Alex's POV

The city skyline was a maze of glowing lights, stretching endlessly into the horizon, but no matter how high I stood, I couldn't escape the weight of the past. It clung to me, silent and suffocating, like the smoke from the fire that had consumed everything I once held dear.

Eighteen years. I tried to convince myself that there was enough time to forget-to let the memories fade like old photographs-but they never did. Every night, when the world grew quiet, and the city was bathed in moonlight, I found myself haunted by the ghosts of that night.

I had risen to power in this city, carved out a life for myself in the shadows, where I thrived. The past was buried deep, hidden beneath the cold, calculating man I had become. It had to be. There was no room for softness in this world, no space for feelings. I'd learned that the hard way. Trust and love-those were luxuries for other people, people who didn't know what it was like to lose everything in a heartbeat.

The only person I ever let close was Enzo, and he was gone.

But now... Now, Natalie was back in my orbit.

She didn't know it yet. She hadn't seen me watching, hadn't felt the way the world shifted the moment she returned to this city. She was still a ghost from my past, someone who had been lost in the chaos of that fire. But I had found her. Eighteen years later, I had found her.

I had eyes everywhere-people who worked for me gathered information and made sure I knew what moved in this city. The moment Natalie set foot in the town again, I knew. At first, I wasn't sure how to feel. It was like someone had reached inside my chest and ripped open a scar I thought had long since healed. But that pain, that reminder, didn't last long. Because now I had a purpose again. A promise I had made all those years ago-to protect her-was coming back to haunt me, and I would keep it.

But I couldn't just walk into her life. Not yet. Not with everything that had happened.

Natalie didn't belong in this world anymore. She was light, bright-things I didn't deserve to touch. She had survived rebuilt her life, and from what I knew, she was thriving. There was no place for me in that world, not the man I had become.

So I watched from the shadows.

Every once in a while, I'd catch glimpses of her-the flash of her dark hair as she hurried down the street, the way she would pause at a café and smile at a stranger. She didn't know I was there, didn't know the lengths I'd gone to make sure she was safe. It wasn't time for me to step in yet. She was better off without me, without the weight of the past dragging her back into darkness.

The night was quiet, just the way I liked it, as I sat in my office overlooking the city. A glass of whiskey rested in my hand, the amber liquid catching the glow of the desk lamp. The faint hum of my phone vibrating pulled me from my thoughts. I glanced at the screen-an unknown number. I debated ignoring it, but something pushed me to answer.

"Alexander," I said, my voice cold, detached.

"Alex," a voice whispered on the other end, shaky, terrified.

My heart stopped. That voice... I hadn't heard it in years, but I'd know it anywhere.

"Who is this?" I demanded, sitting up straighter, the whiskey forgotten on my desk.

"It's Sofie," she breathed, her voice trembling. "I need your help."

Sofie.

The little girl who had been like a sister to Natalie. The one I had searched for after the fire. She had been just a kid back then, but she'd survived, too, somehow. I had lost track of her over the years, unable to find any trace after she disappeared from the foster system. But now she was here, in my city, calling me.

"What happened?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady, though something in her tone sent a chill down my spine.

"I-I can't explain it on the phone," she whispered. "Please, Alex, you have to meet me."

I glanced out at the city, my mind racing. This wasn't part of the plan. I was supposed to protect them from afar, not get involved. But Sofie had reached out. She had found me, and if she was in trouble, there was no question that I would help her.

"Where are you?" I asked.

Sofie gave me an address-a run-down part of town I knew well, a place people like her shouldn't be. The kind of place that swallowed girls like her whole.

"I'll be there in twenty minutes," I said and hung up the phone.

I stood, grabbing my jacket. The air outside the penthouse was cool, the wind biting against my skin as I made my way to the car. The city was alive around me, but I barely noticed. My mind was focused sharp. Something was wrong, and I wasn't going to let it slip through my fingers again.

I found Sofie exactly where she said she'd be, tucked into the corner of a small alleyway, her hands wrapped tightly around herself as if she were trying to disappear. She looked different than the last time I'd seen her-older, worn down by life in a way that made my chest ache. But her eyes-they were the same. Wide, frightened, just like they had been that night.

"Sofie," I called softly, approaching her slowly.

She looked up, her face pale and her eyes hollow. For a moment, I thought she was going to bolt, but she stayed where she was, her body trembling as she took a step towards me.

"Alex..." Her voice cracked as she spoke. "I-I didn't know where else to go."

I took another step, closing the distance between us. "You're safe now," I said, my voice as gentle as I could make it. "But you need to tell me what's going on."

She shook her head, wrapping her arms tighter around herself. "I-I got in with the wrong people. I didn't have a choice, Alex, I swear I didn't."

I frowned, the pieces of her story starting to come together in my mind. It was always the same-people who thought they had no other option. They got involved with the wrong crowd, and then they were trapped, spiralling further and further until there was no way out.

"Who are they?" I asked, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.

Sofie looked around, her eyes darting to the shadows like she was afraid someone might be listening. "They're watching me," she whispered. "They know everything. I tried to leave, but they found me. They'll find me again."

I clenched my fists, anger bubbling up inside me. Whoever these people were, they had made a mistake coming after her. A big one.

"Not if I find them first," I said, stepping closer. "You're under my protection now, Sofie. I'm going to get you out of this, I promise."

She looked up at me, her eyes wide with hope for the first time. "But what about Natalie?" she whispered. "They're looking for her too."

My heart stopped. Natalie. Of course. They had found Sofie, and now they were coming for her.

"I'll protect her," I said, my voice firm, leaving no room for doubt. "No one will touch her."

Sofie nodded, tears welling in her eyes as she looked at me with the same trust she had once shown me as a child. "Thank you, Alex."

I pulled out my phone and dialled one of my men. "We're moving here tonight," I ordered the second he answered. "Full protection detail."

The pieces were all falling into place now, faster than I had anticipated. Whoever was after Sofie and Natalie they had no idea what they were walking into. I had lived in the shadows for years, and now, I would make sure those shadows worked in my favour.

But as I led Sofie out of the alley, I couldn't shake the feeling that this was only the beginning.

And once again, I would have to do whatever it took to protect her.

What do you think? How did Sofie know about Alex?

Who are these people Sofie is talking about?

Ufff too many secrets....!!!