Chapter 4: The Golden Bird

The morning sun didn’t bring warmth; it just exposed the cracks.

Jade sat at her executive desk by seven o’clock, her fingers flying across the mechanical keyboard with frantic speed. She had spent the last two hours processing international logistics memos, but her eyes kept darting to the closed mahogany doors of Lucian’s inner office.

Her body ached. Last night, Lucian had been a man possessed, taking her with a rough, desperate hunger that felt less like passion and more like a man trying to claim ownership before a storm. He had left her apartment at dawn without a word, leaving only a stack of crisp hundred-dollar bills on her nightstand the “extra cost” she had demanded.

It felt like blood money.

“Jade, I need the Stirling harbor diagnostics,” a voice demanded.

She flinched, her hand instinctively flattening over her lower abdomen.

Lucian stood in the doorway. He was pristine, wrapped in a fresh navy three-piece suit that made last night look like a hallucination. But his eyes were dark, tracking the way her hand lingered on her stomach before she quickly moved it away.

“On your desk in five minutes, Mr. Ashford,” Jade said, her voice dropping into its seamless, professional rhythm.

Lucian didn’t move back into his office. Instead, he walked out into the reception area, his heavy footsteps silent on the thick carpet. He stopped right in front of her desk, leaning down until his shadow completely blocked the fluorescent light.

“You were different last night, Jade,” he murmured, his low baritone vibrating against her skin. “You usually look at me like I’m a chore. Last night, you looked at me like I was an executioner.”

Jade kept her gaze locked on her monitor, her heart hammering against her ribs. “You told me your father was in a foul mood. I was simply adapting to the environment.”

“Don’t lie to me,” Lucian growled. He reached out, his thumb catching her jaw and forcing her to face him. His touch was burning hot, his eyes boring into hers with a sudden, territorial sharpness. “My father came to your apartment yesterday, didn’t he?”

Jade’s breath hitched. She couldn’t breathe. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“He checked the vehicle logs. He knew about the scarf,” Lucian’s grip tightened slightly, not enough to bruise, but enough to pin her. “What did he say to you, Jade? Did he threaten the medical funding? Did he threaten you?”

“He reminded me of the math, Lucian,” she whispered, her professional mask cracking just enough for him to see the raw panic underneath. “He reminded me that Victoria Stirling is the future, and I am just a line item.”

Lucian’s jaw clenched so hard a muscle leaped in his cheek. He pulled her forward slightly, his chest nearly brushing her desk. “I handle the line items. My father handles the past. If he steps foot nearlooked00apartment again, you tell me. Do you understand?”

“And what will you do?” Jade asked, a bitter, broken laugh escaping her lips. “Go to war with the patriarch for a secretary? We both know you need those ports, Mr. Ashford. You won’t risk the dynasty for a contract holder.”

Lucian’s eyes darkened into black obsidian. He leaned in closer, his lips mere inches from hers. “Try me, Jade. You think you’re just a ghost in my bed, but you belong to me. Nobody touches what is mine. Not even Arthur Ashford.”

Before she could respond, the private elevator at the end of the hall hissed open.

A sharp, melodic laugh cut through the heavy silence of the room.

“Well, isn’t this a touching corporate strategy meeting,” a smooth, mocking voice purred.

Jade violently pulled out of Lucian’s grip, her chair rolling back.

Sebastian Ashford stood by the elevator, a dark wool coat slung carelessly over one shoulder. He looked identical to Lucian the same sharp jaw, the same towering height, the same devastating face but his eyes were lighter, flashing with an unpredictable, dangerous amusement. He was the black sheep, the twin who refused to bow to the family crown.

Lucian straightened up instantly, his entire posture turning rigid and lethal as he stepped between Sebastian and Jade’s desk.

“What are you doing on this floor, Sebastian?” Lucian barked. “You don’t have security clearance for the executive suite.”

“I have the Ashford name, brother. That gets me into most rooms,” Sebastian chuckled, stepping forward. He completely ignored Lucian’s murderous glare, his eyes locking onto Jade. He let his gaze wander slowly down her blazer, lingering on her waist with a deliberate, slow intensity that made Jade’s skin crawl. “And who is this? Don’t tell me this is the famous ‘Iron Secretary’ I’ve been hearing about all the way from Europe.”

“She is my employee. Get out,” Lucian growled, his hand moving to the inside of his jacket, his protective instincts flaring so violently the air in the room felt pressurized.

Sebastian stopped just a foot away, a slow, jagged smirk spreading across his face. He leaned around Lucian’s shoulder, his eyes locking directly onto Jade’s pale face.

“You look tired, sweetheart,” Sebastian murmured, his voice a low, seductive rasp. “Is my brother working you too hard? Because if you ever get tired of cleaning up his temporary messes... I’m always looking for a good partner. And unlike Lucian, I actually know how to share the wealth.”

“Sebastian,” Lucian roared, stepping directly into his brother’s face. The two identical titans stood toe-to-toe, a terrifying wall of male aggression. “If you breathe in her direction again, I will have security drop you from the roof.”

Sebastian raised his hands in mock surrender, but his lighter eyes never left Jade. “Just offering the lady an alternative, Lucian. After all, the Stirling girl lands at JFK tonight. Your cage is about to get very crowded.”

He turned on his heel, casting one last, calculating look at Jade’s protective posture over her stomach before stepping back into the elevator.

The doors closed. The silence returned, thicker and more dangerous than before.

Lucian didn’t look at Sebastian’s empty space. He turned around slowly, his eyes wild and possessive as he looked at Jade. He marched back to her desk, slamming both hands onto the wood.

“You stay away from him,” Lucian commanded, his voice shaking with a primal rage she had never heard from him before. “Sebastian doesn’t want a secretary, Jade. He wants anything that belongs to me. If he gets near you, he will ruin you just to spite me.”

Jade looked up at the ruthless billionaire, then thought of the two pink lines hidden in her desk drawer. Her world was closing in. Arthur wanted her gone, Sebastian wanted to use her as a weapon, and Lucian wanted to keep her locked in a golden cage.

“I’m already ruined, Lucian,” she whispered, her voice dead and flat. “You made sure of that four years ago.”