7
Alexander's POV
Control, more than anything, had always been my strength.
I built my empire by exerting control. Essentially, I regarded emotions as frailties that obstructed logical decision-making, and hence, I kept my distance from them. While others were indecisive, I took action. When they were full of doubt, I made decisions. That is the very reason why Grey Holdings is today a company with the capacity to change markets and influence governments, having started from zero.
Losing control now shook me more than any hostile takeover ever had.
I stood in my office long after midnight, staring out at the city lights below the glass walls. In those distant buildings, people lived lives that didn't revolve around contracts or heirs. For years, I watched the city from above and felt apart from it.
Tonight, I couldn't stop thinking about a small apartment across town and a woman who didn't care about my money.
Sophia Patel.
Earlier that evening, she looked at me with anger instead of fear. That made her dangerous. Most people softened around money. They learned to bend and flatter. Sophia didn't. She pushed back, even when it made things more complicated for her, even when she was scared.
Her strength wasn't obvious. It was quiet, stubborn, and sometimes frustrating.
That was precisely why Isabella targeted her.
My phone buzzed. Adrian.
"She spoke to her," he said without preamble.
"I know."
"You should have anticipated this."
"I did," I replied coldly. "Just not this soon."
Adrian sighed. "Isabella doesn't do impulsive. If she's moved, it's because she thinks she's losing."
"She is," I said. "And she doesn't tolerate that."
I hung up and turned back to my desk. A thick folder sat there, full of reports I'd ordered weeks ago but still hadn't finished. It detailed Isabella Laurent's financial moves, her connections, and her hidden investments through shell companies.
I flipped it open.
Isabella wasn't just a former lover. She used to be my strategic partner, back when I was still building my power. She was smart, beautiful, and ruthless. She understood me better than anyone.
That had been the problem.
She didn't want to stand with me. She tried to take my place.
When I ended things, she hadn't cried. She hadn't begged. She had smiled and said, "You'll regret this one day."
I underestimated how patient she could be.
Now, Sophia was suffering because of that mistake.
My phone vibrated again.
Sophia.
I answered immediately. "Are you home?"
"Yes."
"Are you alone?"
"Yes. Kate's out."
"Lock the door."
There was a pause. "Alexander…"
"Please."
Another pause, then, "Okay."
I stayed on the line until I heard the lock click. Only then did I let out a breath. "I only ever wanted what was best for you," I said quietly.
"That's the problem," she replied. "You keep deciding what I want."
She wasn't wrong.
I rubbed my face. "Isabella uses fear. Don't let her have that."
"She's not the one I should be scared of," Sophia said. "I'm scared of the way this is getting."
"I feel the same," I said, shocked at my own honesty.
Once we had finished our conversation, I called my head of security.
"I need a discreet security detail for Sophia Patel," I instructed. "No obvious presence. No involvement unless it is necessary."
"How about Isabella Laurent?"
I hesitated before answering. "Keep tabs on her. Leave her alone. Not yet."
Because it had gone beyond being just a matter of Sophia.
It was about the board that had been pressuring me for months. My lack of a successor was now openly discussed in meetings I once controlled without effort. Investors wanted reassurance, stability, and continuity.
They didn't care about how that heir came into existence.
They just wanted one.
Sophia was supposed to be the answer. It was meant to be a simple transaction.
Instead, she became a risk I couldn't walk away from.
A knock sounded at my office door.
"Come in."
Adrian stepped inside, his expression grim. "You need to see this."
He handed me a tablet.
The footage played. It was a security video from a parking garage near Sophia's new job. Isabella, easy to spot by her posture and walk, was talking to someone off camera, a younger, nervous woman. "Her co-worker," Adrian said. "Sophia's former workplace."
My jaw clenched.
Isabella was putting pressure on every side: psychological, professional, and social.
She was patient enough to wait and wise enough not to attack directly.
"She's setting her up," Adrian said. "If Sophia breaks down publicly, it weakens her position. Makes her look unstable."
"And if she loses the baby," I finished quietly, "it will look like stress. Tragic, but natural."
Adrian looked at me sharply. "You think she'd go that far?"
"I know she would," I replied. "Because she's done worse."
I sent him away and looked out at the city again.
I had promised Sophia safety.
And once I made a promise, I kept it.
The next morning, I showed up at her apartment unannounced.
She opened the door. First, she looked surprised, then annoyed. You can't just…"
"I am aware," I responded. "However, talking is necessary."
She allowed me to come in, but not with a cheerful mood. "You are the one who is being targeted," I told her straight away. "Both your career and your personal life."
"I know," she said. "I am not an idiot."
"I never implied that you were."
She put her arms across her chest. "Then cease treating me as if I were a fragile one."
I moved closer to her. "You are the one who is carrying my child."
"And I am still being my own self."
I was not sure. "Isabella will not stop."
"That's your past," she said. "Why am I paying for it?"
Because I let her into my world, I thought to myself.
Instead, I said, "Because she thinks you matter to me."
Sophia froze.
"That's dangerous," she whispered.
"Yes."
"Then why haven't you ended this?" she asked. "Why not terminate the contract and walk away?"
Because the idea of her leaving made my chest tighten in a way I couldn't explain.
"Because it's too late," I said. "For all of us."
She looked at me for a long moment. Then, quietly, "I didn't ask for this war."
"I know."
"But I won't be a casualty either," she said firmly.
Something changed in me then.
Respect.
Real respect.
"I won't let that happen," I said.
For the first time in years, I saw the truth.
This wasn't about legacy.
This was about loss.
And I wasn't willing to accept it as inevitable anymore.