CHAPTER FIVE A Dangerous Promise

By the time Elena stepped out of Blackwood Tower, the city had settled into the quiet hours of the night.

A black car waited near the entrance. Two security personnel stood beside it, and one opened the rear door as Alexander approached with her.

Elena stopped before getting in.

“Are they going to follow me everywhere?”

Alexander glanced at the men. “They'll remain close enough to protect you without interfering with your daily activities.”

“And if I want to buy bread?”

“They can accompany you.”

She stared at him. “Imagine explaining to a woman selling bread why I need two security officers to buy something worth five hundred naira.”

Alexander laughed.

The sound caught her by surprise. She had heard him speak in firm commands all night, but this was the first time he had laughed without immediately returning to business.

“I'm sure they'll manage,” he said.

“Easy for you to say. You're not the one who's going to become the neighbourhood's biggest mystery.”

She climbed into the car.

Alexander followed, taking the seat opposite her. The driver pulled away from the tower, and the city lights passed across the windows.

For a few minutes, neither spoke.

Elena rested her bag on her lap. Her phone was still in her hand, and she kept checking the screen to make sure Sarah hadn't called again.

Alexander noticed.

“Your sister is worried about you.”

“She's my younger sister. Worrying about me is practically her second occupation.”

“How old is she?”

Elena told him.

“And you're responsible for her?”

“Someone has to be.”

He waited, but she didn't continue.

After a moment, he asked, “Have you always worked at Blackwood Tower?”

“Long enough to know which executives leave food in conference rooms and which ones expect a cleaner to perform miracles before morning.”

“Perhaps I should ask you to prepare a report.”

“You'll need to increase my salary if you want names.”

His mouth curved into a smile.

“You negotiate everything, don't you?”

“Only the things that matter.”

The answer came more seriously than she intended.

Elena turned toward the window.

She had learned early that nobody was going to arrive with a solution to every problem in her life. After her mother died, there had been bills to pay, school expenses to cover, and days when she had to decide which necessity could wait until the next payday.

She didn't resent the responsibility. Sarah was family, and Elena would do almost anything to give her sister a chance at a better future.

But she had never imagined that saving a stranger's life would lead to this.

Alexander's voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Your room is ready. Your sister can join you tomorrow, once the arrangements have been confirmed.”

Elena turned to him.

“Tomorrow? You said we could arrange somewhere safe for her too.”

“I did. The hotel has been asked to prepare accommodation for both of you. I want the security team to verify the arrangements before she is moved.”

She studied his face.

“Then please make sure that happens early. I don't want Sarah spending the day wondering whether something has happened to me.”

“I'll see to it.”

The car slowed in front of a hotel with bright glass doors and a uniformed attendant waiting beneath the entrance canopy.

Elena looked up at the building.

“This is the hotel?”

“Yes.”

She glanced at Alexander. “You really don't know how to do anything halfway, do you?”

“Would you prefer somewhere else?”

“No. I'm just trying to understand how a person goes from cleaning an office floor to staying somewhere with a chandelier bigger than my sitting room.”

“You saved my life. A comfortable room is hardly an unreasonable expense.”

“I'm glad you think so. I was beginning to worry I'd have to scrub your floors for the next ten years to repay you.”

“You owe me nothing.”

His voice was firm enough to end the discussion.

They entered the hotel, where a member of staff escorted Elena to the reception desk. Alexander spoke quietly with the security personnel while the room arrangements were finalized.

Elena received her key card and a brief explanation of the hotel's facilities.

When she turned around, Alexander was waiting a short distance away.

“Your security detail will remain nearby,” he said. “If anything makes you uncomfortable, contact me immediately.”

She slipped the key card into her bag.

“And if I discover something useful about tonight?”

“Tell me directly. Don't investigate it yourself.”

“I'm a cleaner, Mr. Blackwood, not a detective.”

“Good. I'd prefer you remain a cleaner who is alive.”

She gave him a look.

“That almost sounded like concern.”

“It was concern.”

His answer came without hesitation.

