Next minute

Minutes turned into an hour before the lock finally turned. Miss Ren entered, dressed in black silk. She closed the door without a word, her eyes sweeping over him like an inspection.

“You stayed,” she said, pleased.

“I did.”

“Good.”

She poured two glasses of wine, but only handed him his after a pause that felt deliberate. Then, placing her hand under his chin, she tilted his face up.

“You’re learning. But don’t mistake this for reward.”

Just when he thought she would kiss him, she stepped back. “You’ll find out why you’re here… tomorrow night.”

The next day, the door to Room 47 was unlocked. A black wooden box sat on the table. No Miss Ren. No note.

Inside: a folded paper and an old silver lighter with strange etchings.

> Deliver this to 12 Harrow Street. Do not open the door. Leave it and walk away. If anyone speaks to you — ignore them.

Elias obeyed. But as he turned to leave, a man in a grey coat emerged. “Who sent you?”

Before Elias could respond, a sleek black car pulled up. Miss Ren leaned out of the passenger seat. “Get in.”

Once inside, she asked coldly, “Did he touch you?”

“No.”

“Good. Because if he had, he wouldn’t have hands by morning.”

<-------->

The car took them to a candlelit room. On the desk sat an envelope.

“You’ve earned the right to see what you’re involved in,” she said.

Inside was a photograph — a younger Miss Ren smiling beside the man from Harrow Street. On the back: He betrayed me. You won’t.

Her hand cupped his jaw, firm yet careful. “You’re here because I trust you. But trust is not love. Remember that.”

“And if I want both?”

Her smirk was slow, dangerous. She leaned close… then withdrew. “Then you’ll have to survive long enough to deserve it.”

The following night, she summoned him to an abandoned theatre. On stage sat a black briefcase.

“You have two minutes to decide whether to open it or walk away. One choice ends this. The other binds you to me… for good.”

He opened it. Inside was a small red envelope.

“Wise,” she said, stepping forward. “You didn’t come here for money. You came for me.”

<------>

She led him to a hidden penthouse. Breaking the seal, she revealed a single card: Midnight.

“It’s time,” she said.

“For what?”

“For you to stop being a pawn… and start being my partner.”

At midnight, they stood on a rooftop. She handed him the silver lighter.

When he lit it, a warehouse across the river exploded in a controlled blast.

“That was a piece of my past,” she said. “Now it’s gone. And now… you belong to me. Not because I said so — but because you’ve proven you want to.”

Her lips hovered just short of his. “Partnership has its privileges. But you’ll have to earn the rest.”

------×------

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