The heavy slam of the door echoed through the villa, reverberating in Tracy’s chest long after Alex’s footsteps had vanished down the hall.
She stood rooted in place, staring at the empty doorway. The silence that followed was different now—charged, brittle. Whatever that phone call had been, it rattled him. And that scared her more than his carefully crafted smirks or his endless rules.
Because Alex Knight didn’t rattle.
For several minutes, Tracy paced the living room, her mind restless. He had told her to stay here—sharp, commanding, as though she were just another possession. Part of her bristled at the order. Another part whispered that maybe, just this once, she should disobey.
The villa was too full of secrets to sit idly by.
Her feet carried her down a hallway lined with close
