No One’s Pov

Vivien gripped the straps of her backpack. She just wanted to get home, scrub the expensive fabric, and maybe scream into a pillow for twenty minutes.

"Mind if I walk you home?"

Vivien jumped slightly, turning to see Enzo standing there. His posture was relaxed, but there was something persistent in his gaze that made her skin crawl just a tiny bit. She knew letting him know where she lived—especially with the weird vibes she’d been getting lately- was a terrible idea.

"I can go by myself," she said, her voice a bit sharper than she intended. "Besides, it’s not even late, so it’s fine."

Enzo’s smile stayed perfectly in place, though his head tilted slightly. "Yeah, sorry. My bad. We just met again and I’m already overstepping... sorry about that."

The guilt hit her immediately. He was just an old classmate being nice, right? "It’s fine!" she added quickly, trying to soften the blow. "It’s just... uh, I have to go somewhere else first. Errands and stuff. That’s why."

"Uh, alright then. See you tomorrow then!" Enzo gave her a charming, dimpled smile and walked away, his hands stuffed deep into his hoodie pockets.

Vivien exhaled her breath. She took the long way home, stopping at a shop to buy some gentle detergent for the "Highness’s" suit. Yet, the entire walk, she couldn’t shake the feeling of eyes on the back of her neck. Every time she spun around, the sidewalk was just filled with regular people.

The moment she reached the lobby of her apartment building, her phone buzzed.

[Unknown Number]: You look pretty today.

Vivien’s eyebrows furrowed in immediate irritation. "Really? Is this some kind of prank?" she hissed. She didn’t hesitate...she tapped the number and hit Block

The moment she reached her floor, Vivien suddenly stood frozen in her tracks. Her heart trembled. The door to her apartment looked like a crime scene. The metal casing around the lock was mangled, the wood splintered as if someone had used a crowbar to force their way in.

She looked frantically to her left and right. The hallway was deathly silent. Her neighbors were out, and of course, the one day she needed him, the building guard was nowhere to be found.

With trembling fingers, she reached into her bag and gripped her pepper spray. She pushed the door open with the tip of her shoe.

"Back off if anyone’s inside!! " she said loudly but the only response was the hum of the refrigerator.

The apartment was pitch black. She didn’t dare reach for the light switch by the door, fearing someone might jump onto her. Instead, she sprinted through the dark living room, her pulse thundering in her ears, and dove into the kitchen.

She grabbed the largest knife from the wooden block, her knuckles white as she gripped the handle.

Click.

She flipped the kitchen light on, then the living room, then her bedroom. She searched every corner- behind the curtains, under the bed, inside the wardrobe.

Empty. No one was there. Infact Everything was in its place.

Her laptop was still on her desk. Her emergency cash was still tucked inside her jewelry box. Not a single drawer had been tossed.

"This... this is odd," she breathed, her grip on the knife finally loosening. "Why would someone break in just to do nothing?"

She walked back to the front door, staring at the ruined lock. It made no sense.

Suddenly it came to her mind... the camera! The building had a small security office near the entrance that monitored the hallway CCTVs. If someone had broken in, their face had to be on those tapes.

Vivien practically flew down the stairs. She burst into the small, cramped security room, breathless. "I need to see the footage for the third floor! Now! Someone broke into my apartment!"

The guard behind the desk didn’t even look up from his phone. "We are not allowed, mem. Company policy."

"What do you mean you can’t?" Vivien slammed her hand on the desk, her voice rising in desperation. "I live here! Someone tried to get into my house-they did get into my house-and you’re saying I can’t view who did it?!"

"Orders are orders," he muttered, finally giving her a bored glance.

"Oh, really? You can follow this rule, yet you can’t follow the basic security rules of this building?" Vivien wanted to smack the indifference right off his face. "What about protecting the people living here instead of protecting a bunch of digital files? My lock is ruined!"

Suddenly, a sharp voice rang out from the doorway.

"We only serve those who pay monthly, Miss Vivien."

Vivien turned sharply. Her landlady was standing there, her arms folded tightly across her chest, a look of pure disdain on her face.

The woman looked like she had been waiting for this moment.

"Mrs. Miller..." Vivien started, her voice faltering.

"You haven’t paid rent for five months, Miss Vivien, and yet you are standing here expecting security?" The landlady stepped into the room.

"What a dream! You think this is a charity? You’re lucky I haven’t tossed your books and that computer of yours onto the sidewalk yet."

Vivien felt the heat of humiliation crawl up her neck. "I told you, I’m looking for work, I- "

"I don’t care about your excuses," the landlady snapped, gesturing to the guard to turn off the monitors. "No rent, no footage. In fact, if that balance isn’t cleared, you can consider that broken lock the least of your problems. You have forty-eight hours before I call the marshals."

Vivien backed out of the room, her head spinning. Five months. She knew she was behind, but seeing it thrown in her face while she was terrified for her life felt like a torture.

