Her Presence Unsettles Him

The footsteps were heavy and unhurried.

Why is he home? Doesn’t he stay out late? I couldn't imagine being caught spying on my first day at work. 

I crouched behind the clothes, barely daring to breathe. My heart thudded so loud I was certain it would give me away. The footsteps grew louder... then stopped.

Then came the voice; deep, calm, terrifyingly composed.

“Get out.”

The suits parted, revealing him. Julian Salvatore.

He appeared before me standing tall, powerful, and stone-cold. His deep-set blue eyes locked onto mine like a hawk spotting prey. He didn’t shout. He didn’t flinch. Just those two words, delivered like a command the earth itself couldn’t ignore. I felt mesmerized under his stare.

“Get... out.” He said again, calm and commanding. 

My throat dried up. My legs moved before my mouth could catch up. I muttered something that might’ve been an apology and bolted, barely remembering how doors worked.

As I fled down the hallway with burning cheeks and racing heart, only one thought filled my mind:

"I have been caught too early!”

***

As I returned to my room, I paced nervously, clutching her chest. “How does he knows I'm hiding behind the clothes? What will he do to me now? Will he have me arrested? Tortured? Sent away?”

 The unanswered questions spiraled in her mind, feeding her unease. Yet, amidst the anxiety, her thoughts kept drifting back to Julian's penetrating gaze and his calm, unreadable demeanor. A flush crept up her cheeks as she recalled the intensity of his presence.

A knock on her door startled her, nearly causing her to trip. Her pulse spiked as she anticipated the worst. 

“Miss Alexa, are you in there?” The voice sound a bit unfamiliar, deep and cold. I walked trembling to the door and unlocked it. It was Theo, the assistant I had seen earlier that day. Somehow, he has a demeanor that scared me that Julian. The way he stared at me was creepy as though he could see right through me. He reminded me so much of Marcus's men and I shuddered under his intense gaze. 

“You came here by luck, so use your luck wisely.” He broke with silence with what seemed like a stern warning and left. 

I only nodded as I watched his retreating figure. Does he notice a crack in my disguise? Was it because I was caught by Julian in the closet? As my thoughts wandered, I decided not to give in to fear and complete my mission here as quickly as possible. 

___

The following day

I stood on a spot for minutes, trying to gather my thoughts, practicing my apology speech in my head while debating how best to knock on the gold-etched door in front of me. I spent the whole night doing a series of online searches about Julian Salvatore. Thankfully, the agency had given me a phone before leaving. Every detail I found only intensified the storm in my chest. How could only his business information be the details on the web? 

Bracing myself for the worst, I finally raised my hand and gave the door a soft knock.

"Come in."

The voice that answered was deep and commanding. It sent a jolt through my spine and quickened my heartbeat.

As the door creaked open, I stepped inside and my breath caught. Julian stood by the bed, shirtless, fastening his cufflinks with effortless ease. His chiseled torso was on full display, and the way his tailored pants hugged his thighs made heat rise to my cheeks. I blinked hard, trying to compose myself.

“Good morning, sir,” I managed to say, my voice barely above a whisper.

His eyes lifted and locked with mine, piercing and unreadable. For a moment, we just stood there, frozen in place, eyes locked and a tension thick enough to touch hanging in the air.

I quickly looked away, clutching the cleaning supplies in my hand like they were lifelines. The familiar feeling that comes with his gaze made my heart race. 

I quickly turned to my cleaning task and my eyes couldn’t help but drift to a shimmering golden box on the desk.

That must be it!

My heart skipped. It was exactly as it looked on the screen in the basement. It looked radiant, mysterious, glowing like it held secrets of its own.

I forced my eyes back to my work, but they kept returning to the box. The craftsmanship was too perfect, too deliberate.

No wonder Marcus is so desperate for it… but why would Julian just leave it out like that? And what secrets lies with the box?

My mind raced with questions I couldn’t answer.

“What are you here for? To work or stand like a statue?”

His voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I flushed deeper and scrambled to resume scrubbing, my hands suddenly unsteady.

When he turned toward the door to leave, something in me pushed forward.

“Sir, about yesterday… I—I just wanted to apologize.”

He didn’t stop walking. My words chased after him.

“I was distracted by the beauty of the room. I didn’t mean to intrude.”

He paused at the threshold. His back still turned to me. I saw his jaw tighten. Something about my presence unsettled him. I could feel it. It had been there yesterday too, in the closet. But today… it was heavier. Stronger.

He said nothing. Just reached for the golden box and walked out, his fingers wrapped tightly around it.

I exhaled, my whole body deflating. At least it didn’t go completely wrong.

Still… as I stared at the now-empty desk, I knew deep in my chest; this mission was just beginning.

Meanwhile, deep within Marcus's lair, the air was thick with smoke, puffing out of Marcus's nostrils as he sat with his back laid back on the chair. He has a cunning smile playing at the corner of his lips, a contrast to the stoic expression on Dante's face. In the dimly lit room, plans were unfolding, dangerous ones.

“Don’t you trust me anymore?” Marcus asked with a sneer, his voice laced with mockery as he glanced over at Dante. “Alexa will get the job done. Just relax and enjoy the show. That watch will be ours.”

Dante didn’t smile, not really. Just a dark smirk that tugged at the corner of his lips. His eyes, however, were as cold as ever. “She better not fail,” he said flatly, his voice like steel. “Or she’ll regret it... just like her mother did.”

Marcus burst into laughter. As loud, as maniac as always, echoing through the walls. But Dante? He remained quiet, lost in thought. His mind wasn’t on Marcus’s theatrics. No, his game ran deeper.

Alexa, Roberto. They were nothing but pawns in his chess game. His intention is to dominate. Whether they survived or shattered beneath the weight of his ambitions meant nothing.

For Dante, this wasn’t about loyalty or trust. It was about control. And no matter the cost, he would have it.

**

Julian sat in his study, eyes fixed on the glowing screen in front of him, though his mind was elsewhere. He couldn't stop thinking about the maid. Alexa. He felt drawn towards her and something within him yearns to know more about her. 

Behind him, Theo quietly arranged files on the shelf. Everything about the space was neat, composed… just like Julian tried to be. But Theo could sense his unease, his eagerness to know about something. 

Just as he was about to break the silence, Julian's voice echoed softly, deeply. 

“Did you make findings about the employment agency, the one the maid came from?”

Theo paused. “No. I was waiting for your order.”

Julian only nodded, his eyes returning to the computer screen.

“You want me to dig deeper?”

He hesitated, then shook his head. “No. Leave it.”

Theo turned slightly, brows raised. “Is there something bothering you?”

“Call the private investigator,” Julian said, his voice low. “Set a meeting at the penthouse. I'm ready to meet him.”

Theo's eyes lit up a bit, he nodded and went back to the files, but Julian’s thoughts lingered.

He’d avoided this for too long. Afraid and held back by the past. Now he's ready to forge ahead, confronting the one truth he feared the most: what really happened to his parents.

Something had indeed shifted. He needed those answers now