Chapter 7: His Rules, My Conditions

“Before you move into my house, you need to understand one thing, Amelia: my rules are not suggestions.”

Alexander Blackwood stood behind his large office desk, his expression as cold as the grey sky outside the windows.

I looked at him, then at the printed pages in his hand.

“Good morning to you too.”

Victoria, standing near the door, lowered her eyes. I couldn't tell whether she was hiding a smile or simply avoiding trouble.

Alexander placed the papers on his desk.

“Sit down.”

“I’m comfortable standing.”

His grey eyes lifted to mine. “You seem determined to make everything difficult.”

“And you seem determined to give orders instead of having conversations.”

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then he leaned back in his chair.

“Fine. Let's have a conversation.”

I sat down, placing my handbag beside me. The flash drive was still hidden inside its lining. I had checked twice before leaving home that morning.

Alexander opened the document.

“These are the conditions that will apply while you're staying at my residence.”

“Didn't we already sign an agreement?”

“We did. This is a security arrangement.”

“Of course it is.”

He ignored my comment.

“First, confidentiality. You will not discuss Richard Hale, the hotel incident, Blackwood International's investigation, or anything you see or hear inside my residence with anyone outside the people I approve.”

I frowned. “Including my family?”

“Your family is not part of this investigation.”

“They're part of my life.”

“Your brother is seventeen, Amelia. He doesn't need to know about dangerous people or company secrets.”

“I'll decide what Daniel needs to know.”

Alexander's jaw tightened.

“You can tell him you're safe. You can tell him where you're staying. But you will not give him details that could put him in danger.”

I considered that.

It wasn't an unreasonable request, even if I hated the way he delivered it.

“Fine. But I won't lie to my mother or Daniel if they ask me something important.”

“We'll discuss what is appropriate.”

“No. We won't. That's my decision.”

His eyes narrowed.

Victoria shifted slightly near the door.

Alexander made a note on the paper.

“Second, visitors. No one enters my residence without approval from security.”

“What about my family?”

“They can visit after security checks them.”

“You want my mother and brother treated like suspects?”

“I want them alive.”

The words came out so sharply that I stopped.

For the first time that morning, I saw something beneath his cold expression. It wasn't anger. It was fear, quickly hidden.

He turned another page.

“Third, security. You'll have two guards assigned to you. One will accompany you whenever you leave the property. You will use the transport provided by my office.”

“Two guards? Everywhere?”

“Yes.”

“Even when I go to buy a bottle of water?”

“If necessary.”

I stared at him.

“Do you hear yourself?”

“I hear someone who has already had her apartment broken into, received threats, and had her family targeted.”

My fingers tightened around the edge of the chair.

He wasn't wrong.

That was the worst part.

But I couldn't accept a life where I needed permission to walk outside my own front door.

“I agree to security,” I said. “But I don't agree to being followed into every shop, restaurant, or bathroom.”

His expression remained unchanged.

“Your safety is not a joke.”

“Neither is my freedom.”

He held my gaze for several seconds before making another note.

“Fourth, public appearances. You won't attend events connected to the company without my permission. If you're seen with me, people will ask questions. I don't want anyone discovering why you're staying with me.”

“I wasn't planning to attend your business parties.”

“Good. That saves us an argument.”

“Don't celebrate too early.”

A faint movement touched the corner of his mouth. It disappeared almost immediately.

“Fifth, communication. Your phone will remain with you, and you can contact your family whenever you want. However, our security team may monitor unusual calls or messages if there's a threat.”

I sat forward.

“Monitor my calls?”

“Only if necessary.”

“That's not privacy.”

“Someone sent you a photograph of your mother in the hospital. Someone knew about our agreement before you left my office yesterday. Your private information is already in the hands of people who want to hurt you.”

His voice was low now.

“I won't pretend the danger isn't real just to make you feel comfortable.”

I looked away.

The anonymous message returned to my mind.

You should have asked him what happened to the last woman who tried to protect his secrets.

I had barely slept after reading it.

“Who was she?” I asked.

Alexander went still.

“Who?”

“The last woman. The one in the message.”

His eyes hardened.

“That has nothing to do with these rules.”

“It has everything to do with them if someone is threatening me with her story.”

“Leave it alone, Amelia.”

His voice had changed. It was no longer simply cold. It carried a warning.

I leaned back.

“Interesting. You can ask me about every detail of my life, but I can't ask you one question about yours.”

“You signed an agreement to cooperate with my investigation, not investigate me.”

“Then stop acting as though I belong to you.”

Silence filled the office.

Alexander closed the document.

“You don't understand the situation you're in.”

“Then explain it to me instead of treating me like a child.”

He stood and walked towards the windows. His hands rested in his trouser pockets as he looked down at the busy streets.

“You want the truth?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“People around me have been threatened, followed, and hurt. Some of them trusted the wrong person. Others simply happened to be standing too close when something happened.”

He turned towards me.

“I won't allow that to happen to you.”

The words surprised me.

Not because they sounded kind. They didn't.

He said them like a man making a decision that no one had the right to question.

Still, something about his expression made me believe he meant them.

I looked down at the papers.

“Then I have some rules too.”

His eyebrows rose slightly.

“I'm listening.”

