WebNovels

Chapter 7 - The Devil’s Office

The black card felt like it was burning a hole in her palm.

Eva stood frozen on the balcony long after Leonard Cruz had disappeared back into the glittering noise of the party. The cool night air did nothing to calm the fire in her veins. Her hand tingled where his fingers had brushed against hers. A simple touch, but it had felt like grabbing a live wire.

He said yes.

The thought didn't bring the triumph she'd expected. It brought a deep, gut-churning terror that was so much worse than the fear of being rejected. This was real. She had just signed a deal in blood without even seeing the fine print.

A sudden burst of laughter from inside made her jump. The spell was broken. She was still standing there in a stolen uniform, a sitting duck.

Move. You have to move.

She shoved the card deep into her pocket, grabbed the tray of empty glasses, and slipped back inside. The ballroom was a swirling chaos of color and sound. For a few terrifying seconds, she was completely disoriented. Then she saw the swing door to the kitchens.

She beelined for it, head down, trying to melt into the background. Her heart was still trying to beat its way out of her chest. Every person she passed felt like a threat. Every glance in her direction felt like an accusation.

They know. They all know.

Of course they didn't. She was just a server. Invisible. But the paranoia was a live thing, squirming in her stomach.

She pushed through the kitchen doors into a world of steam, shouting chefs, and clattering pans. The heat was a physical slap. She ditched the tray on a counter and kept moving, not stopping until she found the staff bathroom again. She locked the door behind her and leaned against it, finally letting out the breath she felt like she'd been holding for a century.

Her reflection in the mirror was a stranger. Pale face. Wide, scared eyes. But beneath the fear, something else flickered. A wild, unbelievable spark.

She had done it.

A hysterical laugh bubbled up in her throat, and she clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle it. She was losing it. She was absolutely losing her mind.

She needed to get out. Now.

She ripped the stupid uniform off, changing back into her own clothes with shaking hands. The simple black dress felt like armor. She scrubbed the makeup from her face, pulled her hair out of its punishing bun, and shoved the uniform into a trash bin under a pile of paper towels. Good luck finding that.

She waited for a lull in the kitchen chaos, then slipped out a side exit into the cool, dark night. The service alley smelled like garbage and damp concrete. It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever smelled. Freedom.

She walked for two blocks before her legs gave out. She sank onto a bus stop bench, her entire body trembling with the aftershock. She pulled out the black card again. In the dim streetlight, she could just make out the address embossed in sharp, silver letters. A downtown skyscraper. Of course.

Ten a.m.

She had less than twelve hours to figure out what the hell she was supposed to do next.

The ride back to Maria's apartment was a blur. She kept expecting a black car to pull up beside her, for men in suits to bundle her inside. Nothing happened.

She let herself into the quiet apartment. Maria was asleep on the couch, a book open on her chest. The sight of her, safe and peaceful, sent a fresh wave of guilt crashing over Eva. She had dragged her kind, fierce aunt into this mess. There was no going back now.

She didn't wake her. She just went to the guest room, closed the door, and sat on the edge of the bed, the card held tight in her hand.

Sleep was impossible. Her mind was a racetrack. Every time she replayed the conversation on the balcony, she cringed. Had she sounded desperate? Naive? Had she given him too much? What if he was just playing with her? What if this was all an elaborate trap?

The night stretched on, endless and terrifying.

When the first rays of sun finally peeked through the blinds, she was already dressed. She'd chosen her clothes with a care she'd never used before: a simple, well-cut black dress that was neither trying too hard nor too casual. Armor. Her hair was down. Her face was bare. Come as yourself.

Maria was in the kitchen, making coffee. She took one look at Eva's face and her own went still. "What happened?"

Eva wordlessly placed the black card on the kitchen counter.

Maria picked it up, her eyes widening as she read the address. She knew it. Everyone in this city knew that building. She looked from the card to Eva's face. "He gave this to you? Himself?"

Eva nodded, her throat too tight to speak.

"And?" Maria pressed, her voice hushed. "What did he say?"

"He said… he said 'don't be late.'" Eva's voice was a rasp.

Maria stared at her for a long moment, then let out a low, slow whistle. "Holy hell, kid. You actually did it." She came around the counter and pulled Eva into a tight, fierce hug. "I'm so proud of you. And I'm so scared for you."

Eva clung to her, drawing strength from the hug. "What do I do, Maria? What do I even say when I get there?"

"You say exactly what you said last night," Maria said, pulling back to hold her by the shoulders. "You stand your ground. You remember your value. You're not begging. You're negotiating. You walk in there like you own the place, because you're offering him the one thing he can't buy."

She made Eva eat a piece of toast. She forced coffee into her. It all tasted like ash.

At 9:45 a.m., Eva stood across the street from the skyscraper, her heart trying to hammer its way through her ribs. The building was a monolith of glass and steel, piercing the sky. It didn't look like a place where people worked. It looked like a fortress.

This was it. The point of no return.

She crossed the street, her steps echoing on the pavement. The lobby was vast, silent, and colder than the outside air. A security desk made of dark marble dominated the room. A man in a impeccable suit looked up as she approached. His eyes were flat, professional. Seeing everything.

"Can I help you?" His voice echoed in the huge space.

Eva's mouth was desert-dry. She pulled the black card from her pocket and slid it across the cool marble.

The guard looked at it, then back up at her. His expression didn't change, but something in his eyes shifted. A flicker of recognition. Of… deference?

"Right this way, Miss…" he prompted.

"Sterling," she said, the name feeling like a lie.

"Miss Sterling," he repeated. He came out from behind the desk and led her to a private elevator she hadn't even noticed, hidden in a shadowy alcove. He used a key to activate it. The doors slid open with a silent, expensive sigh.

"Penthouse suite," he said, holding the door for her. "They're expecting you."

They're expecting you.

The doors slid shut, enclosing her in a box of polished brass and mirrored walls. Her own reflection looked back at her, a pale girl in a black dress, hurtling upward.

There was no going back now.

The elevator didn't ding. It just stopped. The doors slid open without a sound.

Revealing not an office, but the entrance to a penthouse apartment. The view through the floor-to-ceiling windows was breathtaking, the entire city laid out at her feet.

And standing in the middle of the room, waiting for her, wasn't just Leonard Cruz.

It was her father.

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