CHAPTER ONE : THE MAN WHO WOULDN’T STOP WATCHING
The first thing Sophia noticed about rich people was that they never looked happy.
Not really.
The women wore diamonds that glittered brighter than the chandeliers above them, yet their smiles looked rehearsed. The men laughed too loudly, drank too much, and checked their phones every thirty seconds like they were terrified of silence.
Sophia adjusted the strap of her camera bag as she stepped into the mansion.
The house looked less like a home and more like a luxury hotel hidden behind iron gates and palm trees. Music vibrated through the marble floors beneath her sneakers while blue and gold lights danced across the ceiling.
A birthday party.
That was all the agency had told her.
Easy money.
Film the guests. Capture the atmosphere. Stay invisible.
Sophia preferred it that way.
Invisible.
“Camera crew?”
A tall man in a black suit stopped her near the entrance.
Sophia nodded quickly. “Y-Yes.”
He scanned her from head to toe before speaking into an earpiece.
“She’s here.”
Something about the way he said it made her stomach tighten.
The bodyguard stepped aside.
“You’re expected upstairs.”
Upstairs?
Sophia frowned.
Usually event videographers stayed near the stage or dance floor.
Not upstairs.
But she needed the money too badly to question it.
Rent was overdue. Her younger brother’s school fees were unpaid. And her mother still believed Sophia’s film degree would eventually “lead somewhere.”
Tonight had to go well.
Sophia climbed the staircase slowly, gripping her camera tightly.
The music downstairs became muffled as she reached the second floor.
The hallway was quieter.
Darker.
Then she heard it.
Laughter.
Low male voices.
A woman giggling.
One of the bedroom doors stood slightly open, warm golden light spilling into the hallway.
Sophia approached carefully.
And froze.
The man sitting at the edge of the king-sized bed looked painfully familiar.
Dark tattoos crawled up both muscular arms beneath the rolled sleeves of his black shirt. Silver rings glinted on his fingers as he leaned back lazily, whiskey glass in hand.
Sharp jawline. Messy dark hair. Eyes that looked dangerous even from across the room.
Salis Vann.
Sophia nearly dropped her camera.
Her breath caught instantly.
Everybody knew Salis Vann.
Even people who pretended not to.
He was everywhere online. Interviews. Headlines. Podcasts. Rumors.
Some called him the most desired man on the internet.
Others called him toxic.
Sophia had never expected him to be real.
Yet here he was.
Watching her.
Not casually.
Intensely.
Like he had been waiting for her specifically.
“You’re the videographer?” His voice was smooth and deep.
Sophia forced herself to nod.
“Yes.”
Salis stared at the camera hanging around her neck.
“What’s your name?”
“Sophia.”
He repeated it slowly.
“Sophia.”
The way he said her name felt strangely personal.
Like tasting it.
A beautiful blonde woman beside him leaned against his shoulder lazily.
“You hired a shy one,” she teased.
Salis ignored her completely.
His attention stayed on Sophia.
“You nervous?”
“A little.”
“Good.”
Sophia blinked.
Good?
He stood up slowly from the bed.
Tall.
Much taller than she expected.
The tattoos along his arms shifted beneath the low bedroom lighting as he approached her.
Every instinct told Sophia to look away.
She couldn’t.
“You shoot professionally?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Show me.”
Sophia swallowed nervously and lifted her camera.
The room transformed the moment she looked through the lens.
That was her gift.
Behind the camera, she stopped being awkward.
Stopped overthinking.
She became confident.
Controlled.
She moved around the room, capturing details: the expensive liquor, the candlelight, the city skyline outside the windows, the guests laughing near the private bar.
Then she filmed Salis.
And everything changed.
Some people looked different on camera.
Salis looked worse.
More dangerous.
The lens loved him.
Every movement felt cinematic. Every glance looked intentional.
Sophia zoomed in unconsciously.
Salis noticed.
A small smirk touched his lips.
“You know what you’re doing,” he murmured.
Heat crept into Sophia’s face.
For the next hour, she filmed the party while silently trying to ignore the strange feeling growing in her chest.
But no matter where she moved—
Salis kept watching her.
Not the guests.
Not the models hanging around him.
Her.
Every time she looked up, his eyes were already there.
Waiting.
Studying.
Interested.
It unsettled her more than she wanted to admit.
Around midnight, Sophia finally packed her equipment.
She needed to leave before her anxiety consumed her completely.
As she headed toward the staircase, Salis appeared beside her unexpectedly.
“You’re leaving already?”
“I finished the assignment.”
“You always run this fast?”
Sophia looked up at him carefully.
Close up, he smelled expensive. Dark cologne. Whiskey. Smoke.
Danger.
“I have work tomorrow.”
“That bad?”
“What?”
“Your life.”
Sophia frowned slightly.
Salis leaned one shoulder against the wall.
“You look like someone carrying the world alone.”
Her chest tightened unexpectedly.
Nobody had ever said something like that to her before.
Especially not someone like him.
He reached into his pocket and handed her a black card.
“No agency next time.”
Sophia stared at it.
No company name.
No title.
Just a number embossed in silver.
“If I need filming?”
“When,” he corrected calmly.
Their fingers brushed briefly as she took the card.
Electric.
Sophia stepped back instantly.
“Goodnight,” she whispered.
Salis smiled faintly.
But it wasn’t a warm smile.
It looked like the beginning of trouble.
—
Rain poured heavily by the time Sophia reached home.
Her apartment building looked tiny compared to the luxury mansion she had just left behind.
The hallway lights flickered as she climbed the stairs.
She lived on the third floor in a cramped apartment with peeling paint and noisy pipes.
Completely different worlds.
Sophia locked the door behind her and leaned against it tiredly.
Silence.
Finally.
She dropped her camera bag onto the couch and exhaled slowly.
Then her phone buzzed.
Unknown Number.
Her heartbeat quickened instantly.
She stared at the screen.
One message.
> You left without saying goodbye properly.
Sophia’s stomach flipped.
Salis.
How did he get her number?
Before she could reply—
Headlights flashed through her window.
Bright.
Black.
Sophia slowly walked toward the curtain.
And froze.
A black SUV sat directly outside her building.
Engine running.
Rain sliding across the windows.
Her breathing became uneven.
No.
No way.
Then the driver’s door opened.
Salis stepped out.
Dressed entirely in black.
Rain soaked his clothes instantly as he looked up toward her apartment window.
Straight at her.
Like he already knew exactly where she lived.
Fear crawled down Sophia’s spine.
But underneath the fear—
Something else moved there too.
Something dangerous.
A slow knock echoed against her apartment door.
Sophia stopped breathing.
Another knock.
Calm. Patient.
Like he already knew she would open it.
And somehow…
Deep down…
She knew she would too.
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END OF CHAPTER ONE
