Chapter 27: The Second Enemy

The message blurred on Lena’s phone as her heart pounded in her ears.

“He’s lying to you.”

Her hands shook so violently she almost dropped the device. Alexander snatched the phone before it hit the floor, reading the message with a look she couldn’t decipher — shock, anger, and something else. Something darker.

“This isn’t Marcus,” he said slowly.

“No,” Lena whispered. “It… it feels different.”

Alexander’s jaw tightened. “There’s someone else involved.”

Lena stared at him, fear twisting into confusion. “Alex… what would they mean by ‘lying’?”

He looked at her, but he didn’t answer immediately. And that silence — that hesitation — cracked something in her.

“Alex,” she said more firmly, “what are you not telling me?”

He inhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. “Lena, I told you everything that matters.”

“That matters to you,” she whispered. “But what about me?”

He froze.

Lena stepped back. “You said Marcus was the only one. But someone else is watching me, texting me, getting into my home. And now they’re telling me you’re lying.”

“You think I’d hurt you?” His voice was raw, low.

“No,” she said quickly. “Not hurt me. But you might be hiding something. Something about why all of this is happening.”

Alexander’s shoulders sagged slightly — a sign she had hit something true.

Before he could speak, a loud bang echoed from the hallway.

Lena gasped.

Alexander’s expression snapped back into lethal focus. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind him, moving silently toward the door like a predator sensing danger.

Another bang.

Closer this time.

Alexander grabbed the gun he’d set on the side table.

“Stay behind me,” he whispered.

Lena’s breath trembled in her chest, every muscle in her body tightening with terror.

A shadow moved under the door.

Then—

Click.

Someone was trying the lock.

Lena’s heart crawled into her throat.

Alexander raised the gun, voice icy. “Step away from the door. Now.”

Silence.

Then another click — harder this time, metal grinding.

“Alex,” Lena whispered, clinging to his shirt.

The lock rattled violently, as if someone was testing each mechanism, trying to break in.

Alexander moved his thumb to the safety, ready to fire.

“THIS IS PRIVATE PROPERTY,” he shouted. “YOU HAVE FIVE SECONDS TO LEAVE.”

Lena could barely breathe.

The scratching stopped.

For a long, agonizing moment, there was only silence.

Then footsteps — slow at first, then fading.

Alexander waited thirty seconds before approaching the door. He checked the peephole.

“Gone,” he murmured. “At least for now.”

Lena’s legs gave out and she sank onto the couch, shaking uncontrollably.

Alexander locked all three bolts again, then knelt in front of her.

“Lena,” he whispered, cupping her face. “Look at me.”

She did.

His eyes were full of something she had never seen from him — fear. Not for himself. For her.

“I will protect you,” he said. “With everything I have.”

Her voice trembled. “But from who, Alex? Marcus? Someone else? Someone in the company? Someone from your past?” Tears welled in her eyes. “Who hates me enough to do this?”

He exhaled shakily, pressing his forehead to hers. “I don’t know yet. I swear to you, I don’t.”

“Then what were you hiding?” she whispered.

He closed his eyes.

After a long, painful moment, he finally spoke.

“That Marcus wasn’t the only one I hurt.”

Her chest tightened.

He pulled back, looking at her with guilt etched into every line of his face. “When I took control of the company, I made enemies everywhere. People who thought I betrayed them. People who wanted me to fail.”

“Who?” she asked.

“Board members. Investors. Employees I fired. People who thought I stole what they deserved.”

She swallowed. “So this could be… anyone.”

“Yes,” he whispered.

Her heart sank like a stone.

Alexander brushed a tear from her cheek with his thumb. “But I won’t let them near you. Whoever they are… I’ll find them.”

She wanted to believe him.

She needed to believe him.

But the truth hung in the air between them like smoke:

Someone else was out there.

Someone closer than Marcus.

Someone who knew her.

Someone who had been watching from the shadows.

Before Lena could say anything, her phone buzzed again.

Another message.

Another unknown number.

Alexander grabbed it before she could even touch it.

His face went completely still.

Lena’s voice trembled. “What does it say?”

He turned the screen toward her.

Her stomach dropped.

A picture of her.

Inside Alexander’s guest room.

Taken just now.

While she slept.

And a message underneath:

“You’re safe with him?

Are you sure?”

Lena’s scream died in her throat.

Alexander’s eyes filled with pure, uncontrollable rage.

Whoever this second stalker was…

they were inside the building.

They were close.

Too close.