I ran before I could think twice. I didn't want to make noise, didn't want to draw attention. I just needed to get away. Fast.

My legs trembled as I hurried down the carpeted hallway on the forty-first floor, a place that was usually wrapped in silence… except tonight. Tonight, it felt haunted by something strange. Something almost mocking.

I couldn't stop asking myself one thing.

Why had my boss said my name while he was touching himself?

The question echoed in my head like a hammer striking over and over again.

I didn't understand it. I didn't want to.

Adrian Sterling was one of the richest men in the country. A cold, distant, flawless… terrifying magnate.

The kind of billionaire who lived in a different universe. One where the rules didn't apply. Where power justified everything.

I had heard rumors, of course. About his tastes, his parties, his indulgences, his endless string of women… but I had never imagined hearing him moan my name on the edge of release.

The image clawed at me from the inside. I didn't know whether to feel disgust, fear, or embarrassment.

Maybe all three.

All I knew was that I was losing my mind.

What if he hadn't said it? What if it was just my imagination?

My thoughts spiraled into chaos.

I took a deep breath and made a decision. I was leaving. I wasn't going to stay another second around that man. Not with his gaze, not with that suffocating atmosphere that felt ready to swallow me whole.

I reached the elevator and pressed the button so hard my fingertip throbbed.

The moment the doors closed, I nearly collapsed. I hit the button for the lobby.

I lowered my head and wrapped my arms around myself. I just wanted out… out of the building, into a damn cab, gone into the night.

That was it. No goodbyes. No explanations.

Just… gone.

When the elevator doors opened, the light hit my face—warm, bright… too warm.

I stepped forward, then froze.

That wasn't the exit.

It was… a pool.

A massive underground heated pool, surrounded by red lights, steam, pounding music… and bodies.

There were naked bodies everywhere.

Skin gleaming under the haze, tangled together in movements that felt wild, primal… almost animalistic.

I heard moans and laughter. Sounds that didn't even feel human anymore.

It was an orgy.

Men with women. Women with women. Men with men. Groups tangled together without restraint.

Raw, uncontrolled sex.

I slapped a hand over my mouth.

My stomach twisted violently. It felt like I had walked into some forbidden ritual. A twisted gathering where everyone had lost all sense of reason.

I stumbled back, nearly tripping. I hit the elevator button again and cursed when it didn't respond.

I had to find another way out. Any way.

I rushed down a side hallway, following the emergency exit signs. My breathing came in sharp, uneven gasps.

My heart pounded in my throat. I felt like someone would spot me any second… grab me… drag me back into that suffocating, heated madness.

Finally, I found a set of glass double doors leading to the lobby.

Relief hit me so hard I almost cried. I was one step away from freedom when—

A hand clamped around my wrist.

I spun around, frozen.

Alexander Merchant stood in front of me.

He wasn't alone. Two other men stood behind him, dressed in expensive suits that clashed grotesquely with the filth in their eyes.

Twisted smiles. Hungry stares. Breathing thick with intent.

Merchant looked at me like I was a lost toy.

"Well, what do we have here?" he said, his voice sending ice through my veins. "Look at that… Adrian Sterling's little lamb. Leaving so soon, sweetheart?"

My stomach tightened. The way he said it… like I belonged to someone.

Like my will didn't matter. Like I was nothing more than prey.

"Y-yes… I have to go, sir…" I murmured, swallowing hard.

I tried to pull free. It was useless.

His grip tightened, fingers digging into my skin like claws.

"You're not going anywhere," he said, leaning in close enough that I felt his breath against my cheek. "Not before you take care of us. I've wanted you for a while now. Want to feel it?"

Everything went blurry.

My mind blanked for a second, like fear had cut every wire in my body.

One of the men took my other hand, his touch falsely gentle, like he was trying to soothe me… and guided it downward.

A silent scream tore through me.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

Terror took over in a way I had never felt before. My thoughts shut down completely.

There was no logic. No plan.

Just that cold nausea rising in my throat… and the brutal certainty that something terrible was about to happen.

My breathing broke into ragged gasps. The walls felt like they were closing in.

The world started to spin.

And for a moment, I thought I wasn't going to make it out of that building alive.