“First, I want my own room. Not a room beside yours, not a room connected to yours, and definitely not a room where you can walk in whenever you feel like it.”

“I wasn't planning to share a room with you.”

“Good. We agree on something.”

Victoria looked down again.

Alexander's expression remained unreadable.

“Second, no entering my room without knocking. I don't care if you own the house.”

“I own the house.”

“And I have a right to privacy.”

He studied me for a moment.

“Fine.”

“Third, nobody goes through my personal belongings or my phone without my permission. Security checks can happen at the entrance, but my private things remain private.”

“That depends on the threat.”

“No. It doesn't.”

“Amelia”

“If you want me to cooperate, you have to respect me. I'm not one of your employees.”

His eyes stayed on mine.

Then he gave a short nod.

“Agreed, within reasonable security limits.”

I wasn't completely happy with that answer, but I continued.

“Fourth, I want to keep working towards my own future. I have plans to study interior design. I won't spend six months sitting in your house doing nothing.”

“You can study.”

“And I can make reasonable decisions about my life without asking you for permission.”

“You can make decisions that don't put you in danger.”

“That sounds like another way of saying you'll decide everything.”

“It sounds like common sense.”

I shook my head.

“You really are impossible.”

“And yet you're still here.”

The words hung between us.

For a brief second, neither of us looked away.

His gaze dropped to my face, then returned to my eyes. I became suddenly aware of how close he was standing to the desk, how easily he could make the entire room feel smaller.

I broke the silence first.

“There's one more thing.”

“Of course there is.”

“I want to visit my mother and Daniel. Regularly. Not just when your security team decides it's convenient.”

“Visits can be arranged.”

“I don't want to arrange every conversation with my own family like I'm requesting an appointment with the president.”

“You'll have scheduled visits.”

“Alexander.”

He paused.

“I need to see them,” I said quietly. “My mother is sick. Daniel is frightened. They need to know I'm still there for them.”

Something shifted in his face.

He looked down at the document, then picked up his pen.

“Twice a week, unless there's a serious security threat. Additional visits can be arranged.”

I nodded.

“That's acceptable.”

He handed the papers to Victoria.

“Have these changes added to the security agreement. Jonathan can review them before anything is final.”

Victoria collected the pages.

“Of course, sir.”

As she reached the door, Alexander spoke again.

“Also, Amelia will not be meeting Sebastian alone.”

I looked up.

“Excuse me?”

Victoria stopped.

Alexander's expression had returned to its usual coldness.

“My brother is not someone you should be spending time with.”

“Your brother is a grown man. If he wants to speak to me, I'll decide whether I want to listen.”

“You won't be meeting him privately.”

“You don't get to choose who I speak to.”

“I do when that person is a possible threat.”

I stood.

“Is that a security rule or a personal problem between you and your brother?”

His jaw tightened.

“It's a warning.”

“Then tell me what I'm supposed to be afraid of.”

He took one step towards me.

“Sebastian knows how to make people trust him. He knows what to say, when to smile, and how to make someone believe he's helping them. Don't confuse his charm with kindness.”

I remembered Sebastian's unsettling smile in Alexander's office.

“I can judge people for myself.”

“Not this time.”

His voice was so firm that a chill moved down my back.

“Why?” I asked.

He didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he looked towards Victoria.

“You can go.”

She left quietly, closing the door behind her.

Alexander waited until we were alone.

“Because there are things about my family you don't know,” he said.

“Then perhaps you should tell me.”

“Not yet.”

I laughed without humour.

“You want me to trust your rules, but you won't tell me why they exist.”

“I want you to follow them.”

“And I want you to remember that I'm a person, not another problem for you to control.”

For a long moment, he said nothing.

Then he picked up the agreement and placed it between us.

“Your conditions will be added. Mine remain in place. Neither of us gets everything we want.”

“That seems to be the story of my life since I met you.”

“Get used to disappointment.”

I almost smiled, but stopped myself.

He walked towards the door and opened it.

“Your belongings will be collected this afternoon. Your room is ready.”

“I'll decide what I'm taking.”

“Fine.”

“And I'll need my own keys.”

“You'll have access to the parts of the property you're permitted to use.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Here we go again.”

He looked at me, his expression serious.

“Amelia, listen carefully. These rules exist for a reason. Someone has already reached your home, threatened your family, and watched you sign an agreement with me. This isn't a game.”

I picked up my handbag.

“I know.”

“No, I don't think you do.”

His gaze moved briefly to the handbag before returning to my face.

“Stay away from anyone who asks questions about Richard Hale. And especially stay away from Sebastian.”

I froze.

It wasn't the first time he had warned me about his brother. But something in his voice was different now.

It sounded less like jealousy or ordinary family hatred and more like desperation.

As I turned to leave, I noticed a small photograph on the corner of his desk. It showed a younger Alexander standing beside an older woman with dark hair.

I couldn't see her face clearly, but I recognized the name written beneath the photograph.

Evelyn.

The name from the anonymous message flashed through my mind.

You should have asked him what happened to the last woman who tried to protect his secrets.

I looked back at Alexander.

“Who is Evelyn?”

For the first time since I had met him, he looked genuinely shaken.

Then he picked up the photograph and turned it face down.

“She's someone you must never meet.”