Chapter 88: Not a Pawn

Just hours ago, Arthur had kissed my fingertips with the gentlest touch, his voice almost pleading as he asked me for a date.

Now he stood in front of me, his suit was cold armor, his mouth speaking the sweetest words, yet his eyes carried the same look I knew by heart—the calculating, unyielding gaze of a man who ruled like a godfather.

Our date? I let out a short, dry laugh.

His so-called date was not candlelight and quiet conversation. It was the Nightfall Club in Asteria City. It was a transaction with Keith. It was a game of power against Garrett.

And me? I was just a piece on his board, something to be kept steady, kept in position, until he needed to move me.

"Sophia?"

He noticed the stiffness in my face. His brows drew together slightly, as if he could not understand why my expression had shifted so sharply.

His hand was still extended toward me, paused in midair.

I did not take it.

I looked at him, then at Colin, the silent shadow standing just behind him.

A tight knot formed in my stomach, as if an invisible cord had cinched around it.

This was not imagination.

This was the highest alert my body could raise, the instinct honed by years in crisis management.

Trouble was closing in.

My gaze locked on his hand, my heartbeat jerking hard in my chest. Whispers of Asteria City's underground wars flooded my mind, tangled with fear for him and the cold resistance rising inside me.

"You can't go back to Asteria City."

The words came out cold enough to sting, even to my own ears. Beneath that chill was fear I could not name, care I could not admit.

His hand lowered slowly, the smile fading from his lips. A haze gathered in the amber depths of his eyes.

"Why?"

"Have you forgotten? Last night there was a counterattack in Asteria City. The entire underground is reshuffling. Right now, the city is crawling with eyes fixed on the Russell family. Everyone out there is like a shark that's caught the scent of blood… just waiting for you to swim back into the net."

I emphasized "swim back into the net," each word sharpened to a blade. But the edge cut both ways—it was meant to wound him, yes, but it wounded me too. Because I feared he would ignore the danger, throw himself into the line of fire.

He did not argue. He only watched me.

The air between us grew heavy, pressing against my ribs. I knew his nature too well, and I feared losing him more than anything.

I forced my voice into something calm, burying the unease and ache. "Wait until this settles. Until the factions settle into a new balance. Then go back. That's the safest choice."

The sense of dread spread through my chest like ink in water.

He still did not answer me. Instead, he turned to Colin. "Bring Lisa up here."

I blinked, thrown off.

Why was he calling Lisa?

Colin pulled out his phone without hesitation, dialing.

Minutes later, Lisa came quickly onto the deck. She looked like she had just woken—hair slightly mussed, her face shadowed by hangover fatigue, yet carrying a glow that spoke of satisfaction.

When her eyes landed on me and Arthur, she seemed uneasy.

"Ms. Davis? Mr. Russell?"

Arthur ignored the formality. "The baseball bat you left in Sophia's apartment—what's the story behind it?"

A baseball bat?

I remembered it instantly. When I moved into my new apartment, Lisa had insisted on giving me a pink baseball bat "for self-defense." I had laughed at her paranoia and left it in the hall cabinet.

Lisa hesitated, flicking a glance toward me before saying quietly, "It… has a sensor inside."

The weight in my chest sank lower.

"What kind of sensor?"

"A small vibration alarm," she said, voice even softer. "I set it so that if it strikes anything with a certain force, Mr. Russell's phone would receive an alert."

I stared at Arthur, disbelief tightening my throat.

Since when had he been monitoring my safety like this?

"That alarm went off once," Arthur said, his tone level. "In the underground parking garage at your apartment."

It hit me. That night. The stranger who cornered me.

I had smashed his car window with the bat.

"You handled it yourself."

"Yes," I answered, my voice flat.

"Good." He nodded, as if satisfied.

Then he looked at Lisa. "When we return, I'll upgrade the security systems in Sophia's apartment and office. Your job is to test them. Find every weakness."

Lisa's face fell instantly.

She looked between him and me, her expression caught between protest and disbelief.

"Mr. Russell," she began, gathering her courage, "with respect, I'm just an assistant—not a field agent, not a machine. I only wanted to help Ms. Davis. Maybe you could ease up on me a little?"

Her reaction surprised me.

I had expected her to be too intimidated to speak.

Arthur studied her, and instead of anger, a faint smile curved his lips.

"Your bonus just doubled."

Lisa's eyes lit up in an instant.

"I'll get it done, Mr. Russell!" Her spine straightened, her voice bright. The earlier complaint vanished like it had never existed.

I stared at the absurdity playing out before me, my temples tightening.

What was his real intention?

He had brought Lisa here, laid out these orders in front of me—not to hide anything, but deliberately so I would know.

So I would understand how dangerous his next move would be.

So I would see how far he was willing to go to protect me.

When Lisa left with her task, the deck was quiet again.

Only the two of us remained.