Chapter 1:The Girl Who Trusted Too Easily
The sound of her heels clicking on marble echoed too sharply in the quiet lobby.
Aurelia Carter clutched her bag tighter, pressing it nervously against her chest. The building was… a lot more intimidating in person than it looked in the job listing. Glass walls, metal edges, floors that looked too polished to step on.
She wasn't supposed to be here yet. Her first day was next Monday. But she’d received a polite message from HR, asking if she could stop by today to collect her welcome documents.
She said yes, of course. She always did. She had a hard time saying no.
It was one of her biggest flaws—or so her older sister used to say.
“You trust people too fast, Aura,” she'd warned once.
“One day you’re going to smile at the wrong person and never come home.”
Aurelia had laughed. Because honestly, what kind of thing was that to say?
She believed in kindness. In second chances. In good hearts buried under cold expressions.
And maybe… she believed in fairy tales too.
Her eyes scanned the room as she reached the reception desk, her pale pink blouse fluttering slightly as the air conditioning blew against her. The receptionist was gone. A small note taped to the monitor read: “Be right back. Elevator is open if you're expected.”
Expected?
She hesitated.
Maybe this was a mistake. She could just sit and wait...
But she didn’t want to be late, even for something so small. The message had said top floor. So, with a nervous breath, she stepped into the open elevator.
The numbers climbed quickly. Her reflection shimmered in the metallic walls—wide brown eyes, soft features, pink-tinted lips that never quite stopped smiling even when she was nervous.
The elevator dinged. Floor 50.
She stepped out into a hallway that was too quiet. Carpeted. Empty. Doors lining each side, all closed.
"Hello?" she called gently, her voice swallowed by the silence.
No answer.
She bit her lip, debating. Then her eyes caught on the only open door at the very end of the hallway. Just slightly ajar.
Aurelia walked slowly toward it. One hand reaching to knock
But before she could, a sharp voice echoed from inside.
“Tell him if he sends another man into my city, I’ll send him back in a body bag.”
Her heart stopped.
The voice was low. Male. Dangerous.
She shouldn’t be hearing this. She shouldn’t be here.
She stepped back quickly, nearly tripping over her own heel. Her hand flew to her mouth, and she backed away—quiet, fast, trying not to breathe too loudly.
She didn’t hear footsteps. But something in the air changed. A tension. A shift. Like the atmosphere knew her innocence had just brushed up against something cold, violent, and unforgiving.
She ran to the elevator, heart pounding.
It wasn't until she reached the ground floor, her chest heaving and fingers shaking, that she realized she'd just walked to the edge of something dangerous.
And worse…
Something about that voice still echoed in her head.
