Dangerous interest
1421 Words
I shouldn’t be here.
That’s the only thought running through my head.
Over and over again.
Louder than the music outside. Louder than my heartbeat. Louder than the quiet presence of the man sitting across from me like he owns not just this room—
But everything in it.
Including me.
My instincts scream.
Run.
And this time—
I listen.
I take a step back.
Then another.
My fingers fumble blindly behind me for the door handle.
“I think there’s been a mistake,” I say quickly, my voice tight, uneven. “I’m not supposed to be here.”
Silence.
He watches me.
Not stopping me.
Not speaking.
Just… watching.
That’s worse.
My hand finds the handle.
I twist it.
Locked.
My stomach drops.
I pull harder.
Nothing.
“I need to leave,” I say, louder now, panic creeping into my voice. “Open the door.”
Still—
Nothing.
The man leans back slightly in his chair, one arm resting lazily against the armrest.
Calm.
Too calm.
Like this is entertainment.
“Are you done?” he asks finally.
My breath catches.
His voice—
Low.
Smooth.
Controlled.
Familiar.
And that’s when it hits me.
I’ve seen him before.
Not in person.
But—
Pictures.
News.
Rumors.
Aiden hated him.
I remember the name whispered with irritation, with anger, with something that almost sounded like fear.
The man who kept taking contracts from him.
The one no one wanted to cross.
The one people talked about in quiet voices.
Kael De Luca.
My blood runs cold.
No.
No, no, no.
Of all people—
My back hits the door.
“I don’t belong here,” I repeat, softer now.
His gaze sharpens slightly.
“I can see that,” he says.
The words don’t comfort me.
They make it worse.
“Then let me go.”
A pause.
Something unreadable flickers in his eyes.
But before he can respond—
The door opens.
Relief floods through me instantly.
I don’t think.
I move.
But I don’t get far.
A sharp sting hits my arm.
I gasp.
“What—”
The world tilts.
My vision blurs at the edges.
No.
No, no—
“What did you—”
My words slur.
My knees weaken.
Strong arms catch me before I hit the ground.
Not gentle.
But not rough either.
Controlled.
My head spins as I try to focus, my fingers weakly pushing against the person holding me.
“What… did you do to me…” I whisper.
No one answers.
But I feel it.
The shift.
The room softens.
The fear dulls.
Everything feels… slower.
Wrong.
Through the haze—
I see him.
Rafael.
Watching me again.
But this time—
There’s something different in his expression.
Not amusement.
Curiosity.
Deep.
Intense.
Like he’s trying to figure me out.
“Interesting,” he murmurs again.
My body feels heavy now.
Too heavy.
I try to stay awake.
I really do.
But the darkness pulls harder.
The last thing I feel—
Is being lifted.
And then—
Nothing.
When I wake up—
Something is wrong.
My body feels… strange.
Heavy.
Warm.
Too warm.
My head throbs faintly as I shift slightly, the sheets beneath me soft—
Expensive.
Wait.
Sheets?
My eyes snap open.
Panic hits instantly.
This isn’t my room.
This isn’t any place I’ve ever been.
The ceiling is unfamiliar.
The air smells different.
And then—
I realize.
I’m not wearing anything.
My breath catches violently in my throat.
No.
No, no, no—
I sit up too fast, the room spinning slightly as I clutch the sheet to my chest.
What happened?
My mind races, trying to piece together memories—
The car.
The building.
The room.
Him.
Then—
Darkness.
That’s it.
That’s all I remember.
My heart pounds painfully.
Did he—
I can’t even finish the thought.
Because I don’t know.
And that—
That’s worse.
A sound shifts beside me.
I freeze.
Slowly—
Too slowly—
I turn my head.
And there he is.
Kael.
Still here.
Still in the room.
Still watching.
My chest tightens as I pull the sheet tighter around myself, my body instinctively moving away from him.
“What did you do to me?” I demand, my voice shaking despite my effort to steady it.
His gaze flickers over me briefly before returning to my face.
Unbothered.
Calm.
“You passed out,” he says simply.
“That’s not what I asked.”
A pause.
Something almost like amusement touches his lips.
“You’re alive,” he replies. “That should answer enough.”
My stomach twists.
“That doesn’t answer anything,” I snap, fear making my voice sharper. “Why am I here? Why am I like this?”
His expression shifts slightly at that.
“Like what?”
I hesitate.
Because I don’t even know how to say it.
“Like… this,” I gesture vaguely, my face burning with humiliation. “I don’t remember anything after—”
“Good,” he cuts in smoothly.
I blink.
“What?”
“It means the dose worked.”
Cold.
Flat.
My blood runs cold again.
“You drugged me.”
Not a question.
A statement.
He doesn’t deny it.
My hands tremble slightly against the sheet.
“You had no right—”
“You walked into my space,” he interrupts. “Uninvited.”
“I was running for my life!”
“And now you’re safe,” he replies.
I stare at him.
Safe?
This is what he calls safe?
My chest rises and falls unevenly as I try to control my breathing, my thoughts spinning too fast.
“You should be more careful where you run to next time,” he adds.
There’s no threat in his tone.
But somehow—
That makes it worse.
Silence stretches between us.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Then—
He speaks again.
“You know who I am.”
It’s not a question.
I swallow.
“…Yes.”
His eyes narrow slightly.
“And yet,” he continues slowly, “you still chose my car.”
“I didn’t know it was yours.”
A pause.
Then—
A quiet exhale.
“Unlucky,” he murmurs.
My stomach twists again.
Because something about the way he says that—
Feels like a warning.
Later—
I’m alone.
Finally.
A woman came in.
Brought clothes.
Told me to get dressed.
Didn’t answer any of my questions.
Of course she didn’t.
Nothing about this place feels like it gives answers.
Only takes.
I sit on the edge of the bed, my fingers gripping the fabric of the dress they gave me.
My mind won’t stop replaying everything.
The injection.
The darkness.
Waking up here.
Him.
Kael De Luca.
Of all people.
Aiden’s biggest rival.
If he knew—
My breath catches.
Would he care?
No.
The thought comes too quickly.
Too easily.
He already threw me away.
Why would this matter?
Still—
Something about this feels bigger.
Worse.
Like I’ve stepped into something I don’t understand yet.
And I’m already too deep.
Across the hall—
In another room—
Kael stands by the window, his expression unreadable as he looks out over the city.
“She was with Adrian Vale.”
The voice behind him is calm.
Professional.
His right-hand man.
Rafael doesn’t turn.
“I know,” he says.
A pause.
“There’s more.”
That—
That makes him turn.
Slowly.
“What kind of more?”
The man hesitates slightly.
Then—
“She wasn’t just with him,” he says carefully. “She was engaged to him.”
Silence.
Something dark flickers in Rafael’s eyes.
“And now?” he asks.
“Engagement terminated. Publicly.”
Another pause.
“But that’s not the interesting part.”
Kael’s gaze sharpens.
“Then speak.”
The man exhales once.
“Everything she had is gone,” he says. “Accounts emptied. Access revoked. Assets transferred.”
Rafael’s expression hardens slightly.
“By who?”
“The Vale family.”
A beat.
Then—
“There’s also this.”
A file is placed on the table.
Kael glances at it briefly.
Then opens it.
And for the first time—
His composure cracks.
Just slightly.
Because staring back at him—
Is a name.
Not Kimberly.
Not the girl sitting quietly in the next room.
But another name entirely.
One that shouldn’t be connected to her.
One that changes everything.
- Writer
