Chapter Five: Shadows of His Past
The moment Ava stepped into her apartment, the world outside felt miles away.
She locked the door, kicked off her heels, and slumped onto the couch, the adrenaline of the night still buzzing through her veins. Her clutch lay open beside her, the phone inside silent now—but the words from that call kept echoing in her mind:
> "If you value your life, stay away from Damon Blackthorn."
She didn't recognize the voice. It had been deep, calm, and terrifying.
She should've ignored it.
Instead, she did the one thing she knew she shouldn't: she called Damon.
He answered on the second ring.
"I was wondering how long it would take you," he said without greeting.
"I got a call tonight."
Silence.
"A warning," she continued. "About you."
"I see."
"That's all you're going to say?" she snapped. "Some stranger tells me being near you is dangerous and you just say I see?"
"You knew I was dangerous the moment you met me, Ava," Damon said quietly. "You just didn't want to believe it."
---
❖ The Next Morning
The next day at the office was cold.
Not just the air. The tension.
Damon was distant—more focused, more controlled. But Ava noticed how he watched her when he thought she wasn't looking. How he checked his phone more often. How his security detail subtly doubled.
Something was wrong.
And he wasn't telling her.
She waited until lunch before cornering him in his office.
"You owe me the truth," she said.
He looked up from his desk. "I owe you nothing."
"You dragged me into your world. You made me your assistant. You paraded me around that ballroom like—like I belonged to you. And now someone is threatening me."
Damon's eyes darkened. "No one threatens what's mine."
"I'm not yours."
"You're under my protection now. That makes you mine."
---
❖ Flash of His Past
He stood, walked to the window, hands in his pockets.
"I've made enemies," he said finally. "Old ones. Powerful ones."
"Who?"
He hesitated.
"My father," he said. "And everything he left behind."
Ava blinked. "Your father?"
"He ran a criminal empire before I took the company legit. That empire had...loose ends. One of them doesn't want me escaping the family legacy."
Ava's voice trembled. "So I'm what? Collateral damage?"
"No," he said, turning back to her. "You're a liability. And I don't deal in loose ends."
Her heart clenched. "That's not comforting."
"I wasn't trying to comfort you."
---
❖ Chapter Ending Hook
That night, as Ava walked home, she noticed something strange.
A dark car. Parked across the street.
She crossed the road. The car didn't move.
But when she turned the corner, her phone buzzed again.
Blocked number.
This time, a text:
> "Leave him… or you won't make it to Chapter 7."