The first warning sign came when Ethan tried to cancel a meeting.
"I'm busy tonight," he told her over the phone. "We'll talk tomorrow."
Silence lingered on the line for a moment.
Then Lena spoke.
"You're meeting Cara tonight, aren't you?"
Ethan froze.
"How do you—"
"I notice things," she interrupted calmly.
Her tone wasn't angry. That almost made it worse.
"Relax," she added. "I'm not jealous."
But the way she said it didn't sound convincing.
Later that evening, Ethan arrived at the restaurant anyway. Lena was already there, sitting calmly with a glass of water.
"You came," she said with a small smile.
"You said it was urgent."
"It is."
She slid a thin folder across the table.
Inside were documents Ethan desperately needed. Papers that would allow him to move forward with several plans he'd been preparing for months.
"You did this already?" he asked.
"Of course."
Ethan looked up.
"What do you want in return?"
Lena leaned back in her chair.
"Time," she said simply. "And honesty."
"That's it?"
"For now."
Her eyes locked onto his.
"And Ethan… don't lie to me."
For the first time, something about the situation made him uneasy.
Weeks passed.
Ethan kept telling himself the arrangement was under control.
But the meetings with Lena became more frequent. And stranger.
She called him late at night just to hear his voice.
She demanded to know where he was sometimes.
If he didn't reply fast enough, she would send messages that sounded calm—but carried a sharp edge underneath.
One night she said something that made his stomach drop.
"You care about Cara," Lena said casually.
Ethan stared at her across the table.
"You've been watching me?"
"Watching?" she laughed softly. "No. I just know people."
She leaned closer.
"You should be careful though."
"Careful about what?"
Lena's expression softened, but her eyes didn't.
"Secrets are dangerous things."
Ethan didn't answer.
She tapped the folder sitting between them.
"Especially when someone else is holding them."
That was the moment Ethan realized something.
This wasn't just a relationship.
It was leverage.
If Lena ever decided to expose what was happening between them, the consequences could be brutal. Cara might never trust him again.
Even Aria would look at him differently.
And Lena knew it.
She reached across the table and lightly squeezed his hand.
"Don't look so worried," she said gently.
But her grip tightened slightly.
"As long as you stay close to me… everything will be fine."
For the first time since meeting her, Ethan felt something he rarely experienced.
He felt trapped.