CHAPTER 4
1250 Words
Dominic Wolfe’s POV
Wolfe Enterprises – Private Office, 47th Floor
11:18 PM
I knew she would plug in the flash drive.
No matter how much Sienna claimed to hate me, she was always going to be a curious woman.
And now I had just given her enough to keep her close.
Feed that hunger that burned in her eyes, her determination to find out what her father was truly about.
I turn my chair around to face my tall window as I look outside, and the city lights are bright as they always are.
The city never sleeps, and neither do I.
My thoughts get interrupted by a loud knock on the door.
The sound of heels and the smell of Chanel Perfume filled the air.
Eliza.
Without turning around, I say ‘What brings you to my office this late, Eliza ?’
‘She accessed the file,’ Eliza said flatly, tossing a tablet onto my desk. ‘Audio pinged from her IP less than thirty minutes ago.’
I turn around, picking up the tablet and taking a look at the screen.
‘She found the notebook yet?’ I asked.
‘She’s not stupid, Dominic. She will. You know that.’
Exactly. That’s why she terrified me more than Viktor ever did.
I stood, running a hand through my hair. ‘Has Viktor moved?’
‘No. But his guy was spotted outside Sienna’s building this morning. Probably watching.’
I clenched my jaw.
‘I want surveillance doubled. Around the clock. I don’t care if she notices.’
Eliza crossed her arms, dark red nails digging into her forearms. ‘You sure you’re not just getting sentimental about a girl with daddy issues and a journalism degree she never finished?’
I shot her a stern look.
‘This isn’t about feelings,’ I said sharply. ‘This is about control. And survival.’
Eliza’s lip curled in that way that always made me wonder how close she danced with betrayal. ‘You know, for a man who claims to value control, you’ve let a waitress-turned-snoop into the heart of your empire.’
‘She’s not a waitress.’
‘She’s a wildcard.’
‘Exactly,’ I muttered.
Because that’s what made her dangerous. Desirable and very essential.
Eliza gives me her ‘I’m not buying any of this look as she quickly turns around and leaves my office.
Thirty Minutes Later – Dominic’s Private Elevator
I rode down to the parking level, alone, hands shoved into my pockets, mind running faster than the city’s subway.
Malcolm Rhodes had been a bastard. But he wasn’t a fool.
The man had uncovered a leak in the system years before anyone else even knew to look.
He came to me once, drunk, furious, threatening to expose everything Wolfe Enterprises had built with our AI systems: the backdoors, the ghost-code, the governments we sold it to.
I thought he was bluffing.
Until the flash drives started showing up in back channels.
That’s when I realized Malcolm wasn’t working for anyone.
He was working for himself.
Which made him the most dangerous kind of enemy.
I stepped out into the cold air of the underground garage.
My driver, Andre, opened the door to the back seat. I climbed in, shut the door, and sat in silence.
‘Where to, sir?’ he asked.
I stared ahead.
‘Her apartment.’
Andre hesitated. ‘The girl?’
‘She’s not just a girl.’
She was a storm. A goddamn hurricane in red lipstick and secondhand boots.
And somehow, the longer she stayed in my life, the closer I came to losing control over mine.
Outside Sienna’s Apartment – Park Slope, Brooklyn
12:09 AM
I watched from my car as the light to her apartment flickered on.
She was still awake. I wasn’t even surprised one bit.
The kind of answers Sienna was looking for to all her questions were enough to keep the entire city up.
She didn’t deserve to be wrapped in all of this.
A part of me wanted to go all the way there and tell her everything.
The deal with Malcolm, the betrayal, the reason I’d been at Circe that night with a gun tucked under my jacket.
But I couldn’t.
Some things were better left unsaid.
I reached into my coat to grab an envelope.
Serrano had dropped a message earlier.
Knowing the kind of man he was, he had a lot of tricks up his sleeve.
I trace my finger against the Black envelope, which was plain with a stamp that had a serpent curled around a V.
Serrano’s signature.
I opened up the envelope, and inside were two photos.
My eyes widen not out of shock, but out of fear that Viktor was ten steps ahead of me.
The first photo was an image of Sienna walking alone towards the wolf enterprise, and the second was a photo of her house.
I flipped the photo over, and written in red ink was
‘You’re not the only one watching her.’
My jaw clenched.
I looked up at her window one last time.
If I couldn’t keep her close, I couldn’t keep her alive.
And if Serrano made a move before I was ready…I would have to break the one rule I promised myself I’d never break again.
No attachments or liabilities. No.weakness.
But Sienna Rhodes was becoming all three.
And just as I was about to tell Andre to drive, my phone vibrated.
Unknown Number. One New Message.
**She just opened the second notebook.
We have a problem.**
I froze.
Second notebook?
I never gave her a second one.
There wasn't a second one.
Unless...
Unless someone else did.
And I wasn’t the only one feeding her breadcrumbs.
Someone was playing a game inside my game.
Feeding her something behind my back.
And the timing… it wasn’t a coincidence.
Not with Serrano’s envelope showing up today. Not with that photo. Not with those red ink letters like blood on paper.
I looked up again at Sienna’s window. Still lit.
But for how long?
I dialed a number I hadn’t touched in two years.
One ring.
Two.
Click.
A voice answered. Low. Russian. Familiar. ‘I was wondering when you’d call.’
‘I need surveillance scrubbed,’ I said. ‘Top-down wipe. Park Slope. All the blocks surrounding her apartment. Find every device, every signal…everything.”
‘You’re being watched?’ he asked.
I hesitated.
‘I’m not sure who is watching who anymore.’
The line went silent. Then the voice said:
‘You opened the box, Wolfe. You don’t get to be surprised when snakes crawl out.’
Click.
He hung up.
I stared at the phone.
And then I remembered something Sienna had said earlier today, something she had muttered under her breath when she thought I wasn’t listening.
‘I’ve seen this before.’
Not, I’ve heard of this.
No, I’ve read about it.
Seen.
And now there was a second notebook. One that didn’t come from me or Malcolm.
My chest tightened.
Was she remembering something she was never supposed to?
Was this all just a coincidence…
Suddenly, everything shifted.
This wasn’t about protecting Sienna from Viktor anymore.
This was about figuring out who the hell she was.
And who wanted her to remember.
I slammed my palm against the glass window of the car.
Andre flinched in the front seat. ‘Sir?’
‘Drive.’
‘Where to?’
I stared back at that apartment window one last time.
The light flickered again.
Then, off.
Completely dark.
She was no longer alone.
- Writer
