Vanessa’s POV
Vanessa Hart pressed the ring button on the sleek glass panel beside Damian Blackwood’s penthouse gate. The sound was loud in the empty corridor, echoing back against marble and steel.
She waited, one manicured hand poised on her hip, lips curved in a practiced smile. Any second now, one of the guards would step outside, recognize her, and let her in. She was Vanessa, after all. Damian’s woman. His only real lover. The woman he always came back to.
The gate didn’t open.
Instead, the guard stationed by the entrance stepped forward. His expression was flat, impassive. “Miss Hart.”
Vanessa arched a brow, her smile tightening. “Good evening. You can open the door. Damian’s expecting me.”
The guard didn’t flinch. “Mr. Blackwood isn’t in residence.”
The words scraped against
