Chapter 189: Everything has a price .

Anna walked into the conference room, the place humming with the faint smell of polished wood and old leather. Her heels clicked sharply against the marble floor, echoing in the high-ceilinged room. Two bodyguards flanked her like shadows, silent and imposing, one stationed behind her. In the past, she would have walked in casually, arms swinging, hair bouncing without a care. But those days were gone. Now, every step, every glance, every breath she took carried weight. Her safety wasn’t optional anymore—it was everything.

Ethan Voss sat behind his massive oak desk. The instant he saw her, he sat up straighter. His lips curved into a practiced smile, but his gut twisted uncomfortably, a shiver running down his spine. He didn’t know this woman—at least, not truly—but there was something in the way she held herself, the fire flickering behind her steady brown eyes, that made his chest tighten. Her presence pressed against him like a cold wind in midsummer, both dangerous and intoxicatin