Blackwood Tower
1378 Words
ELENA
The city looked different from the backseat of a luxury car.
Tall buildings stretched endlessly outside the tinted windows while morning sunlight reflected against glass towers and crowded streets below. Everything looked expensive. Untouchable.
Almost unreal.
My fingers tightened slightly around my handbag as the car slowed in front of the tallest building in the financial district.
Blackwood Tower.
Even from outside, the building felt intimidating.
Dark glass walls.
Massive silver doors.
Security guards standing near the entrance with sharp expressions.
The enormous BLACKWOOD logo reflected under the sunlight like a warning.
I stared up at it quietly.
This was Lucien Blackwood’s world.
Cold.
Powerful.
Perfectly controlled.
The driver stepped out first and opened the door for me politely.
“We’ve arrived, Miss Rivers.”
Miss Rivers.
Not Elena.
Not future Mrs. Laurent.
Just Elena Rivers again.
The thought hurt more than I expected.
I stepped out slowly, heels clicking softly against the pavement. Almost immediately I noticed people staring.
Not because they recognized me from the scandal.
Because nobody came to Blackwood Tower unless they mattered.
And right now I clearly did not belong here.
“You can still leave,” I whispered softly to myself.
Maybe Camille was right.
Maybe coming here was a mistake.
But before I could change my mind again, the glass doors opened automatically.
A woman in a fitted black suit approached calmly.
“Miss Rivers?”
I nodded carefully.
“This way please.”
She did not smile once as she guided me through the massive lobby.
The inside of Blackwood Tower was even more overwhelming.
White marble floors.
Floor to ceiling windows.
Modern silver details everywhere.
Employees moved quickly through the building with focused expressions, every movement organized and efficient.
No unnecessary conversations.
No wasted time.
Lucien’s influence practically lived inside the walls.
I suddenly became painfully aware of myself again.
Of the scandal attached to my name.
Of the fact that I did not belong in this world.
As we approached the private elevators, several employees glanced toward me quietly.
Some recognized me instantly.
I could see it in their eyes.
The humiliation followed me everywhere now.
The assistant pressed a private access card against the scanner.
The elevator doors opened immediately.
“Mr. Blackwood is waiting for you upstairs.”
I stepped inside slowly.
The doors closed.
And suddenly I was alone with my thoughts again.
My reflection stared back at me from the mirrored walls.
Tired eyes.
Nervous hands.
A woman trying very hard not to fall apart.
The elevator moved smoothly upward.
Higher.
Higher.
Higher.
Until finally it stopped at the top floor.
The doors opened into complete silence.
I stepped out carefully.
The upper floor looked less like an office and more like the private world of someone too powerful to live normally.
Dark walls.
Large windows overlooking the city.
Minimalist furniture.
Everything elegant but cold.
Another assistant approached quietly.
“Mr. Blackwood is finishing a meeting. Please wait here.”
I nodded.
The assistant disappeared almost immediately.
I sat carefully near the windows, trying not to look nervous.
But the silence made everything worse.
Too much time to think.
Too much time to question why I even came here.
Then suddenly voices echoed faintly from a nearby office.
Male voices.
One angry.
One calm.
Lucien.
Even without seeing him, I recognized his voice instantly.
Cold and controlled.
“You’re making a mistake,” another man said sharply.
Lucien answered calmly. “That would concern you if I asked for your opinion.”
“She’s connected to Laurent.”
“Not anymore.”
A pause followed.
Then the other man lowered his voice slightly.
“You’re moving too quickly.”
Lucien’s response came without hesitation.
“I move exactly as quickly as necessary.”
The office door finally opened.
Two men stepped out.
One of them I recognized immediately from business magazines.
Ethan Cole.
Lucien Blackwood’s closest business partner.
Ethan looked surprised when he saw me waiting there.
Very surprised.
His eyes moved between me and the closed office behind him before understanding slowly crossed his face.
Interesting.
He recovered quickly though.
“Miss Rivers,” he greeted politely.
I nodded awkwardly.
Ethan studied me carefully for a second longer before looking toward the office again.
Then he sighed quietly like a man realizing disaster was coming.
“Well,” he muttered softly, “this should be interesting.”
Before I could respond, Lucien stepped out behind him.
And the atmosphere changed instantly.
Just like at the engagement party.
Lucien Blackwood did not need to raise his voice or demand attention. His presence alone changed the energy of every room he entered.
Today he wore a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled slightly above his wrists.
Simple.
But somehow still intimidating.
His dark eyes settled on me immediately.
“You came.”
Not surprise.
Observation.
I stood slowly. “You invited me.”
His gaze moved briefly across my face.
Studying.
Calculating.
Like he noticed every detail automatically.
“You look tired,” he said.
I almost laughed bitterly.
Of course I looked tired.
My life exploded less than twenty four hours ago.
“I didn’t come here for concern.”
“No,” Lucien agreed calmly. “You came for answers.”
Ethan cleared his throat awkwardly.
“I should leave before this turns into another public scandal.”
Lucien ignored him completely.
Ethan looked toward me sympathetically.
“Good luck,” he said quietly before walking away.
The second we were alone, the room somehow felt even quieter.
Lucien gestured toward his office.
“Come inside.”
I hesitated briefly before following him.
His office was massive.
Dark wood shelves lined the walls while enormous windows overlooked the entire city behind his desk.
Everything looked clean and perfectly organized.
Controlled.
Just like him.
Lucien removed his suit jacket calmly and placed it over a chair before turning toward me again.
“You can sit.”
I remained standing.
“I think I’d rather stay angry.”
For the first time, amusement flickered briefly across his expression.
Interesting.
At least I surprised him slightly.
Lucien leaned lightly against the edge of his desk.
“Fair enough.”
I crossed my arms.
“Why me really?”
Straight to the point.
Lucien seemed to appreciate that.
“I already explained.”
“No,” I said quietly. “You explained what the contract offers. You never explained why you chose me.”
Silence filled the office briefly.
His gaze remained steady on mine.
Then finally he spoke.
“Because you are useful to me.”
“There’s that word again.”
“It remains true.”
I exhaled slowly.
“You don’t talk like a normal person.”
Lucien looked genuinely unconcerned by that observation.
“I was not aware normality was a requirement.”
Despite myself, I almost smiled.
Almost.
Lucien walked toward the windows slowly.
“The Laurent family has spent years trying to position themselves against my company,” he said calmly. “Your engagement connected you to them publicly.”
I frowned slightly.
“So this is revenge.”
Lucien turned toward me.
“If it were revenge, Nathaniel would already be destroyed.”
The frightening part was how calmly he said it.
Not arrogance.
Just fact.
I suddenly understood why powerful people feared this man.
He spoke like someone completely aware of his influence.
Lucien continued.
“Your public separation changes certain dynamics.”
“You’re still avoiding the real answer.”
A long silence followed.
Then he looked directly at me again.
“Because I trust desperate people more than ambitious ones.”
The honesty startled me.
“You think I’m desperate.”
“I think you were humiliated publicly yesterday and currently have very few people you can rely on.”
Pain flashed through me instantly because once again he was telling the truth.
Lucien stepped closer slowly.
“But despite that, you still walked into this building with your head high.”
I looked up at him quietly.
“And that matters to you?”
“Yes.”
Simple.
Direct.
Honest.
For the first time since meeting him, I noticed something important.
Lucien Blackwood rarely lied.
He simply chose carefully how much truth to reveal.
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