Alpha’s Double game.

THE GALA AND THE THREAT

~ELENA~

The flashing lights of the paparazzi outside the Grand Plaza Hotel were blinding, exploding in bursts of white that left purple spots dancing in my vision.

The second the Maybach’s door opened, the roar of the crowd hit me like a physical blow, I was deaf for a second but steadied by Alexander’s hands.

“Smile, Elena,” Alexander’s voice was a low, smooth command in my ear. Right now, he was just a young handsome and well-respected billionaire CEO attending a normal gala with a slut finding favours.

Before I could brace myself, his large hand slid around my waist, his long fingers anchoring firmly into the bare silk at the small of my back. The heat of his palm burned through me, a direct, shocking contrast to the cool night air.

He pulled me flush against his side, his thumb tracing a slow, possessive circle right above my hip. I gasped softly, my hands instinctively lifting to rest against his stiff tuxedo jacket.

“Mr. Sterling! Over here!”

“Alexander, is it true? Is she the new face of Sterling Global?”

The reporters screamed over each other, their lenses tracking our every move. It was more chaotic than I thought and that worked to my favour. I heard them talk about me but too much noise cancelled them out. Having Alexander so close to me also wasn’t helping my thoughts.

Alexander didn’t slow down. He guided me up the red carpet with an easy, predatory grace, his face a perfect mask of billionaire charm. He looked down at me, his eyes softening into a gaze so filled with simulated adoration that for a fraction of a second, I forgot it was a trap.

“You’re doing beautifully, darling,” he murmured loud enough for the nearest microphones to catch, his lips brushing the crown of my head. But beneath the cameras, his fingers dug a fraction deeper into my hip—a silent, bruising reminder of the leash around my neck

Holding a smile was harder than I thought but since my whole life depends on it, I held it like a crown.

We stepped into the grand ballroom, a cavernous space filled with crystal chandeliers, cascading champagne towers, and the elite of the city’s high society. The whispers started instantly, an echo of the bullpen from this morning but wrapped in diamonds and designer silk.

I thought I had escaped the paparazzi.

“Look at her dress,” a woman in crimson satin whispered as we passed. “An absolute nobody. I heard she was just an auditor he picked up out of the dirt.”

I kept my smile pinned to my face, my heart hammering

against my ribs. “They hate me,” I whispered through my teeth, keeping my eyes fixed on the crowd.

“They are envious of you,” Alexander corrected smoothly, grabbing two flutes of champagne from a passing waiter’s tray and handing one to me. His fingers brushed mine, sending an unwanted, electric jolt straight up my arm. “And their envy makes you untouchable. Drink.”

Before I could take a sip, a man with silver hair and a sharp, calculating expression stepped into our path. He wore a tuxedo that cost more than my annual salary, but his eyes were completely dead, lacking any of the corporate polish the others possessed.

“Alexander,” the man said, his voice a gravelly rasp. “I didn’t think you’d show your face tonight after the… disruption at the eastern docks last week.”

Alexander’s entire posture shifted. The easy billionaire charm vanished, replaced by a rigid, terrifying stillness that made the air around us instantly turn to ice. His grip on my waist tightened until it was almost painful.

“Victor,” Alexander said, his voice dropping into a dangerous, low register. “The docks are operating exactly as they should. Minor administrative delays are being handled.”

“Is that what we're calling it now?” Victor’s eyes flicked to me, scanning my bare neck, my face, and finally resting on the massive emerald-cut diamond on my finger. A dark, wicked smile pulled at his lips. “And this must be the little bird who caused the delay. The one who likes to fly where she doesn’t belong.”

My breath caught in my throat. My hand began to tremble, the champagne sloshing against the glass.

He knows.

This man wasn't a board member. He was part of the underworld. He knew about the Iron Vipers, and he knew I had touched the encrypted files.

“Victor,” Alexander warned, stepping forward slightly, his massive frame completely cutting off Victor’s line of sight to me. The raw aura of dominance radiating off him was suffocating. “You are a guest at my foundation’s gala. Remember the rules of engagement. If you cross the line in my house, you don't walk out of it.”

Victor raised his glass in a mock toast, his eyes glinting with malice. “Just making conversation, Sterling. Enjoy your evening. While it lasts.”

As the man drifted back into the crowd, Alexander spun me around, pulling me deep into a shadowed alcove away from the prying eyes of the guests. His face was dark, his jaw clenching so hard the muscle ticked.

“Who was that?” I gasped, my composure fracturing. “Alexander, he knows! He knows what I did!”

“That was Victor Ivanov. The head of the Bratva syndicate’s local faction,” Alexander growled, slamming his empty champagne glass onto a nearby tray. He grabbed my wrists, pinning them against the marble pillar behind me. His chest pressed hard against my breasts, trapping me completely in his shadow. “He’s been looking for a crack in my operation for months. And your little late-night stunt just gave him exactly what he wanted.”

“I didn't mean to—”

“Silence,” he commanded, his face dropping inches from mine. His breath was hot, smelling of dark liquor and mint. His eyes were wild, the pupils blown wide with a lethal mix of fury and dark possessiveness. “From this moment on, you do not leave my sight. If you breathe without my permission, I will lock you in the basement of my estate and never let you see the sun again. Do you understand me, Elena?”

I looked into his green eyes, terrified by the monster beneath the billionaire suit, yet my body betrays me again—aching under the crushing weight of his frame, my pulse racing wildly against his grip.

“Yes,” I whispered.