While Zade circled the ballroom, exchanging handshakes and cold smiles with investors, Alex excused herself and stepped into a quieter hallway, her heels clicking sharply against marble as she pulled out her phone.
Michael answered after two rings.
“Anything?” she asked, voice low and urgent.
“No big progress,” he replied, muffled, as if he were on speaker. “Brenda’s still going through archived business registries. We’re stuck. No access to secured databases, no resources for deeper digging. Sorry.”
Alex pressed her fingers against her temple. Andrea’s threat echoed in her skull like a second heartbeat, a constant reminder of what can happen if she makes a move not cautious enough. “Alright. Thanks for trying. I’ll figure something out.” She ended the call right as Zade appeared from around the corner.
His gaze flicked to the phone in her hand. “Who were you talking to?”
Alex didn’t miss a beat. “Luca. Checking on Mom.”
Zade nodded once, not questioning her further. “Come on. I’ll drop you off.”
She hesitated for a moment but then nodded. She didn’t have her car or driver tonight—Zade had arranged transport to the event.
The drive was quiet at first. The city lights slid past the window like blurred thoughts, and Alex leaned her head back against the seat, eyes half-closed. But her mind wouldn’t stop spinning.
“What’s your endgame?” she asked suddenly, breaking the silence.
Zade glanced at her. “Excuse me?”
“If we go through with this marriage,” she said, turning to face him, “you get what you want. The business. Or maybe the complete destruction of it, I don’t know. But then what, Zade? What happens after?”
He didn’t answer. His knuckles tensed slightly around the wheel.
“I’m serious,” Alex pressed. “What’s your master plan? Destroy my family and then what? Start a new one? Rule the ruins like a king with no castle?”
Zade’s jaw clenched. “Mind your own damn business.”
She scoffed. “That’s rich, coming from someone who crashes meetings and breaks deals like a hobby.”
His glare was sharp, but there was something else beneath it—something uncertain. For a moment, just one flickering second, Alex saw it: doubt. The kind of doubt that gnaws on you late at night when no one’s watching. Maybe even guilt.
She didn’t push it. Not this time.
When they reached the Steel penthouse, she stepped out without another word. The doors closed behind her, and Zade drove off like nothing had happened. Though, before he did, Alex could feel his eyes on her the entire time she walked up to the entrance. She wondered if he was making sure she made it safely or maybe just hoped to somehow burn her down with a single look. Knowing Zade, it could he both.
Inside, everything felt heavier than usual. Nova was asleep on the living room couch, bundled in her favorite fleece blanket. Luca stood nearby, arms folded, a deep crease between his brows.
“Come,” he said, gesturing toward the hallway.
Alex followed, confused.
Once they were far enough not to disturb Nova, Luca turned to her, eyes sharp. “Someone broke into your room.”
Her blood froze. “What?”
He nodded grimly. “I noticed something was off when I walked past your door earlier. I thought maybe you left it messy… but the place is ransacked.”
Without waiting for more details, Alex sprinted down the hallway, flung her bedroom door open—and felt her stomach drop.
Books scattered across the carpet. Her desk drawers had been pulled out and dumped. Clothes were hanging from the bedpost like torn flags of war. Her laptop lay on the ground, screen cracked. She didn’t stop to inspect the mess. Instead, she rushed to the underside of her bed, pulling back the rug and opening the small built-in safe.
Her heart steadied only when she saw the contents untouched: folders, flash drives, printed records—all the documentation she'd been collecting against the Hales. Still here. Still safe.
Luca entered a moment later, taking in the sight. “What’s in the safe?” he asked.
Alex closed it quickly. “Just personal stuff. Passport. Study documents. Contracts.”
He narrowed his eyes but didn’t press. Instead, he shook his head. “This isn’t some ordinary thief. We’re on one of the highest floors in the city. There’s 24/7 security and I was here the entire time. No alarms were triggered. Whoever this was… they were smart. And they knew what they were looking for.”
Alex stood up slowly. “Did they take anything?”
“Not that I can tell. But I’ve called the police. They’re sending someone over to check the security feeds. I also upgraded our private security—silent alerts, motion detectors, biometric locks.”
She nodded, keeping her expression neutral. But inside, everything screamed one name.
Hale.
They didn’t find what they were looking for because she’d hidden it too well. But it meant they were starting to suspect something. And that meant she had to move faster—smarter.
“Don’t worry, Dad,” she said quietly. “We’ll handle this.”
Luca gave her a long, unreadable look before nodding.
She didn’t clean the mess. Didn’t change. She barely even kicked off her heels. Just collapsed onto the disheveled bed, surrounded by torn clothes and scattered papers, staring up at the ceiling with eyes wide open.
Too tired to fix it.
Too alert to sleep.
And absolutely certain of one thing: she had started something she absolutely wasn't prepared for.