Chapter 2

Zoey’s POV

"No, no, no. This is insane," I muttered, gripping the edges of the porcelain tub so tightly my knuckles turned white. Then something clicked in my head.

Resignation? A wild spark of hope flared in my chest, but I quickly suppressed it as I forced myself to breathe normally. If only it were that easy. If Zoey resigned without completing the required three-month transition period, her family's remaining shares would be legally forfeited under a breach-of-contract clause, bankrupting them by nightfall. Worse, Kaiser’s deeply paranoid, suspicious nature would have his private security tracking my every move, assuming I was leaving to sell company secrets. I needed to play the long game. I needed things to be flawless before escaping.

The main conflict was staring me right in the face. If I followed the original script of this novel, I was a dead woman walking. Kaiser Vance would destroy me without a second thought. To survive, I had to completely rewrite my destiny. I needed strict rules.

Never bully or interact with Mai Lennox.

Completely cut off and ignore Julian Vance.

Absolute Rule: Never, under any circumstances, cross paths with Kaiser Vance.

You are alive, but you are Zoey now. And you have exactly two months before the plot begins.

I stood up and looked into the vanity mirror. The face staring back at me was undeniably mine, yet far more beautiful than the one I remembered. Zoey was breathtakingly beautiful, but it was a sharp, dangerous kind of beauty—porcelain skin, high cheekbones, and cat-like eyes that, right now, looked wide and haunted. I pulled down the collar of my blouse, wincing. A dark, angry bruise in the perfect shape of Kaiser’s hand was already blossoming across my white skin.

He really would have killed her, I thought, a chill running down my spine. In the novel, Zoey's obsession made her blind to Kaiser’s psychopathy. She thought his violence was a sign of passion. But having felt his hands around my neck, I knew the truth: Kaiser Vance was a monster, and right now, I was trapped in his cage.

I reached for the high-end concealer in Zoey's designer handbag, deftly painting over the bruise until my skin looked flawless again. Then, I unpinned her long curls and twisted them back into a tight French knot. I stripped off the sweet floral perfume she usually wore, washing it off my wrists with unscented soap.

When I walked back out to my desk directly outside Kaiser’s office, I was no longer the love-sick fool. I was a ghost in a tailored suit.

Sitting down at the workstation, I fired up the computer. Zoey’s muscle memory took over, my fingers flying across the keyboard as I began pulling up the company’s financial records, merger files, and—most importantly—my own payroll data.

"Hey."

I jumped slightly, looking up to see Marcus standing in front of my desk while staring at me intensely. He had his hands jammed into his pockets, his eyes shifting from my tightly pinned hair down to the flawless layout of documents on my desk.

"Are you... okay?" He asked, his voice cautious.

I forced a polite smile onto my face. "I am perfectly fine, Mr. Harrison. Mr. Vance was simply enforcing his personal boundaries. As his senior assistant, it is my job to respect them. It was my oversight."

Marcus blinked, completely thrown off. "Mr. Harrison? Zoey, you've called me Marcus since we were ten."

"We are in the office, sir," I replied, keeping my tone beautifully monotone. "It is only appropriate to maintain professional decorum. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have files to finalize for Mr. Vance."

Marcus stared at me for three long seconds, looking like he had just seen an alien. He opened his mouth to speak, thought better of it, and slowly walked away, shaking his head.

I let out a quiet breath and returned to the screen. I was so deeply engrossed in my escape calculations that I didn't notice the shadow falling over my desk.

The temperature in the air seemed to drop by ten degrees. I didn't even need to look up to know who it was. Kaiser stood in the doorway of his office. His white shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, and his rolled-up sleeves revealed the powerful, corded muscles of his forearms. He was leaning against the doorframe, his amber eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as he watched my fingers move across the keyboard. I didn't look up to flash him a flirtatious smile. Treating him like a piece of office furniture.

"Zoey," he spoke, his voice sending a cold shiver straight down my spine.

"Yes, Mr. Vance?" I asked, my voice smooth, polite, and completely deadpan.

"My coffee."

In the original novel, this was a daily trap. Zoey would eagerly brew his coffee, intentionally burn her fingers so he would notice, or try to hand it to him directly just to brush his skin, throwing him into a rage.

"It will be on your desk in five minutes, sir," I said evenly.

I stood up, keeping a strict three-foot distance between us as I walked past him toward the executive kitchen. I prepared his iced espresso exactly the way he liked it—ice-cold and without sugar. But instead of carrying it into his office and trying to corner him, I walked in, placed the crystal coaster on the farthest edge of his desk, as far away from him as possible and set the cup down.

I stepped back immediately, clasping my hands behind my back.

"Your espresso, Mr. Vance. I have placed it on the edge to ensure there is no risk of accidental physical proximity. If you need anything else, please page me through the intercom."

His amber eyes were locked onto my face, tracking the slight movement of my lips, searching for a smirk or hidden glint of manipulation. His jaw clenched, his mind clearly working overtime to figure out what kind of twisted game his "obsessed" assistant was playing now.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, his voice dropping to a dangerous, low growl.

"My job, sir," I replied. I offered him a textbook, flawless bow, turned on my heel, and walked out, closing the door firmly behind me.

Through the glass wall, I could see Kaiser slowly reach out, his fingers wrapping around the cup while his gaze remained fixed on the empty doorway where I had just been.

I sat back down at my desk, a grim smile touching my lips. Phase one of the Runaway Protocol is officially active.