Checkmate

KAIA'S POV

I stared at the phone, my heart hammering in my chest. 

The call had come from an unknown number, and the voice on the other end was one I didn’t recognize. 

But the words were burned into my mind: "You think marrying him makes you invisible? You’re still a pawn, Kaia. And pawns are the first to be sacrificed."

It wasn’t a threat, It was a promise.

I stood frozen in the middle of Xander’s guest room, the one I had moved into only three days ago. 

Everything had felt like it was falling into place, Jax was gone, the media had moved on.

But now this?

I replayed the call in my head for the fifth time before I finally grabbed my robe and stepped out into the hallway. 

I needed to tell Xander, this wasn’t just some jealous ex or random prank. 

This was serious, I knocked on his bedroom door. 

The house was dark except for the light spilling from the study, so I headed there.

He looked up when I entered, with a glass of something expensive in his hand.

"Something wrong?" he asked, instantly alert.

"Yeah," I said, voice unsteady. "I got a call."

His brows furrowed. "From who?"

"I don’t know, the number was hidden. But what they said… they knew about us."

I repeated the words exactly as I heard them. Xander didn’t react immediately. 

He just stared at me, and for a second, I couldn’t read him. 

Then he placed his glass down slowly and stood.

"You’re sure it wasn’t Jax?"

"Positive, this voice sounded older and colder."

Xander nodded once. "Give me the phone. I’ll have my people look into it."

I handed it over, even though I knew there was nothing on the screen. 

"You’re safe here," he said, almost too calmly. "No one’s getting to you."

I wanted to believe him. But I had learned the hard way that safety was just a feeling—an illusion.

The next morning, I woke up groggy, my mind racing. 

I still hadn’t fully recovered from the phone call, every creak in the house made me jump. 

When I went down for breakfast, Xander was already up, dressed in black slacks and a button-down shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows.

He was on the phone, his expression tight.

"Yes. Increase the surveillance, I want every angle covered. And check all her call records again. I don’t care how secure they think their line was. Find a lead."

He glanced at me and ended the call.

"Anything new?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Not yet."

"Do you think it has something to do with your company? Or mine? Or Jax?"

"Possibly all three," he said. "Or something else entirely."

That didn’t make me feel better.

Later that afternoon, I went to the hospital.

The symptoms I’d been having were still there, nausea, fatigue, dizziness. 

But Xander had insisted we confirm everything. We didn’t want the press catching wind of a pregnancy that wasn’t real.

So I went.

The results came back that evening. I wasn’t pregnant.

"It’s a hormonal imbalance," the doctor said. "Likely triggered by stress. 

Nothing serious, but you’ll need rest, and maybe a mild prescription to help regulate your cycle."

I nodded, forcing a smile.

When I got back to the house, I told Xander.

He didn’t say much, just nodded and told me to take it easy.

For the next couple of days, things were quiet. Too quiet.

Until I found the envelope.

It was under my bedroom door while I was showering. 

There was no name, Just a plain white envelope with one sheet of paper inside.

On it was a photograph of me athe hospital.

Under the photo, scribbled in bold black ink: "We’re watching you. Tell your husband to tread carefully."

I stared at it, every hair on my body standing up, someone had followed me and taken a photo of me. 

I stormed into Xander’s study, throwing the envelope on his desk.

He stared at the contents, face going blank.

"We’ve got a leak," he muttered. "Inside the hospital, maybe even here."

I couldn’t breathe.

"Do you still think I’m safe here?" I snapped. He looked up. "I’ll fix it."

"How? Whoever this is, they’re not playing games, Xander. This isn’t just about your image or my stalker ex. Someone wants to hurt us."

He rubbed a hand over his jaw. "Or use us."

"What does that mean?"

He looked at me then, something dark behind his eyes. "There are things about my past I haven’t told you, Kaia. Things I thought I buried a long time ago."

My stomach twisted. "Like what?"

He didn’t answer, instead, he stood and opened the safe behind his bookshelf.

Inside was a folder, it was thick and sealed.

He handed it to me. "This has everything. My past, the deals I made, the enemies I made worse. If you open it, there’s no going back."

My hands trembled as I held it. "Why now? Why me?"

"You’re not the first woman they’ve used to get to me," he said finally.

"What?" I said looking up at him confused. 

"But you might be the first they fail with." Before I could speak, his phone rang.

He answered it. His eyes widened slightly, then his jaw clenched.

"What? Where?" he barked. "I’m on my way."

He looked at me. "That was security. Someone just broke into my penthouse office. Left a note on my desk."

I swallowed hard. "What did it say?" He met my eyes.

"Checkmate."

It was then I knew, this wasn’t just a warning.

It was the beginning of a war.