Chapter Five
1075 Words
Lorenzo Blackwood had never been a man who searched for anything.
People searched for him.
Opportunities searched for him.
Power followed him wherever he went.
For years, Lorenzo had built an empire that made even the most powerful people careful around him.
His name opened doors.
His name closed them.
Some people admired him.
Some people feared him.
And some people hated him enough to wish for his downfall.
But none of them ignored him.
Until her.
The Blackwood Corporation tower stood at the center of the city, rising above every other building around it.
It represented everything Lorenzo had created.
Success.
Control.
Influence.
Every person who walked through those doors knew exactly whose company they were entering.
The employees worked harder when Lorenzo was present.
Not because he shouted.
Not because he threatened them.
Because Lorenzo Blackwood had a way of making people feel like mistakes were unacceptable.
At exactly eight in the morning, Lorenzo entered the building.
The conversations around him immediately became quieter.
Assistants moved quickly.
Employees straightened their posture.
Everyone knew when the CEO arrived.
Lorenzo walked through the lobby without acknowledging anyone.
His suit was perfectly fitted.
His expression was unreadable.
His eyes showed nothing.
To the world, he was exactly what they expected.
Cold.
Powerful.
Untouchable.
But inside his office, when the door closed behind him, the silence felt different.
It was no longer powerful.
It was loneliness.
A stack of documents waited on his desk.
Normally, Lorenzo would have gone through every page without distraction.
Normally, nothing could pull his attention away from business.
But that morning was different.
Because every few minutes, his mind returned to the same person.
A woman he had met for less than an hour.
A woman whose last name he barely knew.
A woman who had walked away from him.
He looked at the black MasterCard sitting on his desk.
His card.
The one she left behind.
Most people would have considered it valuable.
Most people would have understood what it represented.
But Eliana Jones had looked at it like it was nothing.
That bothered him.
More than it should have.
Lorenzo leaned back in his chair.
"Why did you leave?"
The question left his mouth quietly.
There was nobody there to answer.
And that annoyed him even more.
The office door opened.
His assistant, Adrian, stepped inside.
"Mr. Blackwood, your ten o'clock meeting has been moved forward."
Lorenzo looked up.
"Cancel it."
Adrian paused.
That was unusual.
Lorenzo never canceled important meetings.
"Sir?"
"I said cancel it."
Adrian nodded immediately.
"Yes, sir."
But before leaving, Adrian hesitated.
Lorenzo noticed.
"What?"
Adrian looked slightly uncomfortable.
"There is something else."
"Speak."
"About the woman from last night."
The room became quiet.
Lorenzo's expression changed slightly.
Only slightly.
But enough for someone who knew him to notice.
"What about her?"
"The security team reviewed the footage. We found her leaving the building."
"And?"
Adrian placed a file on the desk.
"Her identity is still being confirmed."
Lorenzo opened the file.
A few pictures from the security footage were inside.
When Eliana was walking through the hallway.
Eliana entering the elevator.
And when she left the building.
He studied the images silently.
She looked different from everyone around him.
Everyone else moved like they belonged there.
She moved like she was trying to find her way back to somewhere safe.
“I didn't ask you for pictures from the security footage.”
"Find her."
Adrian looked at him.
"We will."
"No."
Lorenzo closed the file.
"I want everything."
Adrian waited.
"Her school. Her family. Her friends. Everything."
The order surprised him.
Because Lorenzo Blackwood did not usually care about strangers.
But he did not question it.
"Yes, sir."
After Adrian left, Lorenzo stood and walked toward the window.
The city stretched beneath him.
Millions of people.
Millions of stories.
And somewhere among them was Eliana Jones.
He wondered what she was doing now.
Was she worried about what happened?
Was she thinking about him?
Or had she already forgotten?
The thought irritated him.
He did not understand why.
People forgot him only when they were foolish enough to believe they could.
But Eliana was not trying to insult him.
She simply did not know.
And somehow, that was worse.
Later that afternoon, Lorenzo attended a meeting with several businessmen.
The room was filled with powerful people.
People who spent years trying to gain the kind of influence Lorenzo already had.
A man across the table spoke about a new partnership.
Everyone listened.
Everyone respected him.
Except Lorenzo.
Because his mind was somewhere else.
"Mr. Blackwood?"
The man stopped speaking.
Lorenzo looked up.
"Continue."
The man cleared his throat and continued.
Nobody questioned why Lorenzo seemed distracted.
Nobody was brave enough.
When the meeting ended, Lorenzo returned to his office.
He expected the strange feeling to disappear.
It didn't.
He hated that.
Because Lorenzo understood enemies.
He understood threats.
He understood betrayal.
But curiosity?
That was unfamiliar.
And unfamiliar things were dangerous.
His phone rang.
He answered.
"Yes."
A voice came from the other end.
"We found something."
Lorenzo's expression sharpened.
"What?"
"Her name is Eliana Jones."
A pause.
"She is a university student."
Lorenzo remained silent.
A student.
Someone completely outside his world.
"Anything else?"
The voice continued.
"She has a close friend named Joan Peters."
Another pause.
"And she has someone."
Lorenzo frowned.
"Someone?"
"A boyfriend."
For some reason, those words changed the atmosphere in the room.
A strange feeling moved through him.
Something he refused to identify.
"Name?"
The answer came.
"Ryder Massimo."
The moment the name was spoken, Lorenzo's expression became colder.
Not because he knew the man.
Not because Ryder had done anything.
But because suddenly, Lorenzo understood something.
Eliana Jones had not walked away because she wasn't interested in him.
She had walked away because her heart already belonged somewhere else.
And for the first time in years...
Lorenzo Blackwood felt something he hated.
Competition.
He ended the call and looked at the city outside.
Ryder Massimo.
The name stayed in his mind.
A name that should have meant nothing.
A name that should have disappeared the moment the call ended.
But it didn't.
And Lorenzo didn't understand why.
He only knew one
thing.
He wanted answers.
He wanted to know why a woman he barely knew had managed to disturb the order of his perfectly controlled life.
And he was going to find out.
No matter what it took.
- Writer
