Chapter 3
524 Words
Elias noticed him the moment he stepped out of Sophia’s office.
The man was standing near the end of the hallway, pretending to be busy with his phone.
Pretending.
Elias knew the difference.
He slowed down.
The man looked up.
Their eyes met for half a second.
Then he walked away.
Elias frowned.
“Who was that?”
Sophia’s assistant looked confused.
“Who?”
“The man at the end of the hallway.”
She glanced behind him.
“There was no one there.”
Elias turned around.
The hallway was empty.
He shook his head.
“Never mind.”
By the time he reached the elevator, he had almost convinced himself that he’d imagined it.
Almost.
The elevator doors opened.
He stepped inside.
Then his phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
You shouldn’t have taken the contract.
Elias stared at the message.
A second message appeared.
Walk away while you still can.
His first instinct was to call the number.
He did.
It went straight to voicemail.
“Great,” he muttered.
The elevator reached the ground floor.
He walked outside and stood on the pavement, staring at his phone.
Something wasn’t right.
He had worked with powerful people before. He understood that big contracts came with complications.
But this felt different.
Someone had been watching him.
And someone knew about the contract before he’d even started working on it.
His phone rang again.
This time, it was Sophia.
“Elias.”
“Did you know someone was watching me?”
Silence.
That was enough of an answer.
“You knew.”
“I suspected.”
“You suspected?”
Her voice remained calm.
“I was going to tell you.”
“When?”
“When I knew for certain.”
Elias laughed bitterly.
“That’s reassuring.”
“You can still walk away.”
He stopped.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“You said I couldn’t.”
“I said walking away from me wasn’t really an option.”
A pause.
“This is different.”
Elias looked back at the Voss building.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Sophia didn’t answer immediately.
When she finally spoke, her voice was quieter.
“My family has enemies.”
“And now I’m involved.”
“Yes.”
Elias closed his eyes.
“Fantastic.”
“I can protect you.”
“I don’t need protection.”
“I know.”
Something about the way she said it made him pause.
She wasn’t mocking him.
She was simply stating a fact.
“You should still be careful,” she said.
“Why?”
“Because whoever sent that message isn’t trying to scare you.”
Elias felt a cold knot form in his stomach.
“Then what are they trying to do?”
Sophia took a breath.
“They’re trying to warn you.”
The call ended.
Elias stared at the screen.
For the first time since signing the contract, he wondered if he’d made the biggest mistake of his life.
And somewhere across the city, someone was already making sure he wouldn’t get the chance to change his mind.
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