The Sinner's Ledger

Chapter 5

A quiet, nervous hush falls over the students.

Nova pulls her hands deep into her sweatpants pockets, her nails biting into her palms through the fabric to keep her hands from visibly shaking.

He isn't just giving a syllabus overview.

Every single word coming out of his mouth is a direct, tailored threat aimed straight at her.

"I have already reviewed your current standing in this course," Killian says, stepping around the instructor's desk and leaning against the front edge, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

"And frankly, the standards here are dangerously low. Therefore, I will be conducting a mandatory, one-on-one diagnostic assessment with each of you over the next two days."

He reaches into his suit jacket, pulling out a folded piece of paper, and sets it on the corner of his desk.

"Miss Hart," he says softly, his dark voice carrying across the silent auditorium like a heavy velvet blanket.

"Since you seem to have so much energy this morning...you will be first. My office. Immediately after this lecture."

The girl sitting two seats down from Nova groans quietly in envy, while Tori looks at Nova with wide, worried eyes.

"Dude...what did you do?" Tori whispers. "He looks like he’s going to eat you alive."

Nova’s stomach twists into a tight, agonizing knot.

She stares down at her lap, her throat so dry she can barely swallow.

Killian turns his attention back to the rest of the class, diving into a lecture on zero-day exploits, but Nova doesn't hear a single word.

Every minute that ticks by on the wall clock feels like a march toward an execution.

When the bell finally rings, signaling the end of the period, the room erupts into the loud rustle of backpacks and scraping chairs.

Students flock down the stairs toward the exit, a few girls lingering near the front desk hoping to talk to the new instructor, but Killian casually dismisses them with a cold, polite nod, his eyes remaining fixed on the back row.

Nova sits frozen, waiting until the last student trickles out the door.

Tori lingers by her side.

"Do you want me to wait outside his office for you?"

"No," Nova rasps, her voice barely audible.

"Go...go to your next class, Tori. I'm fine."

Tori hesitates, looking between Nova’s ghost-pale face and the intimidating figure waiting at the front of the room, before reluctantly turning to leave.

The heavy double doors of the lecture hall click shut.

The vast room goes dead silent.

Killian doesn't move from his spot against the desk.

He calmly unbuttons his jacket, reaching down to gather his leather briefcase, before turning his gaze up the long flight of stairs toward where she’s trapped.

"I dislike waiting, Nova," he says, his deep voice echoing off the empty concrete walls.

"Walk down here. Now."

Nova’s heart hammers against her ribs, her throat tight and painful as she slowly pushes herself out of her seat.

Her knees feel hollow, her oversized sweatpants swishing against the quiet concrete steps as she walks down the long aisle of the empty auditorium.

Every step closer to the front of the room feels like walking deeper into a trap.

She stops ten feet away from the podium, keeping the heavy wooden instructor's desk strictly between them.

Her hands are buried deep in the pockets of her oversized dark hoodie, her chin tilted up, trying desperately to muster whatever scraps of defiance she has left.

Nova raises one trembling finger, pointing it straight at his chest.

"So this is what you meant by keeping an eye on me?" she snaps, her voice raw, echoing off the empty rows of seats.

Killian doesn't flinch.

A slow, razor-thin smile curls the corner of his lips, his dark amber eyes gleaming with cold, quiet satisfaction as he casually leans back against the edge of the desk, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

"I always keep my word, Nova," he replies smoothly, his deep, velvet voice carrying effortlessly through the quiet room.

"You expressed a deep passion for system architecture last night. I simply decided to foster your talent."

"The hell you mean?" Nova stammers, her eyes widening in disbelief as she lowers her finger, taking an involuntary step back.

"You're at my school! You literally bought out or faked a faculty position in twelve hours!"

She drags a trembling hand through her tangled hair, her breathing short and jagged as she glares at him.

"I said I was sorry for hacking into your systems!" she chokes out, her voice rising in a desperate effort to pierce his unshakeable composure.

"I wiped the footprints! I didn't sell the ledger! But this is a bit too much, Killian!"

Killian’s smile slowly fades into something far darker, far more suffocating.

He pushes off the desk and takes a single, deliberate step toward her.

The sudden movement makes Nova instantly freeze, her breath catching in her throat.

"Don't use my first name here, Miss Hart," Killian whispers, his tone dropping an octave, heavy with a silent, terrifying weight that makes her blood turn to ice.

"To you... to this entire campus... I am Mr. Sterling."

He stops just inches from the desk separating them, towering over her small, fleece-draped frame.

He reaches out, his long, calloused fingers resting on the smooth wood, leaning in until his shadow completely engulfs her.

"And you don't get to apologize your way out of my life," he murmurs, his dark gaze dropping to her pale, trembling lips before locking back onto her eyes.

"You breached my network. You looked at things meant only for my eyes. Which means from this second onward, your time, your mind, and your absolute focus belong to me."

Nova swallows hard, trying to shrink back into her hoodie, but her back hits the second row of student desks behind her.

"I have a life here. I have classes. I have friends..."

"You had a quiet life," Killian corrects her softly, his voice dropping to a low, possessive purr that sends a violent shiver straight down her spine.

"Now, you have me."

He reaches into his suit jacket, pulling out a sleek, obsidian keycard, and sets it on the wooden surface between them with a sharp clack.

"My office is on the fourth floor of the Engineering wing," Killian says, his tone instantly shifting back to a smooth, professional calm.

"You will be there every afternoon at three o'clock sharp. If you are even a minute late... I will start removing your university privileges one by one. Starting with your friends."

Nova’s eyes snap wide, horror flashing across her pale face. "Don't you dare do anything to them."

"Then don't be late," Killian murmurs, picking up his briefcase and stepping around the desk, his shoulder brushing hers as he walks past.

He pauses right beside her, his breath warm and scented with cold rain and dark cedar against her ear.

"See you at three, little mouse."

Nova stumbles out of the lecture hall into the bright afternoon sun, her hands stuffed deep inside the sleeves of her hoodie.

Her pulse is still hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.

The obsidian keycard heavy in her pocket feels like a lead weight pressing against her thigh.

"Nova! Hey!"

Julian's expression softens with relief the moment he spots her, and he quickly closes the distance, reaching out to wrap his arm around her waist.

"I’ve been waiting for twenty minutes," Julian says, trying to catch her eye with a warm smile.

"Tori said you stayed behind with that new professor guy. What was that all about? Did he give you a hard time about your performance.?"

Nova doesn't hug him back. Her whole body is stiff, completely numb under his touch.

When Julian leans down to kiss her forehead, she flinches, taking an involuntary half-step away from him.

Julian’s smile vanishes, his hands dropping to his sides.

"Nova? What’s going on with you? You’ve been completely off since yesterday. You didn't text back last night, you look like you haven't slept in a week, and now you can't even look at me."

Nova blinks, staring past him at the sprawling campus quad.

Her mind is completely consumed by the terrifying speed at which her life just collapsed.

Twenty-four hours ago, she was an untraceable ghost behind a blue-lit screen, totally secure in her small, quiet universe.

Now, a predator in a tailored charcoal suit owns her digital life, holds her apartment key, and stands at the front of her classroom.

Killian’s voice echoes in her head, dark and suffocating.

Now you have me.