The warmth in Noah’s voice was too familiar.

Too easy.

Too safe.

It made Sienna suspicious.

Not because she didn’t trust him—God, she wanted to—but because nothing in her life had ever stayed this pure for long. And the timing? Too perfect. Just when her mind was cracking open to buried memories and Adrian Wolfe was slinking deeper into her orbit, Noah appeared.

Alive. Whole. Smiling like he hadn’t watched her world burn.

She stared at him across her office desk.

“So… you just happened to find me?”

“I saw your name in a press release,” he said, his smile sheepish. “The merger made headlines. Your photo was attached. I couldn’t believe it.”

And yet, he’d come.

Just like that.

After all these years.

Sienna folded her arms, her tone neutral. “That’s a long time to go without reaching out. Two decades.”

Noah looked down, guilt flashing across his face. “I didn’t know where you went after… that night. Your mother disappeared with you. I searched, but—”

“My mother’s dead.”

He froze.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.

“So am I.”

The silence hung between them, thick and uncomfortable.

She wanted to ask him everything — what he remembered, what she had forgotten. But something held her back. A cold instinct, sharp as a whisper.

Don’t ask. Not yet.

Instead, she reached for something simpler. “What are you doing in the city now?”

“I live here. I work as an architect.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You build things.”

He chuckled. “Someone has to.”

She didn’t smile.

And yet, despite herself, something about him felt familiar. His presence soothed a part of her that had been locked away for years. But she wasn’t the same girl from back then, and the world hadn’t exactly been gentle in the time between.

She didn’t let people in easily.

Not anymore.

Not even him.

Across the City

Adrian stood in front of a large digital wall screen in his private suite, watching live security footage of Wolfe Tower.

More specifically, Sienna’s office.

No audio — just the visual: her and Noah talking, seated across from each other. Noah leaned forward, smiled too much. Sienna looked cautious. Reserved.

Adrian clenched his jaw.

It had taken everything in him not to intercept Noah at the front desk. But he couldn’t afford to be obvious. Not yet. Not with Sienna already asking questions.

Noah wasn’t a threat—not in the traditional sense. But he knew too much, and Adrian had worked too hard for too long to keep Sienna from digging too deep, too fast.

If she found out everything now…

She would run.

Again.

And this time, Adrian wasn’t sure he’d be able to bring her back.

He picked up his phone. “Follow him. Keep him close.”

Pause.

“No, don’t hurt him. Not unless he opens his mouth.”

Back in the Office

Noah’s visit didn’t last long.

He seemed to sense her guard was up. He stood eventually, his expression soft.

“It was really good to see you, Sienna.”

“You too,” she replied, cautiously.

“I’d… like to talk more. If that’s okay.”

“Maybe,” she said, noncommittal.

He hesitated at the door, like he was about to say something more — something important — but then his phone buzzed in his hand. His eyes flicked to the screen.

He went pale.

“I have to go,” he said abruptly.

And then he was gone.

Just like that.

Sienna stared at the closed door, unsettled. What had he been about to say?

Why did he leave so suddenly?

And why… did she suddenly feel like someone was pulling strings around her again?

That Night

Sienna didn’t go home.

She found herself on the rooftop of Wolfe Tower instead, standing at the edge as the city glittered below her like shattered diamonds.

The wind tugged her coat around her legs.

She wasn’t scared of heights. But she was scared of falling. And not the kind that ended with broken bones.

The kind that ended with him.

She didn’t hear Adrian approach.

But she felt him.

He always moved quietly, like a shadow with intent.

“You shouldn’t be up here alone,” he said from behind her.

She didn’t turn. “Are you here to throw me off?”

A beat of silence.

Then, “Don’t tempt me.”

She rolled her eyes and finally turned to face him.

“I saw you,” she said flatly. “Watching me today.”

He said nothing.

“And yesterday. And the day before that.”

Still nothing.

“I don’t need a babysitter, Adrian.”

“No,” he said. “You need a leash.”

Her mouth parted, stunned by the venom in his tone. “Excuse me?”

He stepped closer. “You’re running around in the dark. Looking for answers in people who only bring danger with them.”

“You mean Noah.”

He didn’t deny it.

“Why do you hate him?” she asked. “What did he do?”

Adrian’s gaze was cold. “He remembers.”

“And I don’t,” she shot back. “Isn’t that convenient for you?”

Silence.

Wind.

A long pause.

Then Adrian’s voice, softer. “You forgot because you had to. Because remembering would’ve broken you. I won’t let him be the reason you shatter.”

“You don’t own me,” she snapped.

His eyes locked on hers. “Don’t I?”

The tension snapped like a wire pulled too tight.

She shoved him.

He didn’t move.

She hated that. Hated the way he looked at her like he knew she wouldn’t walk away. Like he could stand in front of her and say the worst things, and she would still listen.

“You’re not protecting me,” she whispered. “You’re controlling me.”

“Maybe,” he said. “But I’m still the only one who knows how this story ends.”

And with that, he turned and walked away.

She stood on the rooftop long after he left.

Wishing she knew which man was the liar.

And which one would destroy her first.

Meanwhile

Noah walked quickly through the underground lot, glancing over his shoulder.

He’d gotten the text twenty minutes ago.

A number he didn’t recognize. The message was simple:

“If you care about her, stop digging.”

He reached his car and climbed in. But just as he started the ignition, a figure stepped in front of the headlights.

A tall man in black. Face half-shadowed.

Noah froze.

The man didn’t move. Didn’t speak.

He just stood there. Watching.

Waiting.

Noah shut the engine off and opened the door. “What do you want?”

The man tilted his head. “Just a reminder.”

“Of what?”

“You’re not the only one with something to lose.”

And then he walked away.

Disappeared into the shadows.