Chapter 9 - Forced Into the Same Room

Serena didn’t expect to see Ethan Blackwood’s name on the conference agenda.

But there it was. Blackwood Holdings — Lead Investor

Her fingers paused over the tablet screen. For a moment, she considered declining the invitation entirely. But that would raise questions. And Serena Blake didn’t run from battles anymore.

She walked into the boardroom forty minutes later, spine straight, expression unreadable.

Ethan was already there.

He looked up when she entered, surprise flickering briefly across his face before his usual composure snapped back into place.

So he hadn’t known either.

Good.

“Ms. Blake,” one of the directors said warmly. “Glad you could make it. I assume you already know Mr. Blackwood?”

Serena met Ethan’s gaze without hesitation.

“We’ve crossed paths,” she said coolly.

Ethan inclined his head. “Professionally.”

The lie sat between them, thin and fragile.

The meeting stretched longer than expected. Market projections. Risk assessments. Expansion timelines.

Serena spoke with quiet authority, commanding the room effortlessly. Ethan found himself watching her instead of the slides, how calm she was, how untouchable.

This was not the woman he’d once dismissed as soft. When the final vote passed unanimously, the room buzzed with approval.

“Excellent work,” the chairman said. “Mr. Blackwood, Ms. Blake, we’ll need you two to finalize the details together.”

Serena’s jaw tightened.

“Of course,” Ethan said smoothly.

They ended up alone in the smaller conference room, the city glowing beyond the glass walls.

“This wasn’t intentional,” Ethan said first.

“I know,” Serena replied, flipping through documents. “Which makes it worse.”

He studied her carefully. “You’re doing well.”

“That’s not a compliment I need from you.”

Silence followed.

“I meant it,” he said. “About not forcing anything.”

She looked up sharply. “Then don’t start now.”

“I’m not,” he replied quietly. “But you can’t pretend we’re strangers.”

“We can pretend we’re professionals,” she countered. “And nothing more.”

Ethan nodded. “Fine.”

Across town, Leo sat in his classroom, staring at the drawing on his desk. Two stick figures. One tall. One small.

The teacher knelt beside him. “Is this your family?”

Leo hesitated. “It’s… someone I think I know.”

The deal wrapped up just after sunset as Serena gathered her things, Ethan spoke again.

“You shouldn’t be alone with this,” he said. “The pressure.”

She laughed softly. “You don’t get to worry about me.”

“I worry anyway.”

She paused, eyes flashing.

“That’s the problem,” she said. “You always start caring after the damage is done.”

His chest tightened. “I know.”

She brushed past him, heels echoing sharply.

Outside, rain had begun to fall. Serena stepped under the awning, searching for her car.

“Serena,” Ethan called.

She turned reluctantly.

“If he is mine,” he said carefully, “I won’t hurt him.”

Her expression went cold.

“You already hurt him,” she said. “By hurting me.”

She walked away before he could respond.

That night, Serena received an email. No sender name. Just a subject line: Did you think the truth would stay hidden forever?

Her pulse spiked as she opened it.

Attached was a photograph. Leo, taken outside his school.

Serena’s breath caught.

This wasn’t Ethan. This was something else entirely.

In his penthouse, Ethan stared at his phone, unread messages piling up. He had chosen restraint but someone else hadn’t.

And whatever game was starting, Serena and Leo were already in danger.

Serena didn’t scream.

She didn’t panic.

She stared at the photograph on her phone until every detail burned itself into her mind the angle, the timing, the distance. Leo’s backpack. The school gate behind him. The way his head was slightly turned, as if he’d sensed someone watching.