Chapter 28: Eyes in the Walls

Lena’s blood turned to ice.

The picture on her phone showed her lying on Alexander’s guest bed, curled under the blanket, unaware. Peaceful. Vulnerable.

A picture that could only have been taken inside the penthouse.

Her breath hitched, panic clawing up her throat. “Alex… how— how is that even possible?”

Alexander didn’t answer.

He didn’t have to.

She could see it in his eyes—the moment fury replaced shock, the moment he fully realized:

Someone had been in this penthouse while she slept.

He moved with sudden, explosive purpose.

“Stay here,” he growled.

“Alex—wait!” she cried, but he was already storming down the hallway.

He threw on the lights, scanning every corner of the bedroom, checking the windows, checking the vents, ripping open the closet doors.

Then he dropped to his knees and looked under the bed. Nothing.

Lena stood frozen in the doorway, trembling uncontrollably. “Alex, what if they’re still—”

“They’re not,” he said sharply.

But his voice was shaking.

He circled the room again, slower this time, eyes narrowed. Something caught his attention—a small glint near the smoke detector.

He walked toward it.

Stopped.

Stared.

“Lena,” he whispered, voice tight with rage. “Don’t move.”

She felt sick. “What is it?”

He reached up, fingers brushing the edge of the smoke detector. It looked normal… until he twisted it open.

A tiny black lens blinked once before going dark.

Lena’s knees almost gave out. “A camera,” she whispered.

Alexander held it in his palm, staring at it like it was a piece of human filth.

Not a cheap one.

Not something random.

A professional-grade micro camera made to record silently, remotely, sending live feed to another device.

“This was watching you,” he growled. “Recording you.”

Lena covered her mouth, tears spilling over. “Oh my God.”

He didn’t hesitate—he ripped the device apart in his hands, tearing the wires, crushing the lens between his fingers until it snapped.

“Alex…” she sobbed, “who would do this? Who could get inside?”

Alexander stood still for a long moment, breathing hard. His hands shook when he dropped the broken pieces onto the desk.

“There are only three ways someone could have installed that camera,” he said quietly. “One… they hacked security. Two… they paid someone in this building.”

“And the third?” she whispered.

He looked at her, eyes burning.

“Someone with authorized access.”

The words made the room tilt.

Authorized.

Someone he trusted.

Someone with clearance.

Someone from Knight Enterprises.

Lena sank onto the edge of the bed, her whole body shaking. “Alex… I can’t— I can’t do this—”

He was beside her in seconds, kneeling on the floor, taking her face in his hands.

“Lena, listen to me.” His voice was deep, steady, commanding. “You are safe right now. I’m here. I’m not letting anyone touch you.”

She closed her eyes, letting his forehead rest against hers.

“I’m scared,” she whispered.

“I know.”

“I don’t feel safe anywhere.”

“I’ll fix that.”

She shook her head. “How? Someone got into your home. Into the one place I thought no one could reach.”

Alexander’s fingers tightened in her hair. “They got in once. That won’t happen again.”

She pulled back slightly, wiping her tears. “Do you think it was Marcus?”

“No,” he said without hesitation. “The message wasn’t his style. He’s bold, loud, confrontational. He wants me to see him coming.”

“Then who?” she whispered.

Alexander stood slowly, anger shifting into something colder, sharper.

“There’s someone else,” he said. “Someone at the company. Someone who knows my habits, my schedule, my access codes.”

A thought hit her like a punch.

“Victoria,” Lena whispered.

Alexander froze.

Lena continued, voice trembling. “She’s always around you. She knows your routines. She’s always watching me. And she was in the meeting when the Board questioned us.”

Alexander didn’t move.

Didn’t blink.

And that silence terrified Lena more than any attacker.

“You think she did this?” he finally asked.

“I’ve seen the way she looks at you,” Lena whispered. “And the way she looks at me. Like she wants me gone.”

Alexander’s jaw tightened. “Victoria wouldn’t—”

He stopped.

Because even he didn’t believe his own sentence.

Before he could respond, another vibration buzzed through Lena’s phone.

Another message.

She didn’t want to look. Didn’t want to see.

But she did.

And her heart stopped.

A blurry photo of Alexander—taken just now—from behind.

In the hallway.

Someone had eyes on them.

And a message beneath it:

“He can’t protect you from what’s coming.”

The phone slipped from her hands.

Alexander snatched it, eyes darkening with murderous intent.

“Lena,” he said quietly, “pack a bag. You’re not staying here.”

She looked up, voice cracking. “Where will we go?”

He looked her straight in the eyes.

“To the one place they won’t expect.”

She swallowed. “Where?”

Alexander stepped back, his expression turning stone cold.

“My family estate.”