Chapter 3
608 Words
Twenty-four hours passed.
No call.
No text.
Nothing.
Zoe told herself she didn’t care, but she kept glancing at her phone like it owed her money.
Lily arrived at her place after work, still wearing her law-firm blazer.
“Okay,” Lily said, throwing her bag on the couch. “Start talking. Why did you text me: ‘I think a billionaire almost murdered me but also maybe wants to sponsor my restaurant?’”
Zoe groaned into a pillow.
Lily yanked it away. “Explain.”
“I met Robert Thompson.”
“Excuse me?” Lily froze. “THE Robert Thompson? The one with the insane jawline? The one whose parents own half of Westcliff? The one who—”
“Yes!”
Zoe rubbed her face. “He knows my dad. He almost died last night. Someone is trying to kill him.”
Lily blinked. “You had a boring week so your brain made up a Netflix series?”
“No! It’s real!”
Before Lily could respond, the doorbell rang.
Zoe’s stomach plummeted.
Lily checked the peephole.
“Oh my God.”
“What?”
“It’s him.”
“What?”
“It’s Robert. And he looks…stress-hot.”
Zoe opened the door slowly.
Robert stood there, rain in his hair, tension in every line of his body.
“Can we talk?” he asked.
Zoe stepped aside.
Lily mouthed I’m not leaving., but Robert gave her a short nod.
“It’s fine. She can stay.”
He paced once, then stopped in front of Zoe.
“My father is stable,” he said. “But the attack on his medication wasn’t random.”
“Attack?” Lily choked.
Zoe felt cold. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying someone is targeting my family,” Robert replied. “And they’re using…collateral.”
Zoe’s mouth went dry. “Collateral?”
He stepped closer.
“People I care about.”
Her heart stuttered.
“You don’t care about me,” she whispered.
He didn’t answer.
He just looked at her.
Long.
Intense.
Too intense.
Then he said quietly:
“I cared about your father. And I care about keeping you alive.”
Before she could respond, her phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
She opened it.
And froze.
Lily leaned in. “Zoe? What is—oh no.”
The message was a photo.
A photo of Zoe from the night before.
Standing outside the Bistro.
Moments before the SUV almost hit her.
A second message came through.
“Next time, we won’t miss.”
Zoe’s breath shattered.
Robert took the phone, his face darkening, voice dropping to something lethal.
“They’re watching you,” he said.
Lily grabbed Zoe’s shaking hand. “What is happening?”
Robert met Zoe’s eyes.
“I’m taking you somewhere safe. Right now.”
Zoe swallowed, fear and adrenaline surging.
“I can’t just leave.”
“Yes,” Robert said urgently. “You can. Because you’re already in danger.”
Her phone buzzed again.
Another message.
“Stay with him, and you’re dead too.”
Zoe’s blood ran cold.
Robert closed the distance between them, gripping her shoulders gently but firmly.
“You’re coming with me.”
“Where?” she whispered.
His jaw flexed.
“To Westcliff,” he said quietly.
“To my parents’ estate. It’s the only safe place left.”
Zoe looked at Lily.
Lily nodded. “Go.”
Robert didn’t wait.
He took Zoe’s hand and led her out into the night.
And for the first time, Zoe realized, this wasn’t just a billionaire romance.
It was a war.
- Writer
