1:The Lion’s Den

The glass doors of Sterling Enterprises didn’t just open; they hissed, a sound as sharp and expensive as the people inside.

Elara Vance smoothed her thrifted blazer, her palms damp. It had been three years since she had stepped foot in this city—three years since she had fled with a broken heart and a secret growing inside her. Now, standing in the lobby of the tallest building in the skyline, she felt like a ghost returning to haunt her own life.

"Name?" the receptionist asked, not looking up from her screen.

"Elara Vance. I’m here for the Executive Assistant interview."

The receptionist paused, her eyes scanning Elara’s face with a flicker of recognition that made Elara’s heart stop. "Floor 50. Mr. Sterling is expecting you."

Mr. Sterling. Even hearing the name made Elara’s stomach do a slow, painful flip. She thought of Leo, safe at the daycare across town, with his messy curls and the stubborn pout he’d inherited from a man who didn't know he existed. I’m doing this for you, Leo, she whispered to herself. The surgery is fifty thousand dollars. I’ll survive one interview.

The elevator ride was a blur of chrome and rising pressure. When the doors opened to the penthouse floor, the silence was absolute.

She walked toward the massive mahogany doors at the end of the hall. She didn't knock. She couldn't. Her hand froze mid-air.

"Enter," a voice commanded from inside.

It was a voice like gravel over silk. Deep, low, and terrifyingly familiar.

Elara pushed the doors open. The office was an altar to wealth—glass, steel, and a view that made the rest of the world look like ants. Julian Sterling sat behind a desk carved from dark oak, his head down as he signed a stack of papers.

He hadn't changed. His hair was still the color of midnight, his shoulders still broad enough to carry the weight of an empire. He looked like a king bored with his kingdom.

"You’re late, Ms. Vance," he said, his voice cold. He still hadn't looked up. "I don't tolerate tardiness in my—"

He stopped. The pen froze in his hand. Slowly, Julian lifted his head.

When his storm-cloud gray eyes met hers, the air vanished from the room. The temperature seemed to drop ten degrees. For a long, agonizing moment, neither of them breathed.

"Elara?" Julian’s voice was barely a whisper, thick with a mix of shock and a sudden, violent anger.

He stood up, his massive frame towering over the desk, and walked toward her. Every step felt like a predator closing in on its prey. He stopped just inches away, his scent—expensive cedarwood and cold rain—engulfing her.

"Three years," he growled, his gaze raking over her, searching for the girl who had vanished from his bed in the middle of the night. "You disappear without a word, you ignore my lawyers, you vanish off the face of the earth... and now you walk into my office asking for a job?"

Elara tilted her chin up, forcing her knees to stop shaking. "I’m here for work, Julian. Nothing more."

Julian reached out, his thumb catching her chin, forcing her to look him directly in the eye. His touch was electric, a painful reminder of everything she’d tried to forget.

"You think I’d let you back into my life that easily?" He leaned down, his lips brushing against her ear as he hissed, "I don't know what game you’re playing, but by the time I’m done with you, you’ll wish you had stayed hidden."

Elara’s heart hammered against her ribs. She couldn't tell him. She couldn't let him see the fear in her eyes. Because if he looked too closely, he’d see the truth.

He wasn't just looking at his ex-lover. He was looking at the mother of his son.