Chapter 1 - The Housekeeper Who Never Trembled“Yes, Mr. Thorne?”
Elena Rostova lifted her eyes just enough to meet Cassian Thorne’s gaze.
The room seemed to contract around them.
Marcus Reed stopped pacing.
Dante Silva lowered his glass.
Even the fire in the stone hearth appeared to quiet, its orange glow flickering across the polished floor.
Cassian studied the housekeeper for several long seconds.
“What did you hear?”
Elena kept her expression blank.
“Nothing important, sir.”
Marcus gave a short laugh.
“She barely speaks.”
“I wasn't asking you.”
Marcus fell silent.
Cassian rose.
At six-foot-three, dressed in a charcoal suit with his sleeves rolled neatly to his forearms, he possessed the sort of physical presence that made people unconsciously move aside.
He walked toward Elena.
One step.
Two.
Three.
She remained perfectly still.
He stopped less than a meter away.
“You paused when I mentioned the southern sensors.”
Elena lowered her gaze.
“I was listening.”
“To what?”
“Your conversation.”
Cassian tilted his head.
“Why?”
“You were discussing security.”
“And you care about security?”
“No, sir.”
“Then why listen?”
Elena gently placed the polishing cloth on the cabinet.
“Because if something happens inside this house, I will have to clean it.”
Dante snorted.
Marcus smiled.
Cassian did not.
For some reason, the answer irritated him more than it should have.
He moved around her slowly.
“You've worked here eight months.”
“Yes.”
“You've never asked for a raise.”
“No.”
“Never complained.”
“No.”
“You've never taken a sick day.”
“No.”
“You know the house better than half my men.”
Elena said nothing.
Cassian stopped behind her.
“And you never seem afraid.”
That was the wrong observation.
Elena's fingers tightened around the edge of the cloth.
Only slightly.
Cassian saw it.
He smiled.
Not warmly.
“You can go.”
Elena bowed her head.
“Yes, Mr. Thorne.”
She turned and walked toward the door.
One step from freedom.
Then Cassian spoke again.
“Elena.”
She stopped.
“Tomorrow, I want you working in the east corridor.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Why?”
“Because you have a cleaning crew assigned there.”
“No.”
His voice hardened.
“I want you there because I said so.”
Elena nodded.
“As you wish.”
She left.
The moment the door closed, Marcus looked at Cassian.
“You think she's a spy?”
Cassian stared at the doorway.
“I think she's hiding something.”
Dante laughed.
“She is a housekeeper.”
Cassian picked up his whiskey.
“Exactly.”
Outside, Elena walked down the corridor without changing pace.
She turned left.
Then right.
Then entered a linen closet.
The door clicked shut.
For the first time that evening, her face changed.
Her eyes became cold.
She removed a small sewing needle from inside her sleeve.
The needle was hollow.
Elena twisted the tip.
A tiny encrypted memory wafer slid into her palm.
She whispered into the darkness.
“Phase One compromised.”
A voice answered through the concealed receiver in her ear.
“You were discovered?”
“Not yet.”
“Then you have ninety minutes.”
Elena froze.
“Ninety minutes until what?”
The voice paused.
Then came the sentence that changed everything.
“Until we stop protecting Cassian Thorne.”
The signal died.
Elena stared at the dead receiver.
For eight months, she had believed Cassian was her target.
May you like
Now she was beginning to wonder whether he had ever been the real enemy.
And somewhere beneath Blackwood Manor, someone had just started a clock.
