OWNED BY MIDNIGHT

Chapter One: The Interview

I arrived in Aurelia City with nothing but a carry-on bag, a recycled leather folder, and enough nerves to fuel an international panic attack. The train station glistened like chrome heaven, glass tunnels, glowing billboards, drones zipping overhead like angry bees. It was as if the future had landed in one place and decided to show off.

This was not Havenbrook, the dusty little town I’d fled three days ago. This was ambition on steroids.

My phone vibrated with a message from an unknown number:

“Your interview is in 45 minutes. Lennox Global. Top floor. Do not be late.”

I looked up at the skyline. Lennox Global was a vertical monster, fifty-five stories of glass and ruthlessness. The kind of building that didn't just reflect sunlight; it bent it to its will.

I checked my reflection in a chrome panel. Black blazer, ivory blouse, straightened hair, fake confidence. I took a breath and headed in.

The lobby was a whisper of movement: security guards in seamless suits, polished marble floors, water features that looked genetically engineered. There was no receptionist, just a black tower labeled: IDENTIFY.

I placed my palm on the glass. The screen scanned me, blinked blue, and opened the elevator behind it without a word.

As the doors closed, my pulse doubled.

Who the hell sends you to a billion-dollar company with no credentials and no résumé?

The elevator whispered upward. No buttons. No music. Just smooth, rapid ascent. When it stopped, the doors slid open like theatre curtains.

And there he was.

Killian Lennox.

He wasn’t seated behind a desk. He stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, his silhouette cut from shadow and sharpness, as if someone had ordered a CEO from a villain catalog.

“You’re late,” he said, without turning.

“It’s 11:56.”

“In my company, that’s four minutes early. Which is two minutes late.”

I almost smiled. Almost.

He turned, and the first thing I noticed was his presence. Not his looks, although, damn. He was tall, dark-haired, clean-shaven, and dressed in a black-on-black suit that probably cost more than my entire student loan debt. But it was the way he moved. Controlled. Effortless. Dangerous.

“Sit.”

I obeyed.

The room was minimalist. No awards, no degrees, no distractions. Just Killian Lennox and the hum of something invisible...power, probably.

“You received the invitation anonymously,” he said. “Why did you show up?”

“Because it was Lennox Global.”

“So you like risk.”

“No. But I hate missed chances.”

His gaze sharpened. “If you were told there’s a leak in this company, someone selling data to a rival firm, what would you do?”

“That depends.”

“On?”

“On who they are. And how loud you want the cleanup.”

His lips twitched, not quite a smile, but close. “Go on.”

“I’d watch. Quietly. Follow patterns. Create digital footprints. Then, when I’m sure, I’d confront them in private. Record it. Bury them without scandal.”

Killian leaned back, temple resting against his knuckles. “You think like me.”

“I don’t think that’s a compliment.”

“It’s not.”

I blinked. “So… is this the interview?”

He rose and crossed the room. “No. This is recruitment.”

I stared as he placed a black folder in front of me. My name was embossed on it, Ava Monroe.

“You did your homework,” I murmured.

“I don’t gamble. I calculate.”

I opened the folder. Contract. Six figures. Immediate start. One-week probation.

“No office?”

“You’ll work with me. Directly.”

That made me pause.

He watched my face carefully. “Second thoughts?”

“I was expecting... HR.”

He stepped closer. “HR doesn’t handle this level of confidentiality. I do.”

My instincts screamed danger. But my ambition? It purred.

I signed.

As I left the room, a woman in red heels brushed past me. Sharp cheekbones, sharper smile.

“She’s the one you picked?” she said into her phone, not bothering to lower her voice. “Interesting.”

The elevator door swallowed her words.

By the time I hit the lobby, the weight of what I’d done settled like fog. I’d just agreed to work for the most secretive billionaire in the city. No job description. No guarantee. Just one week to survive.

Outside, Aurelia City blinked like it was watching.

And somewhere above, Killian Lennox was already planning my next move.