She trudged back up the stairs. She reached her door and looked at the mangled lock. She was broke, she was being stalked, and now she was officially on the verge of being homeless.

She went inside and pushed her heavy dresser in front of the door. As she sat on her bed, trembling, her phone buzzed. She prayed it was a job offer. But luck was never on her side.

[Sender]: Valente Financial Holdings

[Subject]: Outstanding Debt Notice

Dear Miss Vivien, it has come to our attention that your apartment building has recently been acquired by Valente Financial Holdings.

Our records indicate an outstanding balance of five months’ rent.

Please report to the CEO’s office tomorrow at 8:00 AM to discuss a ’repayment plan.’ Failure to appear will result in immediate eviction.

Vivien stared at the screen, a hysterical laugh bubbling up in her throat.

"This has to be a joke, right?" Vivien whispered, staring at the glowing screen of her phone until her eyes blurred. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"RIGHT?!!!" she suddenly shrieked at her empty room.

She threw the phone onto her bed and began pacing the small space of her bedroom.

"Like whyyyyyyyyy, God, whyyyyy?! The more I try to run away from him, the more he’s getting closer! It’s like fate has sealed us together with superglue! Why is he everywhere? My school, my archives, and now he’s meddling in my housing??!

Vivien let out a scream of pure frustration into her pillow, kicking her feet against the mattress.

__________

Meanwhile,

A black car sat silently across the street from Vivien’s building.

Dominic held his phone to his ear, his expression unreadable as he watched a single light flicker on the third floor.

"Boss, the work has been done," a voice reported from the other end. "The landlady has been ’compensated’ for her cooperation, and the security footage from that floor has been permanently erased. She won’t be seeing anything."

"Good," Dominic said, "Make sure the marshals are ready to move if she misses the appointment tomorrow. I want her to understand exactly how thin the ice is beneath her feet."

"Understood, sir."

The call ended. Dominic leaned back against the seat, his eyes fixed on the third-floor window.

"Didn’t you say you would never work for me, even if it was the last job on Earth?" he murmured. a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

He signaled his driver to start driving.

"Seems like someone is about to learn that ’never’ is a very long time." He muttered with a satisfying smile.

The manager sitting in the passenger seat was sweating through the entire time. He looked at the apartment building they were leaving behind, then back at the man who controlled half the city’s skyline.

"Boss... I’m sorry, I just have to ask," the manager stammered, his voice trembling. "First, you take a sabbatical to become a principal at a university. Now, you’re buying this... this crumbling ruin? There’s no ROI here! The plumbing alone is a nightmare!"

He watched Dominic’s stoic profile, a chill running down his spine. Oh Lord, has a demon possessed my boss? he thought, practically reciting a silent exorcism prayer in his head.

Dominic didn’t even cast him a glance. He simply looked down at his phone, watching the confirmation that his email had been "Read."

A look of dark satisfaction smoothed his features.

"The investment isn’t in the bricks" Dominic said softly. "It’s in the tenant."

The Valente Villa

The car pulled into the driveway of Dominic’s estate. But the peace of the evening was immediately ruined. Standing by the grand entrance was a woman in a designer dress, her heels clicking impatiently as she argued with the security guards.

Amelia was about to snap at the guard for the tenth time when the sound of the engine reached her ears. Like a professional actress, her face transformed instantly from a snarl to a radiant smile.

As Dominic stepped out of the car, his assistant scrambled out after him, looking exhausted.

Amelia practically glided toward them.

"You’re back!" she chirped, her voice dripping with artificial sweetness. "I brought you dinner. I know how you are, Dominic- always skipping meals when you’re busy with ’work.’ But don’t worry, from now on, I’ll be the one cooking for you."

Before he could even breathe, she stepped into his personal space and pushed a bag into his hands.

Dominic stood perfectly still. He didn’t reach for the bag, he simply let her press it against his chest, his eyes turning ice cold as he looked down at her. The air around them seemed to drop ten degrees.

The assistant, standing just a few feet away, started sweating once again. He knew that look.

That was the look Dominic gave right before he dismantled someone’s entire career- or life.

"Amelia," Dominic said, his voice low. "I don’t recall giving you the code to my gates. And I certainly don’t recall asking for a chef."

Amelia’s smile faltered for a second, but she pushed through. "Oh, don’t be like that! Your mother said- "

"My mother doesn’t live here," Dominic cut her off, finally taking the bag with one hand and handing it to the trembling assistant without looking at it. "And neither do you. Throw this away."

The assistant’s eyes widened. "Sir? Throw it- "

"Did I stutter?" Dominic’s gaze shifted to the assistant, who nearly tripped over his own feet as he scurried toward the trash bins.

Dominic turned back to Amelia, stepping closer until she was forced to lean back against her own car. "I’m busy tomorrow. I have a 7:30 AM appointment with a very... delicate matter. Do not show up here again."

He walked past her without a second glance, leaving her standing in the driveway, her face twisting back into a mask of cold fury.

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TO BE CONTINUED