Chapter 28 Eleanor’s POV
I woke to the scent of sandalwood and something sharp like iron in the air.
My eyes snapped open. I was in my own bed, a soft blanket pulled over me, though I hadn’t put it there before falling asleep. Pale morning light crept through the window, and he was there.
Alec Sterling sat in the corner chair, quiet and still, watching the city wake up. No suit. No armour. Just a black sweater, dark trousers, and a half-finished glass of whiskey on the table beside him.
He’d been watching me sleep.
A rush of vulnerability hit me—followed by a warmth that wasn’t fear. This wasn’t strategy or sparring. This was real. Raw. Like seeing someone when they think no one’s looking.
I didn’t move or speak. Just watched him as he stared out the window, his usual sharp edges softened by the quiet dawn. He looked tired.
Like a man standing at the edge of a choice, unsure which way to turn.
He must have felt my gaze. Slowly, he turned his head. Our eyes met across the room.
No surprise.
No pretense. Just quiet understanding.
I know you’re awake.
“He took the bait,” he said, voice low and rough.
In an instant, the mood shifted. My mind snapped back into focus. “When?”
“Last night. He checked the system, downloaded the schematics, and left a message.” A faint, grim smile touched his lips.
“‘A beautiful lie. Let’s see the truth.”
A chill ran through me. That arrogance was exactly what we’d counted on.
“He’s testing it now,” I said. “In a safe space. He’ll know within three days if it’s real or a trap.”
“And the tracer?”
“It only activates when he uses the back door. Until then, it doesn’t exist. He’ll never find it.”
He nodded, took a slow sip of whiskey, never looking away. “You built a phantom to catch a ghost.”
“You asked me to.”
“I did.” He set the glass down. “Ollie’s out getting breakfast. I sent him.”
Simple words with heavy meaning.
We’re alone.
Not boss and employee or king and pawn, but two people who’d just changed everything.
“Why are you here?” I asked softly.
He looked out the window again. “The strategy room was too empty. All those screens are showing nothing, and I needed to be where the mind was. Not the machine.”
Where I was.
The air between us thickened—with everything we hadn’t said: the warehouse, the chess games, the shared mission that now felt like a shared heartbeat.
“Beatrice thinks you’re made of glass,” he said, quietly.
The mention of her name startled me.
“And you?”
Finally, he looked at me. Dawn light caught his eyes—grey like storm clouds over water. “I think you’re the most dangerous thing I’ve ever held, and I’m not letting you go.”
It wasn’t romance. It was possession.
Not cruel, but certain. A recognition of my strength… and a claim on it.
I sat up, pulling the blanket around me like a shield. “What about after? After we catch Vain? After the ‘Kingmaker’ is finished?”
“Then we build something new,” he said without hesitation. “A world that turned my father into a weapon, that forced you into the shadows—that world is broken. Maybe it’s time for new architects.”
He wasn’t just talking about revenge.
He was offering a future and asking, in his own way, if I wanted to help shape it.
Before I could answer, a soft chime came from my laptop across the room.
We both froze.
I got up and hurried to the desk. The alert was from the Ariadne sandbox—an internal trigger, not an outside probe.
The phantom had been activated.
“He’s fast,” I whispered, fingers flying over the keys. “He didn’t just check the flaw—he’s testing it. Running a fake transaction to break the encryption.” I followed the tracer—a silent pulse in the data stream. It wasn’t leading back to Reykjavik.
“Where?” Alec stood close behind me, voice tight.
“The signal bounced through a satellite… and landed.” I pulled up a map. A red dot blinked, then settled. “Switzerland, The Alps Near Zermatt.”
The fake bird conservation trust.
His hideout.
“He’s home,” Alec said, eyes sharp with triumph. “He tested the system from his own terminal. He’s confident.”
He believed he’d found a hidden flaw in a perfect design.
He believed he was the smartest person in the room.
I turned and found Alec inches away, his gaze locked on mine, alight with the thrill of the hunt. We’d done it.
Together.
For a second, the world narrowed to just us.
His eyes dropped to my lips.
I felt it—the waves of our first kiss, full of danger and promise.
Then the door opened.
Ollie stepped in, holding a paper bag that smelled of coffee and warm bread. He stopped short.
Me—barefoot, hair messy.
Alec—standing far too close.
His expression shuttered instantly. The friend disappeared. Only the guard remained.
“Sir.Ma’am.” He set the bag down. “Perimeter’s secure.”
The spell broke.
Alec straightened, voice cool and commanding. “We have a location. Zermatt. Plan a quiet extraction. Small team and leave no trace.”
Ollie nodded. “Yes, sir.” His eyes flicked to me. “Will the asset be on the team?”
The asset. The word stung.
“Eleanor Shaw is essential to this mission,” Alec said, icily. “She’ll be on the ground, under your protection. Is that a problem, Oliver?”
Silence.
Loyalty warred with hurt in Ollie’s eyes.
The soldier won. “No problem, sir. I’ll keep her safe.”
He left, closing the door softly behind him.
The room felt colder. Our victory now had shadows.
Alec turned to me. “Pack warm. We leave in six hours.” He paused at the door, hand on the knob. “And Eleanor?”
I looked up.
“Beatrice’s wrong about the glass.” His eyes held mine with surety.
“You’re not fragile. You’re a diamond.” A beat. “And diamonds cut.”
Then he was gone.
I stood alone in the pale morning light, the ghost finally mapped, my heart more torn and more powerful than ever.