A MAN BEHIND THE MASK
1356 Words
The elevator doors slid open with a soft metallic sigh, but the tension that spilled out felt louder than thunder.
Maxine stepped inside, hugging her medical bag against her chest, as if it were armor. The sterile lights overhead reflected sharply against the polished steel walls, creating illusions of depth—shadows that looked far too human for her comfort.
"Breathe, Maxine. This is still a job. You need this!" She found a way to release these words.
But saying it didn’t make it easier. Not when her mind kept returning to Alden’s warning earlier that morning:
“If he ever crosses the line again, call me. I’m not letting you go back to him alone.”
The elevator ascended, floor by floor, every beep echoing like a countdown to something she wasn’t ready for.
When the doors opened on the 47th floor, the atmosphere changed instantly.
The temperature dropped. The hallway was dimmer.
And the silence… felt like pressure pushing her lungs inward.
This was Mike Urdanzo’s domain,the restricted research wing of OMRIS Medical Corporation, a floor most employees pretended didn’t exist. Rumor said that only two types of people were allowed here,
Scientists Mike trusted. And people Mike owned.
Maxine swallowed hard.
She knocked once before the door opened on its own. The slow, controlled motion of the automatic locks sliding away was terrifying in itself, silent but suffocating.
Inside, the office was dark except for the bluish glow of screens. Lab reports, chemical diagrams, neurological models, everything looked like a genius’s paradise and a madman’s trap all at once.
Then a voice broke the stillness.
“Late.”
Maxine flinched.
Mike stood near the glass wall overlooking the city, hands slipped casually into the pockets of his tailored black suit. His posture was relaxed… too relaxed for a man known for discipline that bordered on cruelty. His reflection shimmered against the window.. sharp jawline, perfect composure, eyes cold enough to fracture steel.
She forced herself to speak. “I... I came as fast as I could, Sir.”
He turned slowly. His gaze scanned her from head to toe, not with lust… but with something far more dangerous!
Possession. evaluation, and expectation.
“Take off your coat,” he said, voice low, calm yet carrying the kind of authority that demanded obedience without raising volume.
She slipped it off, revealing her white uniform. His eyes narrowed.
“You were crying.”
It wasn’t a question.
But Maxine stiffened. “No, Sir.”
He walked toward her. Every step was precise and controlled.
“Lie to anyone else, Maxine. Not to me.”
He stopped just inches away. The faint scent of his cologne, dark cedar, smoked vanilla, and something unidentifiable, wrapped around her like a shadow. She looked down at her shoes, but he tilted her chin up with a single finger.
Her heart hammered violently.
“You’re trembling again,” he murmured, eyes never leaving hers. “Is it fear… or him?”
Her breath caught. “W-Who?”
“Alden.” His jaw tightened faintly. “He is becoming too comfortable. Too present. I don’t like when my employees split loyalties.”
Her mind wanted to scream, "I’m not yours. I’m just working for you!" But her mouth stayed silent. Because she knew better. She knew what defiance would cost.
Mike watched her in terrifying stillness, as though he could read the silent rebellion pulsing beneath her skin.
“Follow me,” he said, turning away.
Maxine exhaled shakily and hurried behind him. They walked into a smaller lab, chilled to medical-grade temperature. On the counter sat an array of neatly aligned vials, color-coded, labeled with abbreviations she didn’t recognize.
He lifted a vial the color of melted gold.
“This.” He held it between his fingers, the glass catching the blue lights beautifully. “Is the serum you will monitor tonight.”
She blinked. “Sir, I thought I was here for a documentation task...”
“You’re here for whatever I tell you to do.”
Fear spiked up her throat. “But I’m not licensed to...”
Mike stepped closer again, with his expression that unreadable.
“You’re competent. And I trust you,” he said simply.
She froze. "Trust? From him?" Maxine likes to talk to herself in any way.
It felt absurd. Like a blade wrapped in silk.
He placed the vial in her hand. His fingers brushed her skin, just a whisper of contact, yet enough to send heat spiraling through her. Not desire. Not affection. Something more confusing. More unsettling.
“You will assist me in this experiment,” Mike said. “And you will do it properly.”
He moved past her, grabbing gloves and equipment. Maxine forced her shaking hands to make it steady. For a while, the lab filled with quiet tension, machines humming, glass clinking, her own heart pounding like it wanted to escape from her chest.
Then Mike spoke, voice softer than before.“Maxine.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Why did you cry today?”
She froze again. Her breath, her fingers, the beating of her heart, it all halted instantly.
Mike wasn’t looking at her. He was adjusting the microscope. But the softness in his tone was the most dangerous thing about him.
She hesitated. “It… wasn’t because of Alden.” She lie... But a lie of nonetheless.
Mike hummed. “Then what made you upset?”
Her throat tightened. “I...don’t want to talk about it.”
At that, Mike set the microscope aside, in a slow motion.
Then he walked toward her again, stopping close enough that she could see her reflection in his obsidian eyes.
“You will talk about anything I want you to talk about,” he said quietly. “I take care of the people who belong to me. But I cannot protect you if you hide from me.”
Her lips parted in shock.
"Protect? Did he really say protect?" She didn’t have time to answer... because suddenly Mike phone buzzed. He glanced at it, and something in his expression shifted. It's like a flash of darkness.
He turned the screen toward her.
1 New Message From: Alden Remarque
“Max, are you with him?”
Maxine’s blood drained from her face.
Mike’s jaw ticked. He stared at her, his voice like ice sliding under her skin.
“You didn’t tell him you’re working late.”
“I...I didn’t think...”
“You didn’t think,” he repeated, stepping closer again. “Or you didn’t want him to worry?”
“No! Sir, I just..."
“Or,” he cut in deeper, “you wanted to keep secrets from me.”
Her heartbeat thundered, like the chaos in the world war II. This was the beginning of the spiral she feared.
Mike leaned in, lips near her ear.
“Maxine… I do not tolerate divided attention.”
A shiver crawled down her spine.
Then Mike pulled back, eyes dark with something sharp, something possessive, something unrestrained.
“Call him,” Mike ordered softly. “Put it on speaker.”
Her world stopped.
“Sir, please...”
“Now.” Mike said immediately.
She swallowed hard. Her trembling finger pressed dial.
The ringing echoed through the cold lab, bouncing off metal and glass, feeling like a death sentence.
Then Alden answered.
“Max? Are you okay? Where are you? I’m coming to get you.”
Before she could respond, Mike spoke.
“No, Alden,” he said calmly. “She’s not going anywhere.”
Maxine’s breath broke into a gasp.
Alden was silent for one heartbeat. Two. Three. Four.
Then his voice erupted, sharp and furious.
“MIKE...DON’T YOU DARE!"
Mike ended the call. Then the lab fell into a suffocating silence. He looked at Maxine, eyes unreadable and dark.
“You belong here tonight,” he said. “Understood?”
Her voice cracked. "..Yes, sir.”
And that was the moment she realized:
Tonight was the night everything would change.
The night Alden would come for her. And the night Mike would refuse to let her go.
- Writer