Elena's teasing response died before she could say it.

Alexander held her gaze for another moment, then handed her a card with his direct number.

“This line reaches me personally.”

She accepted it.

“Thank you for everything tonight.”

“You don't have to thank me for protecting you.”

“Maybe not. But I can still thank you for the hotel, the transport, and the first-aid kit. I'm trying to remain a polite person despite the circumstances.”

“Don't let me stop you.”

She laughed.

For a brief moment, standing in the warm light of the hotel lobby, Elena almost forgot the danger waiting outside their conversation. Then she remembered the camera, the fallen metal structure, and the security credentials that had been used without Alexander's permission.

Someone had planned that incident.

Someone had expected Alexander to be in that passage.

And if Elena hadn't been there, the investigation might never have begun.

“Mr. Blackwood?”

He turned back to her.

“When you find out who did this, please don't let them get away with it.”

“I won't.”

There was no dramatic promise in his voice, no attempt to impress her. He spoke with the certainty of a man who intended to see the matter through.

Elena nodded.

“Then I'll see you tomorrow.”

“Get some rest, Miss Hayes.”

She watched him leave with his security team before turning toward the elevators.

Inside her room, Elena placed her bag on a chair and sat on the edge of the bed. The room was quiet, the sheets immaculate, and the city spread beyond the windows in a glittering sea of lights.

She called Sarah to tell her she had arrived safely.

Then she removed her shoes and lay back against the pillows.

Her body was exhausted, but sleep refused to come.

Every time she closed her eyes, she remembered the crash.

The sound of metal striking the floor.

Alexander standing in the passage.

The fraction of a second in which she had decided to pull him out of the way.

She had acted without thinking about the consequences.

Now she couldn't stop thinking about them.

Across the city, Alexander returned to Blackwood Tower.

The building was quieter now, but the investigation had barely begun. He entered his office, where Daniel was waiting with a folder in his hands.

“You're back,” Daniel said.

“Give me the update.”

Daniel opened the folder.

“The inspection authorization was processed through your executive account. The system records it as valid, but we're checking the access history to determine who initiated the request.”

“And the camera?”

“The technical team is attempting to recover the missing footage. They haven't confirmed whether the interruption was caused remotely or by someone working on the equipment.”

Alexander took the folder.

“What about Zade Caspian?”

“We're still trying to locate him.”

Alexander looked up sharply.

“Still?”

“His phone is switched off. His supervisor says he hasn't reported back since the maintenance check.”

Alexander's expression hardened.

“Find him.”

Daniel nodded.

“There is one more thing. The inspection request was entered shortly before the end of the business day. Whoever submitted it knew which account to use and which section of the building would be affected.”

“Someone who understands our internal procedures.”

“That's what it suggests.”

Alexander closed the folder.

He had spent years building a company that operated on efficiency, discretion, and trust. He had allowed a select group of people access to sensitive information because he believed they understood the responsibility that came with it.

Tonight had proved that someone might have been using that trust against him.

“Restrict access to the mechanical level,” he ordered. “Review every authorization connected to tonight's inspection. I want the original records preserved.”

“Understood.”

Daniel hesitated.

“There's also the matter of Miss Hayes. Do you think she saw enough to identify anyone?”

“She didn't see the person responsible. But she overheard information about the inspection before the incident.”

“Then she may be important to the investigation.”

“She already is.”

Daniel studied him briefly before gathering his papers.

“I'll keep working on the access records.”

“Do that.”

When Daniel left, Alexander remained at his desk, looking through the preliminary report.

The person behind the incident had used his own credentials. That meant the attack had been planned by someone with knowledge of the building and access to information that should have remained secure.

He picked up his phone and looked at the number he had given Elena.

She was an unexpected complication in a situation that had already become dangerous.

Yet she had faced the entire night with more courage than many people he had known for years.

Alexander placed the phone beside the report.

He needed answers, and Elena might hold the first piece of the puzzle.

What he didn't know was how quickly protecting her would become more than a responsibility—and how much he would eventually risk to keep her safe.

End of Chapter 5