The Predator in BLACK
Rain hit Manhattan like shattered glass.
Cold. Violent. Endless.
From fifty-three floors above the city, Ivy Monroe watched lightning split across the skyline while crouched behind a mahogany desk that probably cost more than her entire life.
Her fingers trembled over the stack of files in front of her.
Offshore accounts.
Private transfers.
Political donations.
Names.
So many names.
Her pulse pounded harder.
Ethan was right.
Her brother hadn’t disappeared because of some random investigation.
He had gotten too close to Lucien Vale.
The Architect.
The billionaire ghost hiding behind Manhattan luxury and polished interviews.
Nobody exposed him.
Nobody even tried.
Until tonight.
Ivy snapped pictures quickly with her phone. The dim office lights reflected against the glossy documents while thunder shook the glass walls surrounding the penthouse office.
Move faster.
Her breathing became shallow.
She shouldn’t even be here.
One mistake and—
A soft click echoed behind her.
The office lights darkened.
Ivy froze.
Every muscle in her body locked instantly.
Slowly, she turned.
A man stood near the doorway.
Black suit.
Black gloves.
One hand resting inside his pocket.
The other holding a crystal glass of bourbon.
Lucien Vale.
He looked exactly like the rumors people whispered online at three in the morning.
Beautiful enough to ruin lives.
Cold enough not to care.
The city lights behind him painted silver across his jawline while rain crawled down the windows like tears.
He didn’t move.
Didn’t shout.
Didn’t ask who she was.
His silence felt worse somehow.
Ivy stood carefully. “I can explain.”
Lucien tilted his head slightly.
“People usually say that right before they lie to me.”
His voice was low.
Smooth.
Controlled.
American steel wrapped in silk.
Fear slid down her spine.
He walked toward her slowly.
Not rushed.
Not angry.
Certain.
That terrified her more.
The marble floor reflected his shoes as he crossed the office. Every step felt measured. Calculated.
Predator.
Her body recognized it before her mind did.
Lucien stopped beside the desk and glanced at the open drawer.
Then at the files in her hands.
Then finally at her.
“You bypassed private security,” he said calmly. “Used an inactive employee access card. Entered my office at midnight during a storm.” His eyes narrowed slightly. “That takes confidence.”
“I’m looking for my brother.”
Something flickered across his face.
Gone instantly.
“Ethan Monroe,” he said.
Not a question.
Ivy’s stomach tightened.
“How do you know his name?”
Lucien ignored that.
“Your brother asked dangerous questions too.”
Thunder cracked outside.
She forced herself not to step backward.
“Where is he?”
Lucien took a slow sip of bourbon before answering.
“That depends.”
Her voice sharpened. “Depends on what?”
“Which version of him you miss.”
The room suddenly felt colder.
Ivy clenched her jaw. “Stop talking in riddles.”
His gaze settled on her face.
Heavy.
Observant.
Like he was memorizing reactions instead of words.
“You’ve been investigating me for eleven weeks,” he said quietly. “Three fake accounts. Four burner emails. One pathetic hidden podcast server in Brooklyn.”
Fear punched the air from her lungs.
Lucien stepped closer.
“You always sit near windows,” he continued softly. “You drink coffee when you’re anxious even though caffeine worsens your insomnia.” His eyes lowered briefly. “And when you’re scared, you hide your hands inside your sleeves.”
Ivy’s blood ran cold.
He knew that.
How the hell did he know that?
“You’ve been watching me.”
A faint smile touched his mouth.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The moment curiosity finally becomes fear.”
Lightning flashed across the office.
For one second, his face looked almost inhuman.
Too calm.
Too perfect.
Too empty.
Lucien placed his bourbon glass on the desk beside her phone.
Carefully.
Controlled.
“You came here searching for monsters,” he murmured. “The problem with monsters is that sometimes they start watching back.”
Ivy swallowed hard.
Every instinct screamed at her to run.
But another feeling moved beneath the panic.
Something darker.
Something reckless.
Because despite the fear clawing through her chest…
She couldn’t stop staring at him.
Lucien reached past her suddenly.
Her body froze.
His hand brushed the desk inches from her waist before pulling something from beneath a folder.
A silver voice recorder.
The tiny red light blinked softly.
Recording.
Ivy’s heart stopped.
She hadn’t seen it before.
Lucien looked down at the device.
Then back at her.
“You recorded tonight.”
Not a question.
Dangerous silence filled the room.
“I—”
“You should leave now,” he said quietly.
Hope exploded inside her chest.
Until—
CLICK.
The office doors locked automatically behind him.
Heavy steel.
No escape.
Lucien’s eyes never left hers.
“You should’ve left thirty minutes ago.”
The air suddenly changed.
A sharp buzz vibrated against the desk.
Her phone.
A notification flashed across the screen.
Ethan.
Her brother’s name.
Ivy grabbed the phone instantly.
One message waited on the screen.
RUN FROM HIM.
Her pulse spiked violently.
Another message appeared beneath it.
HE ISN’T THE MOST DANGEROUS PERSON IN THAT ROOM.
Ivy slowly looked back up at Lucien.
For the first time since entering the office—
He looked genuinely unsettled.
Then the lights inside the penthouse went completely black.
