,” she lied.

“Lena,” Elias said, and her name in his voice hit deeper than any truth she told herself, “you’re barely holding it together.”

She didn’t respond. Her throat burned.

He stood, crossing the room in slow, deliberate steps, the kind that made her nerves trip over themselves. He crouched in front of her, his height still almost overwhelming even like this.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said softly — dangerously softly.

Not a comfort.

A vow.

“But you have to let me protect you.”

Her breath shook. “I don’t know how.”

“Yes, you do.” His hand gently lifted her chin. “You came to me.”

Her cheeks heated. Not from embarrassment — from the truth. She had gone to him. Instinctively. Like her body recognized safety in him before her mind did.

She grabbed the blanket tighter. “I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

“That’s a reason,” Elias murmured, “but not the truth.”

She looked away, but he tilted her face back, forcing her to meet those dark, intense eyes that saw far too much.

“You came to me,” he repeated, “because you trust me. And because some part of you knows you’re mine to protect.”

Her pulse jumped.

Way too fast.

She didn’t deny it — which was answer enough.

Elias straightened and walked toward the wall of monitors to check the security feeds again. The screens showed different angles of the penthouse entrance, elevators, hallways, the street below. Everything was still.

For now.

He spoke without turning around. “I have a meeting downtown today. You’re coming with me.”

Lena blinked. “What? Why?”

“Because I’m not leaving you alone. Not after last night. I don’t care if it’s inconvenient — your safety isn’t negotiable.”

“I don’t want to be a burden,” she whispered.

Elias finally looked at her. “Lena. You’re not a burden. You’re a priority.”

Her heart tripped over itself.

Before she could answer, his phone vibrated. He checked the message, jaw tightening sharply.

“What is it?” she asked, voice shaky.

He didn’t look up from the screen. “Someone just tried to access the building’s security system.”

Her blood turned to ice.

“Are— are they trying to get in?”

“They won’t succeed,” Elias said, voice flat with lethal calm. “But it means whoever’s after you is escalating.”

He moved fast now — storm-level focus, controlled urgency. He grabbed his jacket, checked the inside pocket, and then tapped something on a digital panel in the wall. A metallic click echoed through the room.

“What’s that?” Lena asked.

“Lockdown,” he said. “No one gets in or out without my authorization.”

She swallowed hard. “Elias… what if they’re getting closer because of me?”

He turned to her with that same unreadable intensity.

“They’re getting closer because they’re stupid,” he said. “And because they don’t know whose territory they’re trespassing on.”

A chill slid down her spine — not fear. Something darker. Something protective.

He walked back to her, lifted her hand, and placed a small metal device in her palm.

“What’s this?”

“A tracker,” Elias said. “If anything happens, I’ll find you within seconds.”

Her stomach flipped. “You don’t have to—”

“Yes. I do.”

Then softer, “Please, don’t argue with me on this.”

Her chest tightened. “Okay.”

He exhaled in relief — quietly, barely noticeable, but she caught it.

He opened the door. “Pack your things. We leave in ten minutes.”

Lena rose slowly, legs still shaky, mind spinning with fear and something dangerously close to hope. She grabbed her bag, stepped toward the hallway—

—and froze.

The hallway light flickered.

Just once.

Barely a second.

Elias stopped mid-step behind her.

“Don’t move,” he said.

His voice wasn’t calm anymore.

It was lethal.

The lights flickered again.

And again.

Faster.

Then the entire hallway plunged into darkness.

A low, distorted voice echoed through the penthouse speakers — a voice she recognized.

The same one that had called her.

The one that whispered threats in her ear.

“Hello, Lena,” the voice said.

“Miss me?”

Lena’s heart stopped.

Elias stepped in front of her, shielding her with his body, muscles coiled like a loaded weapon.

He growled under his breath—

“Lena… we’re not alone.”