The True Puppet Master

My body felt completely frozen. Cold sweat broke out across my back as I turned my head toward the very back of the ballroom. My eyes scanned past the whispering guests, moving past the expensive dresses and diamond necklaces, until they locked onto a man standing under the deep shadow of the mezzanine balcony.

It was him.

Elijah Hayes. Adrian’s older stepbrother.

He was leaning casually against a thick marble pillar, holding a crystal glass of dark whiskey. He did not look like Adrian at all. Where Adrian was all soft boyish looks and emotional outbursts, Elijah was pure, cold calculation. He wore a perfectly tailored dark grey suit that made his broad shoulders look massive. His sharp, dark eyes were fixed right on my face. When he saw me look back at him, he slowly raised his glass in a silent toast. A cruel, knowing smirk stretched across his lips.

Six years ago, I thought Adrian was the one who came up with the plan to humiliate me in front of the whole school. I thought Adrian hated me on his own. It took me years to find out the real, ugly truth: Elijah was the one who had forced Adrian to do it. Elijah had threatened to cut Adrian out of the family fortune if he did not publicly destroy the "freak" who had confessed his love.

Elijah was the true puppet master behind my original heartbreak. He was the one who had broken me first. And now, he was standing right here in the room.

"Noah? What are you looking at?" Julian’s deep voice rattled next to my ear, his hot breath hitting my cheek. His large hand remained tightly wrapped around my waist. His fingers dug into my hip bone even harder as he felt my entire body go completely stiff. He followed my gaze, his eyes narrowing into dangerous slits the exact second he spotted Elijah in the crowd.

"Elijah Hayes," Leo muttered from my other side. All his playful, teasing attitude vanished in an instant. The superstar actor stepped closer to me, his broad shoulder pressing hard against mine as if he was trying to hide me from a dangerous animal. "I thought that bastard was exiled to the European branch of the company by their father. What the fuck is he doing back here?"

Before I could answer Leo, Elijah stepped out of the dark shadows. His expensive leather shoes clicked softly and slowly against the marble floor as he walked straight toward the three of us. He did not even glance at his ruined little brother, Adrian, who was currently being escorted out of the side doors by hotel security. The crowd of wealthy guests parted quickly for Elijah. The older investors were whispering his name in hushed, fearful tones. He was the real predator of the Hayes family, and everyone knew it.

Elijah stopped just three feet away from us. The heavy, expensive scent of dark tobacco and leather rolled off his suit, hitting my nose. It instantly triggered bad memories I had spent six long years trying to bury deep in my mind.

"Julian. Leo," Elijah said smoothly, giving the two powerful men a polite, fake nod of his head. Then, his dark eyes snapped directly onto my face. His smirk widened as he took in my sharp jawline and the black silk shirt that was still slightly messy from Adrian's fingers. "And Noah. Look at you. You really did rebuild yourself from the ashes I left you in. You look delicious."

Julian took a heavy, aggressive step forward, his massive chest nearly chest-bumping Elijah. His possessive grip on my hip turned bruisingly tight, marking my skin through the fabric. His eyes turned deadly. "Keep your mouth shut, Hayes. Watch how you speak to him. He is mine tonight."

Elijah just laughed, a soft, chilling sound that made the hairs on my arms stand up. He did not look at Julian. He kept his eyes locked onto mine, his voice dropping into a dark whisper that made my stomach twist with fear and hot adrenaline. "You can play with your new billionaire and actor friends all you want, Noah. But you and I both know why you're really back in this city. You didn't come for Adrian. You wanted to see me."

He stepped even closer, his face just inches from mine, completely ignoring the furious, protective glares of the two powerful men beside me. "Adrian was just the bait. I’m the one you really want to destroy, aren't I?"

I forced my lips into a cold, untouchable smile, hiding the sudden rush of anger in my chest. I reached into my inner pocket, my fingers brushing against the heavy, black USB drive. "You flatter yourself, Elijah. You're not the main target. You're just a cockroach I haven't stepped on yet."

Elijah’s smirk did not fade. Instead, he leaned in even closer, his voice dropping so low that not even Julian or Leo could hear him over the loud chatter of the ballroom.

"Is that so?" Elijah whispered, his eyes flashing with a sickeningly confident light. "Then tell me, Noah... if you think you have everything under control with that little USB drive in your pocket... why did my father just receive a call from your financial firm? The firm you built from nothing?"

My heart stopped.