Alpha’s Double game.

~ELENA~ The green glow of the progress bar on my laptop was the only light left on the fifty-fifth floor of Sterling Global. It was 2:14 AM. I tapped my fingers while nervously looking around and hoping the file could download faster. The air conditioning hummed a low, metallic note that did nothing to cool the sudden sweat breaking out on the back of my neck. I froze. I shouldn’t have opened the folder. It was labeled "Project Aegis”, buried three servers deep under a shell company for shipping logistics. As an independent corporate auditor, I was paid to find numbers that didn’t balance and I’ve waited two years to get this one chance. I wasn’t supposed to find an entirely separate ledger detailing black-market weapon shipments, untraceable crypto deposits, and a name that made my blood turn to ice— The Iron Vipers. “Oh, God,” I breathed, my fingers trembling as I hit cancle on the transfer multiple times but it was too late. The moment I tried to back out, my screen flashed crimson. “CRITICAL SECURITY BREACH. SYSTEM LOCKDOWN INITIATED.” A heavy thud echoed through the floor. I jolted upright, knocking my chair backwards. “f**k!” Heavy steel security shutters slammed down over the elevator shafts and emergency stairwells, sealing the floor in pitch-black darkness. “f**k! f**k! f**k!” I never expected this kind of security…not till I figured I was dealing with the Iron vipers. A tear fell from my left eye, literally from fear. I was already found out. The main power cut out, replaced by the eerie, pulsing rhythm of red emergency strobes. Panic surged, hot and blinding in my chest. I grabbed my phone with trembling hands…no signal. The building’s hammers were active. Fuck! Then the private executive elevator at the far end of the floor chimed. My heart skipped a painful beat. The food slid open. I was too shocked to move, scared a bullet could reach my head before my next heartbeat. I stopped breathing, as if it would make me invisible. A towering silhouette stepped out into the crimson light. Alexander Sterling. He didn’t look like the pristine billionaire featured on the cover of Forbes. His silk ties were gone, the top three buttons of his black dress shirt undone to reveal the hard line of his throat and the dark ink of a tattoo creeping up his collarbone. His sleeves were rolled up over thick, vascular forearms. His expression was utterly void of human warmth. “You’re working late, Miss Vance,” his voice rolled through the empty floor, it made my knees weak and gained me my breath. “Mr. Sterling,” I stammered, backing away until my thighs hit the edge of the mahogany desk. “The…the system locked down. I was just finishing up the tax audit.” Alexander didn’t stop walking. His steps were heavy, deliberate, closing the distance between us like a wolf cornering a stray lamb. He stopped a mere inch away, his towering frame completely eclipsing the red light behind him. The scent of expensive cologne, rich leather, and pure danger washed over me. He reached past me, his thick forearm brushing my lips, and shut my laptop with a definitive click. “The tax audit doesn’t require a Level Five decryption key,” he murmured, leaning down until his lips were level with my ear. His breath was hot against my skin, sending a violent shiver down my spine. “You looked where you shouldn’t have, Elena. And now, sadly, you know exactly what I am. I squeezed my eyes shut, my heart hammering so hard against my ribs I was certain he could hear it. “I won’t say anything. I swear. I’ll delete the files, I’ll sign an NDA, I’ll leave the country—” “NDAs are for billionaires,” he interrupted, his large, rough hand suddenly gripping my chin, forcing my face up to meet his gaze. His eyes were dark, glinting with a terrifying combination of amusement and raw possession. “For the Vipers, we use much more permanent methods of silence.” A sob caught in my throat. His thumb traced my lower lip, his touch unexpectedly warm, a stark contrast to the lethal promise in his words. The friction sent an unwanted, electric spark straight to my core. “But you see,” Alexander continued, his gaze dropping to my mouth before locking back into my wide eyes, “I have a unique problem. The board of directors thinks I’ve become too volatile. The media is sniffing around my personal life, looking for the cracks in my empire. They want me settled. Married.” I grew through my terror. “What does that have to do with me?” “You’re brilliant, beautiful, and completely disposable,” he whispered, his grip tightening just enough to send a thrilling ache through my jaw. “You’re going to be my fiancée. For the next six months, you will live in my house, attend my galas, and wear my ring on your finger.” “And if I say no?” Alexander leaned in closer, his heavy body pressing my back against the desk until I was forced to lean back, completely vulnerable beneath him. His free hand slid slowly down my neck, his rough palm resting over my racing pulse, before sliding lower, tracing the curve of my collarbone beneath my blouse. “If you say no,” he growled against my lips, his breath mingling with mine, “you become a permanent liability. And I think you know how the leader of a syndicate disposes of liabilities. Choose, Elena. My ring, or my wrath.” I looked into his merciless, dark eyes and knew he wasn’t bluffing. But as his hand slid slightly lower, the heavy weight of his chest pressing against my sensitive breasts, I realised the terrifying truth. My body was already betraying me, aching for a touch that could be the end of me. “The ring,” I whispered.