MasukElaraThe invitation had been sitting on my desk for days, its elegant gold lettering serving as a constant reminder that the Valmont Group’s annual charity gala was no ordinary social event.Every instinct told me that whatever happened there would matter.I refused to waste my time worrying about dresses or jewelry before preparing my mind.Instead, I spent the days before the gala reviewing everything I had collected.Company profiles.Executive biographies.Investment histories.Partnership records.I spread pages across the dining table inside Alistair’s penthouse until every connection I had uncovered was visible at once.Patterns were beginning to emerge.The same corporations appeared repeatedly alongside Valmont Group contracts.The same executives attended meetings that officially had nothing to do with one another.The same names kept resurfacing wherever financial uncertainty followed.I highlighted each recurring connection before carefully committing every detail to memory.
Elara The days that followed passed with an unsettling kind of calm. For weeks, I had grown accustomed to looking over my shoulder. Every unfamiliar car, every anonymous message, every stranger who lingered a second too long had become part of my daily routine. Then, suddenly… Nothing. No threatening envelopes.No suspicious vehicles parked outside buildings I visited.No unfamiliar faces appear more than once. The silence should have been comforting. Instead, it felt carefully arranged. Whoever had been watching me hadn’t simply lost interest. People willing to invest that much effort rarely walked away without a reason. No. They had changed their approach.That possibility stayed with me far more than any anonymous warning ever had. I refused to mistake silence for safety.Instead, I became even more disciplined.I varied my routes whenever I left the penthouse.I limited my appearances in public unless they served a purpose. Conversations remained brief and polite. The less
Elara The invitation remained on my desk long after I had read it for the tenth time. Its elegant cream paper looked harmless, but I knew better than to judge anything in the corporate world by appearances. Whoever had sent it knew my name. They knew enough to invite me personally to an event attended by people whose influence stretched far beyond a single company. The question wasn’t whether I wanted to attend.It was whether attending would help us—or expose me. By late afternoon, I carried the invitation to Alistair’s penthouse. He accepted the envelope without speaking and studied every detail, from the embossed seal to the quality of the paper. He turned it over twice before placing it on the desk between us. “It isn’t a trap,” he said at last. I frowned. “You’re certain?” “As certain as anyone can be.” He leaned back in his chair. “If someone intended to harm you, they wouldn’t announce themselves with a formal invitation.” “They want me there.” “Yes.” He folded his
Elara Sleep never truly came. Even after I closed my eyes, the executive’s words replayed in my mind with unsettling clarity. “Several people have started asking about you.” Until yesterday, I had assumed I was invisible—a quiet observer moving carefully through rooms filled with people far more important than me. My role has always been to listen, learn, and leave without attracting attention. Now I understood how wrong I had been. Without realizing it, I had become someone people wanted to understand. Not because of my achievements.Not because they knew who I truly worked with. Simply because I didn’t seem to belong.The thought unsettled me far more than I wanted to admit. The following morning, I forced myself into my usual routine. Breakfast. Reading the financial news.Reviewing the notes I had made after yesterday’s lunch.Everything appeared normal. But I wasn’t. Every headline reminded me that the business world thrived on information, and information always led to
Elara The restaurant was elegant without being extravagant, tucked away in one of the city’s quieter business districts. It was the kind of place where executives conducted conversations they didn’t want overheard but didn’t want hidden either. Exactly the sort of place Alistair would have expected. I arrived alone. Although several members of Alistair’s security team had discreetly monitored my route from a distance, no one accompanied me inside. To anyone watching, I looked like an ordinary woman attending a simple business lunch. That illusion mattered. The executive was already waiting when I entered. He stood with a polite smile. “Miss Dubois.” “It’s good to see you again.” We exchanged a brief handshake before taking our seats beside the window. The waiter poured water and disappeared almost immediately, leaving us with an atmosphere that felt far too calm. At first, the conversation was harmless. He asked whether I had enjoyed the networking event. I answered poli
Elara The moment I returned to Alistair’s penthouse, I knew sleep would have to wait. He was already in his office when I arrived, his jacket draped over the back of his chair and several monitors glowing softly in the dim room. Without asking how the evening had gone, he gestured for me to sit. “Start from the beginning.” I placed my purse on the desk and took a slow breath. “I’ll tell you everything.” For the next hour, I recounted every detail I could remember. The atmosphere inside the private club.The executives who introduced themselves. The subtle curiosity surrounding my recent appearances. Every carefully disguised question about Alistair. Every conversation gradually shifted toward the Valmont Group. Alistair never interrupted unless he needed clarification. “What exact words did he use?” “Did she ask before or after mentioning the summit?” “Who else was standing nearby?” His questions forced me to revisit moments I might otherwise have dismissed. I closed my
Elara“I’m in town, Miss Dubois and I thought of reaching out to you. I hope you’ve been well? Three years ago, when you chose to walk out such a promising career, I didn't think I could advise you against it. Honestly, I believed it was your choice to make and hoped you were happy with it. But the
ElaraTo say I was shocked to see her standing in my front door would be an understatement. Why was she here early? Did Louis know she arrived earlier than they planned? My eyes narrowed at her but that didn’t seem to faze her. The smug on her face only seemed to deepen. Ignoring me completely, sh
Elara“Celia is coming back?” the words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop it. I hated how weak and stupid I sounded, but I couldn’t take it back. Louis gave me a look like I was daft. He probably thought I was and that was why he never took me seriously. I’d spent three years trying to r
ElaraThe water rushed over me, hot and forgiving, and for a few minutes I let myself pretend it could wash away more than just the day. Three years of this. Three years of standing under spray that never quite got warm enough, in a penthouse that never felt like home, waiting for a man who never l







