Volkov Tower was silent after midnight.
Most of the lights had gone dark hours ago, leaving only a few dim hallways glowing under the soft security lamps. The city outside was still alive, but inside the tower everything felt controlled, orderly… predictable.
Adrian preferred it that way.
Or at least he used to.
Tonight, he moved through the quiet corridors without his usual sense of purpose.
Marcus's words from earlier still echoed in his mind.
If you protect her… you make her a target.
If you distance yourself… they lose interest.
The logic was flawless.
And Adrian hated it.
He reached the end of the hallway and stopped in front of a door that few people in the building even knew existed.
For a moment, he simply stood there.
Then he opened it.
Inside was a private room.
Simple.
Dimly lit.
And in the center of it stood a grand piano.
The instrument had been placed there years ago, though Adrian rarely allowed himself to come inside.
Music belonged to a different version of his life.
A quieter one.
Before boardrooms and contracts and political alliances had replaced everything else.
Adrian stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
The silence felt heavier here.
Almost expectant.
He walked slowly toward the piano and sat down on the bench.
For a moment, he didn't move.
His hands rested loosely in his lap.
He hadn't touched the keys in years.
But tonight…
His thoughts drifted somewhere else.
To the conservatory.
To the quiet practice room.
To the sound of Elena's music filling the hall.
He could still remember the way she played.
Careful at first.
Then fearless.
As if the piano was the only place she truly belonged.
Adrian exhaled slowly.
"This is a mistake," he murmured.
Because music had always been dangerous for him.
It reminded him of things he wasn't supposed to want.
Still…
His fingers moved.
They hovered over the keys.
Then pressed down.
The first note was soft.
Almost hesitant.
The sound echoed gently through the empty room.
Adrian played another note.
Then another.
The melody came slowly at first, like a memory returning after years of silence.
He hadn't forgotten.
His hands moved instinctively across the keyboard, the quiet piece unfolding into something deeper and more emotional than he expected.
For a few minutes, the empire didn't exist.
There were no contracts.
No alliances.
No expectations.
Just music.
And the strange, unwelcome thought of Elena sitting at the piano bench across from him.
Playing the same melody.
A small smile touched Adrian's lips before he could stop it.
Then—
The door opened.
The music stopped instantly.
Adrian's head lifted.
Seraphina stood in the doorway.
She hadn't knocked.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Seraphina stepped slowly into the room, her gaze moving from Adrian to the piano.
"I wondered where you disappeared to," she said quietly.
Adrian stood from the bench.
"You shouldn't be here."
Seraphina ignored the comment.
Instead, she walked closer to the instrument, her fingers brushing lightly against the polished wood.
"I had almost forgotten," she said softly.
Adrian's expression hardened slightly.
"Forgotten what?"
She looked at him.
"That you used to play."
He didn't answer.
Seraphina studied him carefully.
"I haven't heard you touch a piano since we were teenagers."
"That was a long time ago."
"Yes."
Her eyes moved briefly across the keys.
"And yet you still remember how."
Adrian crossed his arms.
"It's irrelevant."
Seraphina tilted her head slightly.
"Is it?"
She stepped back and leaned lightly against the edge of the piano.
"You know what I find interesting?"
Adrian said nothing.
Seraphina continued.
"You haven't played in years."
Her voice remained calm.
"But suddenly…"
She met his gaze.
"…you start again."
The silence that followed was sharp.
Seraphina didn't need him to answer.
She already knew.
"Elena plays," she said quietly.
Adrian's expression didn't change.
But that alone confirmed everything.
Seraphina gave a faint, almost sad smile.
"I thought so."
She walked toward the door again.
Before leaving, she paused.
"You should be careful, Adrian."
His voice remained calm.
"About what?"
Seraphina looked back at him.
"Music has a way of revealing things people try to hide."
Her eyes moved once more to the piano.
"And in our world…"
Her tone grew softer.
"…weakness is very expensive."
Then she left the room.
The door closed quietly behind her.
Adrian remained standing beside the piano in the silence that followed.
His gaze dropped slowly to the keys.
Marcus had warned him.
His father had warned him.
Now Seraphina had seen it too.
Something had changed.
And if the wrong people discovered just how much it had changed—
The consequences wouldn't fall on him alone.