She woke up to a knock at the door.
Three soft taps.
Nothing else.
Elena sat up, heartbeat loud in her ears. It was too early for deliveries… too early for anything.
Carefully, she tiptoed to the door and peeked through the peephole.
No one.
Just the still, gray hallway.
But when she opened the door, something was waiting.
A single black box.
Wrapped with a dark red ribbon.
Her name was written on a tiny white card in perfect, cold handwriting:
Elena.
She looked down the hall again. Empty.
Hesitant, she brought the box inside and placed it on the counter. Her fingers hovered over the ribbon.
Don't open it.
She opened it.
Inside was a photo.
A Polaroid.
Her.
Taken yesterday. She was sitting by the window of the bookstore, reading.
She hadn't even known someone was there.
Underneath it was a smaller box.
She opened that too — slowly.
A necklace.
Thin silver chain.
And hanging from it... a tiny key.
No note.
No explanation.
No return address.
Just the key.
And the message was clear:
> He wanted her to wonder.
---
In the penthouse, Luca watched her reaction on his monitor.
She opened it.
She touched the necklace.
She looked scared — but intrigued.
Perfect.
He turned off the feed.
He didn't need to watch anymore.
He had her attention now.
The next move was hers.
---