Adrian's POV
Adrian Blackwell didn't usually let people linger in his mind after business dinners. But tonight was different.
Elise Carter was different.
He leaned against the edge of his home office desk, still in his suit from the event, his tie loosened and collar undone. A glass of bourbon sat untouched in his hand, his mind replaying the evening like a film reel on a loop.
There had been a moment—when Elise looked him straight in the eye, that calm smile playing at her lips—where he swore he saw something more dangerous than ambition.
She hadn't come just to impress him.
She came to unsettle him.
And damn it, she had succeeded.
A knock pulled him from his thoughts.
His personal assistant, Jordan, stepped in, holding a sleek tablet. "You need to see this."
Adrian took the device and scanned the screen. Surveillance footage. From the hotel. Specifically, the private dining room's hallway.
A shadow in the footage.
A man in a hood entering a maintenance stairwell just as Elise was being escorted out the back exit.
Adrian frowned. "Who is that?"
"We don't know yet. No ID. No clearance tags. But… he was watching her."
Adrian's jaw clenched. "Find out who he is."
"Yes, sir."
As Jordan exited, Adrian exhaled sharply. Elise Carter wasn't just circling the empire now—she was being hunted. Watched.
By who?
He tapped the side of the glass thoughtfully, then picked up his phone.
"Get me a full dossier on Elise Carter. The updated one."
Elise's POV
The next morning, Elise was already at her office by 7 a.m., dressed in a stormy gray pantsuit with a silk blouse tucked in like armor. Her confrontation with Tyler was locked away behind the steel wall of her will. There was no room for distraction—not when the board meeting loomed and eyes were beginning to turn.
Outside her office, her assistant Jessica was holding two cups of coffee and wearing a strange expression.
"There's someone waiting in the conference room," she said cautiously.
"Who?"
"An international partner from the Tokyo office. A woman named Reina Tanaka. She said she came unannounced on purpose."
Elise's brow lifted. "Did she give a reason?"
"No. Only that she's been watching your moves since the quarter began. And she wants to talk… alone."
Elise smirked.
Interesting.
She took the coffee, handed one back to Jessica, and said calmly, "Clear my calendar for the next hour."
Then she walked down the hall and opened the door.
The woman standing by the window had a presence that rivaled Elise's own. Tall, poised, dressed in a tailored black suit with crimson heels. Her hair was sleek, her lips painted a subtle shade of power.
"Elise Carter," Reina said without turning. "The phoenix of the financial world."
"And you must be the hawk they sent from Tokyo."
Reina turned and smiled.
Sharp. Elegant. Calculated.
"I didn't come as a messenger," she said. "I came to see if you're worth aligning with."
Elise sat at the head of the table. "Aligning?"
Reina walked to the seat opposite her, heels striking like declarations. "Let's not pretend. You're climbing. Fast. And I've seen women like you—either they burn everything to the ground and rebuild it… or the fire consumes them."
Elise's fingers laced together.
"I've been both," she said coolly.
Reina's eyes glittered. "Then you understand. This game is not just about money. It's about legacy. Power. Secrets."
"I know."
"Good," Reina said, sliding a velvet folder across the table. "Inside is a report. Liam Holloway's holdings in Asia. His connections with the Yukimoto Group. Something you'll want to verify."
Elise opened the folder and scanned the pages.
Her heartbeat remained calm.
But inside, the alarm was ringing.
If this was true, Liam was more exposed than she realized.
Reina stood, brushing invisible dust off her sleeve. "I've studied you. I know who hurt you. I also know you're not the only one plotting revenge."
Elise raised an eyebrow. "Are you offering to help me?"
Reina smiled without warmth. "I'm offering you a test. Use what I gave you. If you succeed, I'll return. With more."
And just like that, she was gone.
Later That Night
Elise stood on her balcony, the Tokyo file in one hand, a glass of red wine in the other. The wind tugged gently at her curls. The skyline glittered like a web of opportunity—and danger.
She had rattled Adrian. Faced Tyler. And now, she had proof Liam's kingdom had cracks.
They were watching her. Testing her.
And Elise Carter didn't just pass tests.
She turned them into stepping stones.
This was only the beginning.