Chapter 4: Training Begins

7:00 p.m.

The building was empty.

That was the point.

I stood in front of Private Elevator 7, watching the numbers on my phone change.

7:00.

I wasn't early.

I wasn't late.

On time meant I'd learned something.

The doors opened before I touched the panel.

He was watching.

Of course he was watching.

I stepped inside.

The elevator rose silently, carrying me toward the hundredth floor.

When the doors opened, the private foyer looked exactly as it had the night before.

Dark.

Silent.

Waiting.

Only one lamp was on inside the office.

Ignis was sitting behind his desk.

His jacket was gone. His sleeves were rolled to his forearms, and the black paddle from yesterday rested beside his laptop.

He hadn't forgotten it.

Neither had I.

“Close the door.”

I did.

The lock clicked.

“Sit.”

This time, he pointed toward the chair.

Not the floor.

Progress.

I sat with my back straight and my hands folded in my lap.

Ignis studied me for several seconds.

“Tonight,” he said, “you learn posture, presentation, and discipline.”

His voice was as calm as if he were discussing business.

“No unnecessary movement. No arguing. No questions unless I allow them.”

I nodded.

“Stand.”

I stood.

“Remove your blazer.”

I slipped it off.

The cheap fabric suddenly looked painfully out of place against the expensive surroundings.

Ignis didn't comment.

Instead, he walked around me.

“Knees together.”

I adjusted my stance.

“Shoulders back.”

I obeyed.

“Chin up.”

Again.

He stopped in front of me.

“Better.”

My cheeks warmed.

“Now kneel.”

I lowered myself carefully.

“Knees slightly apart. Back straight. Hands on your thighs. Eyes down.”

I followed each instruction.

He circled me once.

Then twice.

“You're still tense.”

“I’m nervous.”

The words escaped before I could stop them.

His eyes narrowed.

“You weren't asked to speak.”

I lowered my gaze.

“Sorry.”

A pause.

“Again.”

I repeated the position.

This time, I forced myself to breathe slowly.

“Better.”

He moved back toward his desk.

“Stand.”

I rose.

He opened a drawer and removed a black garment bag.

“Your new wardrobe.”

He placed it on the desk.

I stared at it.

“You're serious?”

His eyes lifted.

I immediately remembered Rule One.

He opened the bag.

Inside was a simple black dress.

Elegant.

Expensive.

Nothing like the clothes I'd worn before.

“From tomorrow onward,” he said, “you wear what is provided for you during working hours.”

I touched the fabric.

It was softer than anything I owned.

“Why?”

His expression hardened.

“Did I permit a question?”

I shook my head.

“No, sir.”

“Good.”

He stepped closer.

“You're going to learn that presentation is part of power. In my world, people decide what you are worth before you say a single word.”

His gaze traveled over my worn shoes and cheap blouse.

“And right now, they would decide you're worth very little.”

The words stung.

He noticed.

Of course he noticed.

“Put it on.”

I took the dress into the changing room.

A few minutes later, I stepped out.

The difference was almost frightening.

The dress fit perfectly.

It made me look like someone who belonged on the hundredth floor instead of someone who had almost been evicted two days ago.

Ignis looked at me.

For once, he didn't speak immediately.

Then he said one word.

“Better.”

He walked behind me.

I felt his presence before I saw him in the mirror.

“Stand straight.”

I did.

“From now on, when you enter a room, you don't shrink.”

His reflection met mine.

“You belong wherever you stand.”

I blinked.

That wasn't what I'd expected.

“Again,” he said.

I straightened my shoulders.

“Good.”

He returned to his desk and opened the leather notebook.

I recognized it immediately.

“What is that?”

His eyes lifted.

I stopped myself.

“Sorry.”

A faint smile touched his mouth.

“You're learning.”

He closed the notebook.

“Your training isn't about obedience alone, Opaline.”

I looked at him.

“Then what is it?”

This time, he allowed the question.

“Control.”

He stood.

“Control of your expression. Your voice. Your fear. Your reactions.”

He walked toward me.

“When people see weakness, they use it.”

He stopped inches away.

“And you have spent your entire life allowing people to see yours.”

My throat tightened.

He wasn't wrong.

That made it worse.

He reached up and moved a strand of hair away from my face.

“When I enter a room,” he said quietly, “I want you to remember that you're not the poorest person there.”

I frowned.

“You're the person who survived long enough to get there.”

For a moment, I didn't know what to say.

Then he stepped back.

“Kneel.”

I obeyed.

He watched me for several seconds.

“Good.”

The word shouldn't have affected me.

It did.

He walked back toward his desk.

“Training is over.”

I looked up.

“You'll wear that dress tomorrow.”

I nodded.

“Eight a.m.”

“Yes, sir.”

He reached the door and unlocked it.

Then he stopped.

“One more thing.”

I froze.

“Delete the message.”

My heart stopped.

“What message?”

The corner of his mouth lifted.

“The one on your phone.”

Cold spread through my body.

He had seen it.

Of course he had.

He'd known the entire time.

“I saw you read it,” he said.

I swallowed.

“Who sent it?”

His expression changed.

For the first time that night, something dangerous flickered behind his eyes.

“You don't need to know.”

“But—”

His gaze silenced me.

“Rule one.”

I closed my mouth.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good.”

The elevator doors closed behind me.

As the building disappeared above me, I stared at my reflection in the mirrored walls.

The woman looking back at me was wearing a dress worth more than everything she owned.

She had a job that didn't make sense.

A boss who knew too much.

And an anonymous stranger who had somehow seen behind the walls of Heliox Global.

But one question wouldn't leave my mind.

If Ignis knew about the message...

Why hadn't he asked who sent it?

And more importantly—

what was he afraid I'd discover?