The Woman in Red
705 Words
Lena Wolfe didn’t need an introduction. Her presence spoke louder than any bio could. She walked into Adrian Kane’s office like she owned it—like she still owned him.
Ella sat on the leather sofa near the corner, trying to appear composed while slipping her heels back on. She didn’t want Lena to see her vulnerable, half-dressed, or flushed. But it was too late. The scent of s*x still clung to the room.
Lena took it in with a smirk.
“Well, well,” she said smoothly, voice like velvet wrapped around a knife. “Still marking territory with your d**k, Adrian?”
Adrian’s jaw tightened. “Why are you here?”
She turned her icy blue eyes to Ella. “You can go now, assistant. This is personal.”
Ella stood, but Adrian’s voice stopped her.
“She stays.”
A long silence fell between the three of them. Lena’s red lips curled. “Interesting.”
Adrian rounded his desk, his control snapping back into place like armor. “What do you want, Lena?”
“You left something behind.” She pulled a flash drive from her designer purse and tossed it onto his desk. “Or maybe you forgot who owns the secrets that made Kane Dominion so powerful.”
Ella’s eyes flicked to the drive.
“What’s on that?” Adrian asked, voice low.
“Memories. Evidence. Leverage,” she said. “I figured I’d drop by before someone else did. Someone a little less... sentimental.”
“Is this blackmail?”
She laughed. “Darling, if it were blackmail, you'd already be buried.”
Adrian’s eyes darkened, but he said nothing. Lena’s gaze drifted back to Ella.
“She’s not your type,” Lena said. “Too innocent. Too... fragile.”
“She’s not yours to define,” Adrian shot back.
The tension in the room was razor-sharp. Lena leaned against the desk, arms crossed beneath her ample chest, her red dress hugging every curve. “You’re making mistakes, Adrian. Emotional ones. That’s not like you.”
Ella swallowed hard. She hated how this woman made her feel small. Powerless. Exposed. But something was shifting in her now. A fire kindling deep inside. She wasn’t going to back down.
“What do you really want?” Adrian asked again.
“I want back in,” Lena said simply. “The company. The power. You.”
Adrian stepped closer to Ella, one hand resting lightly on her lower back—a claim. “That’s not happening.”
Lena’s smile faded. “Then be ready for war.”
She turned and walked out, her heels echoing like gunshots.
Ella let out a shaky breath. Adrian didn’t speak. He just stared at the flash drive.
“What’s on it?” she asked.
He finally looked at her. “My past. Our future. And maybe... our end.”
---
Later that night, Ella couldn’t sleep. The memory of Lena’s smirk haunted her. What kind of history did they share? What secrets could bring down Kane Dominion? What danger had she just been dragged into?
She got out of bed and poured herself a glass of water, staring out her apartment window at the city skyline. Everything felt different now. Adrian wasn’t just her boss. He wasn’t just the man who made her body tremble and her mind blur. He was dangerous. Connected to something darker than she'd imagined.
Her phone buzzed. A message from an unknown number.
You don’t know him like I do. Walk away while you still can.
Ella’s blood ran cold.
Then, a second message came.
Check your email.
With trembling fingers, she opened her inbox. One new message. No subject. Just a single attachment: a photo.
She clicked it.
Adrian.
Tied to a chair.
Blood on his face.
A younger version of him. Bound. Bruised. Eyes wild with rage.
Another man stood behind him—tall, heavily tattooed, smiling for the camera.
The message beneath the photo read:
You have no idea who you’re sleeping with.
Ella covered her mouth, heart pounding. Her world was tilting. Her instincts screamed to run. But something stronger held her still.
She needed to know the truth.
Even if it destroyed her.
---
- Writer
