ESCAPE INTO SHADOWS
The rain struck the glass walls of Avery Lancaster’s penthouse like bullets, each hit a reminder that tonight was the night everything in her life changed.
She stood before the mirror, adjusting the collar of her white satin suit clean, sharp, powerful.
A suit meant to intimidate board members, not rescue her from betrayal.
Twenty-eight years old.
Youngest CEO in Lancaster Group history.
And yet tonight, her family expected her to marry a seventy-year-old billionaire politician to
secure their legacy.
Avery felt the rage pulse in her veins.
A knock sounded behind her.
Not the gentle kind.
A controlled, calculated rhythm one, pause, two.
Her new bodyguard.
She turned.
The door opened silently, and Kai Valor stepped in, the storm casting shadows across his broad shoulders.
His presence filled the room without a sound.
Everything about him looked carved with precision tall, controlled strength,
a cold elegance that made him feel untouchable.
But his eyes…
His eyes were the kind that remembered things he would never speak about.
Your car is ready, Miss Lancaster, he said, voice low, steady.
Avery hated how his voice felt like a command wrapped in silk.
She crossed her arms. My family is downstairs,
aren’t they?
Yes.
And they expect me to smile.
Her jaw clenched.
Pretend I’m honored to be sold off like property.
Kai’s expression didn’t change.
But the silence around him thickened.
He stepped closer, stopping exactly one meter away the space he always kept.
It is my job to protect you, he said.
Even from them.
Avery’s breath caught.
Protect her?
Why did it sound like a promise?
But she forced herself to look away.
You’re a bodyguard, Kai. Not a miracle.
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he held out a small device.
She blinked.
What’s that?
The contract your brothers signed with Senator Grant, Kai said.
The one that forces your marriage.
Avery felt the ground shift.
Where did you get this?
Kai’s gaze didn’t waver.
I have… access.
Access?
He was just a bodyguard or so she thought.
Avery snatched the device, scrolling through the files in disbelief.
This was corporate espionage.
Illegal.
Dangerous.
She looked up sharply.
Why would you risk this for me?
For the first time since she met him, something flickered behind his eyes something raw, something he quickly buried.
But it was too late.
She saw it.
You’re not just protecting me, are you?
she whispered.
Before Kai could respond,
a voice thundered from downstairs:
AVERY!
THE SENATOR IS WAITING!
Avery flinched.
Kai’s jaw tightened.
Miss Lancaster…
Don’t, she snapped, her voice trembling.
Don’t call me that. Not right now.
He took one step closer.
Avery,
he said softly deliberately,
if you walk downstairs today, your life becomes a negotiation.
And if I don’t?
His answer was instant.
Then I’ll get you out.
The storm outside cracked like a warning.
Avery stared at him, pulse racing.
Who are you, Kai?
His lips twitched not a smile, but the shadow of truth.
Someone your families security team should never have hired.
