Lahat ng Kabanata ng Owned By The Enemy : Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 30

The room seemed smaller the moment Ivy stepped inside. The polished marble floor reflected the muted amber lights above, stretching shadows long across the walls. It was quiet, too quiet, and that silence had teeth. Three men stood waiting — Rafael, Lucien, and Jaxon — their positions deliberate, angles measured, presence undeniable. Above them, Sebastian Wolfe remained apart, watching, analyzing, weighing.Ivy’s pulse ticked louder than the soft hum of hidden speakers. She was acutely aware of the way each man filled space, how every subtle movement shifted the invisible tension around her. Rafael leaned casually against the edge of the table, sleeves rolled, eyes assessing with a predator’s patience. Lucien’s posture was regal, the kind of elegance that carried authority without effort. Jaxon, ever the sentinel, blocked the only open exit with quiet insistence. And Sebastian — observing, untouchable, the apex of control — his gaze never leaving her.She inhaled slowly, grounding her

Power attracts attention.And attention attracts danger.Ivy felt it before she saw it.Two days after the meeting, the penthouse atmosphere shifted again — not internally this time, but externally. The tension wasn’t coming from Rafael’s restless pacing, or Lucien’s calculating quiet, or Jaxon’s watchful stillness.It was coming from Sebastian.He was on the phone when she entered the room, voice low, precise.“No. That wasn’t accidental.”A pause.“I want surveillance pulled from the east corridor. Every angle.”Another pause.Then silence.He ended the call slowly.Rafael leaned forward immediately. “Confirmed?”“Yes.”Lucien’s expression darkened slightly. “That was fast.”Jaxon’s jaw tightened. “They moved sooner than expected.”Ivy stepped closer. “What happened?”Four pairs of eyes turned to her.This time, they didn’t hesitate to include her.Sebastian’s gaze held hers. “The men from the meeting. One of them made contact with a third party within twenty-four hours.”“So?” she

The office was quiet, almost oppressively so, as Ivy Harper sank into the chair opposite Sebastian Wolfe. His gaze didn’t waver, sharp and precise as always, tracking the subtle shifts in her posture, the twitch of her fingers, the way her eyes darted toward the door before settling back on him.“You’re thinking too much,” Sebastian said finally, his voice calm but carrying the weight of authority. “Not about survival. About possibilities. About what might happen if you fail—or if you succeed.”Ivy swallowed, her throat dry, but her voice came steady. “I need to know, Sebastian. I can’t keep walking blind, not anymore.”He leaned back, folding his hands over his chest, and regarded her like a chess player considering a move several steps ahead. “Do you know why you’re here? Why you’ve been tested?”The question hung heavy in the air. Ivy’s stomach twisted. “Because… I survived?” she ventured. “Because you needed someone who could endure?”Sebastian’s lips curved in the faintest shadow

Ivy noticed it in the silence first.Not the loud kind.The careful kind.Sebastian had always been controlled. Rafael always sarcastic. Lucien observant. Jaxon quiet. But now their movements were too precise. Their eyes lingered a second too long.They were watching something.Or someone.At dinner, Rafael barely touched his glass.Lucien asked her three unrelated questions about where she had been earlier that evening.Jaxon checked his phone twice in ten minutes.And Sebastian?Sebastian just looked at her.Not accusing.Not suspicious.Calculating.“I’m fine,” Ivy said lightly, though no one had asked.Sebastian’s gaze didn’t move. “I didn’t say you weren’t.”The air shifted.Rafael leaned back. “Security protocols are tightening.”“Oh?” Ivy raised a brow. “Am I under house arrest?”Lucien’s lips curved faintly. “If you were, you wouldn’t know.”It was a joke.But it wasn’t.Ivy felt it.Something was happening beneath her feet.And they weren’t telling her.That night, she didn’t

Hospitals had a sound.Not loud.Not chaotic.But constant.The steady hum of machines. Soft footsteps. Muted voices behind curtains.Emily had grown used to it.What she hadn’t grown used to was the way nurses whispered when certain visitors came.Or how security lingered longer than necessary outside her room.She wasn’t weak.Recovering, yes.But not blind.That afternoon, Ivy had stepped out to take a call.Emily hadn’t meant to eavesdrop.She had just been reaching for her water when she heard it.A familiar voice in the hallway.Sebastian.Calm. Controlled. Low.“…we can’t afford another leak.”Emily stilled.Leak?Another voice. Lucien.“It’s internal. It has to be.”Emily’s fingers tightened around the blanket.Internal?“I don’t want to consider it,” Sebastian continued, “but proximity matters.”There was a pause.Then Rafael’s voice — sharper than usual.“She’s been meeting him.”Emily’s heart stopped.She’s been meeting him.Meeting who?There was silence.Then Jaxon.“Conf