SECOND LIFE: CEO's shadow

The interior of Alistair's car smelled like expensive leather. It was silent, the kind of silence that feels heavy in your ears. Outside, the city lights blurred into long streaks of neon, but inside the blacked-out windows, it felt like we were in another dimension.

Alistair sat in the corner of the seat, his long legs crossed. He didn't look at me. He was staring out the window, his jaw set in a hard line. He looked like he was thinking about a thousand things at once, and none of them were good.

"You have eight minutes left," he said. He didn't check his watch. He just knew.

My heart was doing a frantic dance in my chest, but I kept my hands folded neatly in my lap. "In three months, Marcus Reed is going to announce a partnership with the South-Side Port Authority. He told you he's building tech for them, right?"

Alistair's eyes flicked to mine. They were cold and sharp, like the edge of a knife. "How do you know what he told me?"

"Because I was the one who wrote the proposal in my first-" I caught myself just in time. I couldn't tell him the truth yet. He'd think I was insane. "I mean, I saw the files on his desk. But Marcus is lying to you, Alistair. He isn't building tech. He's using that partnership as a front to smuggle high-end emeralds out of the country without paying the Vane estate taxes. And he's going to frame Thorne Industries as the primary investor when the feds show up."

Alistair didn't move, but the air in the car seemed to get colder. "That's a very specific accusation. If you're wrong, or if you're trying to use me to settle a lover's spat, you'll regret the day you ever learned my name."

"I'm not wrong," I said, leaning forward. I let the anger I felt for Marcus show in my eyes. "He's been planning this for a year. He needs my inheritance to pay the bribe for the port director. That's why he's so desperate for me to sign those papers."

Alistair finally turned his whole body toward me. He reached out, his large hand grabbing my chin. He didn't hurt me, but his grip was firm, forcing me to look directly into his dark gaze.

"You're a Vane," he whispered. "You've been protected your whole life. Why are you suddenly turning on the man you were supposed to marry? What did he do to make you this desperate?"

I felt a lump in my throat. I couldn't tell him that Marcus had pushed me off a roof. I couldn't tell him that I had felt my life end in the dark.

"He showed me who he really is," I said, my voice trembling just a little. "And I realized that if I don't kill his ambition now, he'll kill me later. Literally or figuratively, it doesn't matter. I want him gone, Alistair. And you're the only person who can help me do it without getting my hands dirty."

Alistair searched my face for a long time. I didn't look away. I didn't blink. I let him see every bit of the jagged, broken parts of my soul.

Slowly, he let go of my chin. He leaned back and let out a short, sharp breath.

"The Midnight Emerald I bought tonight," he said, his voice low. "People say it's cursed. They say whoever owns it finds ruin. Do you believe in curses, Clara?"

"I think people make their own ruin," I said. "Marcus made his when he decided I was an easy target."

Alistair looked at me, and for the first time, I saw a tiny glint of something that wasn't coldness. It was respect. "I'll look into the port deal. If I find even a grain of truth in what you said, I'll give you the protection you want. But understand this: if you work with me, you belong to the Thorne circle. That means no more Marcus. No more games. You do what I say, when I say it."

"Deal," I said immediately.

The car pulled up to the curb in front of my apartment. Alistair didn't get out to open the door for me. He just sat there, a shadow in the corner of the seat.

"One more thing," he said as I reached for the door handle. "That emerald stone... the one I overpaid for because of you? It's sitting on the seat next to you."

I looked down. The small velvet box was sitting right there.

"Consider it a warning," Alistair said. "It's beautiful, but it's heavy. If you aren't strong enough to carry it, it will crush you. Just like this world will."

I picked up the box. It felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. "I'm stronger than I look, Alistair."

"We'll see," he replied.

I got out of the car and watched the black sedan disappear into the night. I stood on the sidewalk, clutching the "cursed" emerald to my chest. I had done it. I had made a deal with the devil.

But as I walked into the lobby of my building, I saw a familiar figure sitting on the velvet sofa, waiting for me.

It was Marcus. And he looked like he was about to explode.