The doors of Vane Towers closed behind me with a soft, airtight hiss.
For a second, I just stood there.
The air outside felt different. Lighter. Warmer. Normal.
I looked down at the pen still in my hand.
Gold.
Heavy.
Like it meant more than it should.
I slipped it into my bag quickly, like getting rid of it would somehow undo what I'd just done.
It didn't.
My phone started vibrating.
Then didn't stop.
I pulled it out.
Missed calls.
Messages.
Way too many.
Before I could even scroll, a call came through.
I answered.
"LIA—"
I winced, pulling the phone away from my ear.
"I'm alive," I said.
"Barely," I added after a second.
"Alive?" Mia's face filled the screen. "We saw you leave! That car, Lia, that was not normal."
"What car?"
"The black SUV," Sarah cut in. "The one that looked like it came with its own security detail. We waited outside your dorm for hours."
I stopped walking.
"What do you mean you waited?"
"Because," Mia said, slower now, "a moving crew showed up. With your name on a list."
My grip tightened around the phone.
"They're packing your stuff," she added. "All of it."
"That's not funny."
"I'm not joking."
I turned around without thinking, already heading back.
"They said you're being relocated," Sarah said. "Executive housing. Lia… what did you agree to?"
I let out a breath.
"It's a job."
Silence.
Then—
"What kind of job comes with a moving crew?" Mia asked.
"The kind that pays five times the standard rate," I said.
That got their attention.
"Five—wait, what?" Sarah blinked. "Lia, that's not a job. That's—"
"A problem," I cut in.
Because it was.
No matter how good it sounded.
"He's not normal," Mia said quietly. "You know that, right?"
"I noticed."
"And you still said yes?"
I hesitated.
"...I said yes."
Another pause.
"He didn't just hire you," Sarah said. "He chose you."
"I'm not something to choose."
"You sure about that?"
I didn't answer.
Because I wasn't as sure as I wanted to be.
"I can handle it," I said instead. "It's just work. I'll do what I'm paid for and leave when I want."
Mia made a small sound that said she didn't believe me.
"Just… be careful," she said.
"I will."
We ended the call.
I didn't feel better.
By the time I reached my dorm, people were already watching.
Doors half-open. Voices low.
Two men in dark suits stood outside my room.
Waiting.
"Miss Woods," one of them said with a slight nod. "We're almost finished."
Finished.
Like this was routine.
I pushed past them.
Then stopped.
My room...
Was empty.
Not messy-empty.
Not moved-out empty.
Gone.
The walls looked bigger without my things. Colder.
Like I'd never lived there.
For a second, I just stood in the doorway.
Trying to process it.
This morning, this had been mine.
Now—
It wasn't.
"What did you do with my things?" I asked.
"Already transferred," the guard replied. "To your new residence."
"My laptop? My phone?"
"Replaced."
That word hit wrong.
"Backups have been secured," he continued. "Your new devices are prepared."
Prepared.
Like this had all been planned in advance.
Of course it had.
I stepped further into the room.
There was only one thing left.
A small box.
Placed neatly in the center of the bed.
I walked over slowly and opened it.
A phone.
Black. Clean. No branding, just a small 'V' etched into the back.
Under it, a note.
I picked it up.
The car is downstairs. Don't be late.
That was it.
No signature.
No explanation.
He didn't need one.
I sat down on the edge of the bed.
For the first time since leaving his office, the weight of it all settled properly.
This wasn't just a new job.
It wasn't even a new life.
It was a replacement.
Everything I had before, my space, my routine, my choices—
Gone in a few hours.
Efficient.
Controlled.
Like I'd been moved into position.
I looked down at the phone in my hand.
Then toward the door.
The guards were still there.
Waiting.
Of course they were.
I let out a slow breath and stood.
If this was how he worked
Then I needed to learn fast.
Because whatever this was…
I was already in it.