I didn't see Adrian again after our dinner standoff, though I felt his presence like a storm system moving through the house.

His voice and Markus' carried from the west wing around midnight, sounding incredibly urgent.

I only managed to catch a few fragments of their conversation through the walls.

"...perimeter breach..."

"...not random..."

When I crept to the window, I saw additional security lights sweeping the grounds like searchlights, meaning that whatever had happened, it definitely wasn't routine maintenance.

By morning, the atmosphere had shifted entirely. The staff moved about faster, with their looking eyes down and even Langley's usual rigid composure seemed strained around the edges.

I was picking at breakfast in the sunroom when Ava appeared, moving with more purpose than usual. "Change of plans," she said without preamble. "No garden time today."

I set down my coffee. "Why not?"

"They're running a security sweep. Therefore the grounds are off-limits until further notice."

There was something in the way she said it that made my stomach tighten. "What kind of security sweep?"

Ava's phone buzzed. She glanced at it, frowning. "The kind where you stay inside and don't ask questions."

She was already turning to leave when a sharp crack echoed from somewhere beyond the conservatory. It sounded like glass breaking, or a branch snapping under weight.

"Stay here," Ava commanded, her hand moving instinctively to her blazer. Wait. Did Ava carry a weapon? What kind of PR handler wa-

Before I could process that fully, she was gone, speaking rapidly into her phone as she disappeared down the corridor.

I sat alone in the sudden quiet as my pulse started hammering, through the tall windows, the garden looked exactly as it always did, perfectly manicured and empty, but something still felt very wrong.

I was still staring out at the grounds when I thought I saw a shadow moved near the hedge line for just a second.

My rational mind said it was probably a gardener, or security doing their sweep, but my gut said otherwise, especially when I remembered the note I'd found tucked in the garden wall.

I remember the exact words as it read "They'll never let you leave."

Someone had been watching me, and now they were getting bolder.

The conservatory door opened with a soft click, and I turned, expecting to see Ava there, but instead, Adrian stepped through, still wearing yesterday's shirt but rumpled now, the sleeves rolled up, and his hair slightly messed up. He looked like he hadn't slept at all all night.

"You're supposed to be in your room," he said.

"Ava told me to stay here."

His jaw tightened. "I'm telling you to go upstairs. Now." There was a sharpness in his voice I hadn't heard before, maybe deep down he was worried for me.

"Adrian, what's happening?" I asked him.

He crossed to me in three quick strides, close enough that I could see the tension radiating from every part of his body.

"Someone was on the property last night. They left... evidence that they'd been watching you specifically."

My blood went cold. "What kind of evidence?" "The kind that means we have a problem, and you don't leave this house without an escort."

I stared at him. "Do you think it's connected to the note?"

His eyes snapped to mine. "What note?"

Oh no. I hadn't meant to say that.

"Celeste." His voice was deadly quiet. "What. Note."

I swallowed hard. "I found something yesterday. In the garden. A piece of paper tucked between the bricks near the south entrance."

"And you didn't think to mention this?"

"It didn't seem... I thought maybe it was nothing."

"What did it say?" I met his gaze, seeing something that looked almost like fear peeking behind the control he was fighting so hard to hold on to.

"'They'll never let you leave.'" Adrian went very still.

Then he pulled out his phone and speed-dialed someone. "Markus. We need to talk. Now."

He hung up and turned back to me, his expression unreadable but intense. "From now on, you tell me everything. Every strange look, every misplaced object, every feeling that something's off. Do you understand?"

I nodded. "And Celeste?" He stepped even closer, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from his skin. "I need you to trust me. Just for now. Can you do that?"

The way he said it, not commanding for once, but gently asking, caught me completely off guard.

This wasn't the cold, controlling Adrian from dinner, this was someone who was genuinely concerned. About me. Unbelievable.

"Yes," I whispered. Relief came over his eyes as I said it, loosening the wrinkles on his forehead.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway, and Markus appeared with Ava close behind, both looking very grim.

"The south wall," Markus said without preamble. "There were fresh cuts in the ivy. We believe someone's been using it as a climbing route."

"For how long?" Adrian asked.

"Hard to say. Could be weeks."

Ava stepped forward. "There's more, we also found a small, professional grade listening device. It was planted in the east wing." My stomach dropped.

"My wing?" She nodded.

"Hidden in the light fixture outside your room."

Adrian's hands clenched into fists. "How long has it been there?"

"We're still working on that, sir."

The room fell silent except for the soft tick of an antique clock on the mantle. I felt exposed, and violated, someone had been listening to my conversations, my movements, maybe even my phone calls with my father.

"Who would do this?" I asked.

Adrian and Markus exchanged a look. "We have our suspicions," Adrian said carefully.

"But nothing concrete yet."

"Is it..." I hesitated, then pushed forward. "Is it because of my father's debts? Someone he owes money to?"

Adrian avoided my eyes and said nothing.

"We're looking into all possibilities." Markus said, clearing his throat.

"The house is secure now. But we're implementing additional protocols. No one goes anywhere alone. Staff movements are restricted. And..." He looked at Adrian, who nodded grimly.

"And what?" I asked.

Adrian turned to me, his expression serious. "And you're moving to the west wing. Tonight."

"What? Why?"

"Because," he said quietly, "it's the most secure part of the house, and because whoever's been watching you is escalating."

The full weight of it all settled on my shoulders. Someone out there knew my routines and my habits, maybe even my thoughts.

They'd been listening, and plannin but now they were finally making their move.

"Adrian," I said, my voice smaller than I intended.

"What if they try to get inside the house?" He stepped closer, and for the first time since our strange marriage began, he touched me deliberately.

His hand found mine, warm and steady. "Then they'll have to go through me first."