Morning came quietly over the city.
Sunlight filtered through the tall glass windows of Volkov Tower, turning the skyline pale gold as the first waves of traffic began filling the streets below.
Inside Adrian's office, the atmosphere was calm.
Too calm.
Adrian stood behind his desk reviewing several reports, but his focus drifted constantly back to the same memory.
Elena standing in the hallway.
Looking at him like she was trying to understand someone she had never truly known.
He closed the file in front of him.
For the first time in a long while, Adrian Volkov felt something dangerously close to uncertainty.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Come in."
Lucas stepped inside.
His usual relaxed expression was absent today. Instead, he carried a thin tablet in one hand and a serious look on his face.
"You're avoiding her."
Adrian didn't look up.
"That wasn't a question."
Lucas walked further into the room.
"Three missed calls."
Adrian finally lifted his gaze.
"From?"
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"You know exactly who."
Adrian leaned back slightly in his chair.
"Elena shouldn't be contacting me right now."
"That's convenient," Lucas said. "Because she clearly wants to talk."
Adrian said nothing.
Lucas sighed.
"You're handling this badly."
Adrian's voice remained calm.
"I'm handling it correctly."
"You're pushing her away."
"Yes."
Lucas shook his head.
"That's not protection. That's damage control."
Adrian's eyes sharpened slightly.
"They're the same thing in my world."
Lucas walked toward the window and looked out at the city below.
"She saw something ugly last night."
"Yes."
"You could explain it."
"No."
Lucas turned toward him again.
"And why not?"
"Because the more she knows, the more dangerous it becomes for her."
Lucas studied him quietly.
"Too late for that."
Adrian didn't respond.
Because Lucas wasn't wrong.
The moment Elena had stepped into that alley… things had already changed.
But Adrian still had one option left.
Distance.
Cold.
Effective distance.
Lucas placed the tablet on Adrian's desk.
"There's something else."
Adrian glanced down at the screen.
A series of surveillance photos appeared.
Elena.
Walking out of the music studio.
Leaving the café near the academy.
Practicing late at night.
Adrian's expression darkened slightly.
"You started monitoring her."
"You asked Marcus to investigate."
"That's not the same thing."
Lucas folded his arms.
"In this building, it is."
Adrian scrolled through the photos slowly.
None of them showed anything unusual.
Just Elena living her normal life.
Walking through the city.
Carrying sheet music.
Laughing with a few other musicians outside the academy.
A normal life.
Exactly the kind of life Adrian knew would eventually be disrupted by his world if he wasn't careful.
Marcus watched him carefully.
"You know Alexander ordered this."
Adrian already suspected that.
"Yes."
"And he's not doing it out of curiosity."
"No."
Lucas leaned against the desk.
"He's deciding whether she's a problem."
The silence in the office deepened.
Adrian locked the tablet screen.
"She isn't."
"You know that," Lucas said quietly.
"But your father doesn't."
Adrian stood up.
"Then I'll make sure she never becomes one."
Lucas studied him carefully.
"And your solution is to disappear?"
"For now."
Lucas sighed.
"That's not going to work."
"Why?"
"Because Elena Rivera is not the type of person who walks away from unanswered questions."
Adrian knew that already.
It was one of the reasons she had fascinated him at the academy years ago.
She was stubborn.
Curious.
Persistent.
Lucas pushed away from the desk.
"She called me this morning."
Adrian's gaze snapped up.
"What?"
Lucas shrugged.
"She couldn't reach you."
"And?"
"She asked if you were avoiding her."
Adrian didn't respond.
Lucas smirked slightly.
"I didn't answer."
"That was wise."
"I did tell her something else though."
Adrian narrowed his eyes.
"What?"
Lucas' smile widened slightly.
"I told her that if she wanted answers…"
He paused.
"…she should probably come ask you directly."
Adrian stared at him.
"You what?"
Lucas shrugged again.
"You were going to see her eventually."
"That wasn't your decision to make."
"Maybe not."
Lucas started walking toward the door.
"But it might save you both some time."
Before Adrian could respond—
A knock sounded at the office door.
Lucas stopped.
Both men looked toward the entrance.
The receptionist's voice came through the intercom.
"Mr. Volkov… you have a visitor."
Adrian already had a feeling he knew who it was.
"Who?"
There was a small pause.
Then the receptionist answered.
"Elena Rivera."
Lucas smiled slowly.
"Well."
Adrian exhaled quietly.
"So much for distance."
Lucas opened the door and stepped into the hallway.
"Elena," he greeted casually.
Adrian heard her voice a moment later.
"Lucas."
There was a brief silence.
Then Lucas said lightly,
"I think someone owes you a conversation."
He stepped aside.
A moment later Elena walked into the office.
Her eyes landed immediately on Adrian.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then she crossed her arms.
"You're avoiding me."
Adrian's expression remained calm.
"I'm busy."
Elena raised an eyebrow.
"Three days busy?"
Lucas quietly slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Leaving them alone.
Elena stepped closer to Adrian's desk.
"You don't get to disappear after what happened."
Adrian leaned slightly against the desk.
"Yes, I do."
"No, you don't."
Her voice softened slightly.
"You almost told me the truth."
He held her gaze.
"Almost."
"And now you're pretending nothing happened."
"That's the safest option."
Elena shook her head slowly.
"For who?"
"For you."
Her frustration returned instantly.
"You keep saying that like I'm some fragile thing that needs protecting."
"That's not what I think."
"Then why are you acting like it?"
Adrian didn't answer.
Because the real reason was simple.
She mattered.
And in his world, that made her vulnerable.
Elena studied him for a long moment.
Then she said quietly,
"You're trying to push me away."
"Yes."
The honesty surprised her.
"But it's not working."
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
"Why not?"
Elena's expression softened slightly.
"Because I've already seen too much."
Her eyes held his steadily.
"And now I want the truth."
The tension in the room thickened.
Adrian knew exactly how dangerous that request was.
But the look in Elena's eyes told him something else.
She wasn't leaving.
Not easily.
And somewhere deep down…
A small part of him didn't want her to.