My mouth hung open, breath caught in my throat, hands trembling uncontrollably, legs suddenly as unsteady as a newborn foal’s. I stood frozen, staring at the gruesome scene before me—my boss, Damien, just spilling death at his feet. He tore his gaze away from the lifeless body sprawled on the cold concrete, and without haste, wiped the blood off his hands on his impeccably tailored shirt.

Then he walked toward me, each step measured but heavy with an unspoken threat, his eyes gleaming with that dangerous gleam I’d come to fear—and strangely, to know. My mind screamed for me to run, but my body betrayed me, rooted in place like a statue carved from stone.

Taking a shuddering breath, I shut my eyes tightly as his bloodied hands reached for my face. The chill of impending doom crawled down my spine, and for a fleeting second, I let myself believe this might be the end—the last chapter of my life written in blood and silence.

Clenching my eyelids shut, I cursed my own cowardice, wishing I’d been braver. How had I landed here? This wasn’t how my story was supposed to unfold—not six months ago, when everything was still possible. It had all begun when I met the enigmatic stranger who now held my fate like a fragile thread between his fingers...

And here I was, trapped in a nightmare I never saw coming.

September 29, 2025. 7:54 a.m. The day had started like any other, but nothing would ever be the same again.