I stepped over the threshold of my apartment building, my entire body rigid. I didn’t dare touch the red rosebud Adrian had left on the steps, but I couldn’t take my eyes off it. My rational mind was screaming at me to call Cleo, to call the police, to do something, but the only voice I heard was Adrian’s, echoing in the last text message: Now, check the package by the mailboxes.

He was giving me commands for tasks that were physically present. My obedience was being tested immediately.

I walked slowly, my footsteps echoing in the empty lobby, toward the bank of mailboxes near the wall. My gaze snagged immediately on the item resting on the small shelf beneath them.

There was no brown box, no casual manila envelope. Just a single, elegant object: a long, rectangular, midnight-black velvet box. It looked expensive, imported, and impossibly out of place in the institutional lobby. The lid was held shut by a deep red satin ribbon tied into a perfect, elaborate bow—a signature of impeccable taste that screamed Adrian.

I hesitated, my breath catching in my throat. The magnetic pull of the forbidden was overwhelming. This was the physical manifestation of the text messages, undeniable proof that he wasn’t just observing me from afar; he was here, walking the same ground, timing his movements to mine.

I reached out, my fingers brushing the cool, soft velvet. The tension in the ribbon gave way with a silent, devastating ease as I untied the bow. I lifted the lid.

Inside, resting on a bed of black tissue, was not one item, but two.

The first was a small, sleek satellite phone, barely thicker than a deck of cards, dark gray, and utterly untraceable. I knew what it was instantly. Adrian’s world operated outside of the usual networks, demanding a private, secure line of communication that couldn’t be monitored by campus security, the police, or even Lisette Vaughn. This wasn’t a casual chat; this was a dedicated lifeline to his dominion.

The second item was a single, perfect red rose, identical to the one left on the steps, nestled beside the phone. This one, however, was accompanied by a thick, cream-colored card, the edges finished with the same satin ribbon. The card was heavy, expensive.

I carefully lifted the card, the weight of it feeling like a legal document. It was blank on the front. I flipped it over. The message was printed in a deep, formal script—his handwriting—and lacked a signature, relying entirely on the devastating familiarity of the words:

Your trunk is open, Cinderella. I am pleased you chose to follow my directions immediately, even when afraid.

I crushed the card in my hand, the crisp paper bending with a sickening crunch. Wait. A slip-up? No. A power play. He was reminding me that he knew my every move, past and present. I reread the rest of the note, the words cutting me to the bone:

The phone is for my use only. Answer when I call. I will not text you again.

I have already confirmed you have no capacity for choice; you only have capacity for response. Let us begin.

No capacity for choice. Only capacity for response. It was the ultimate, arrogant summation of my psychological state. He saw through my defiance in Vaughn’s class; he saw my struggle as merely the prelude to my inevitable surrender. He wasn’t waiting for my will; he was waiting for my reflex. The cruelty of the phrase was exquisite. It wasn’t just a threat; it was a devastatingly accurate diagnosis of the woman he had meticulously broken and rebuilt. It confirmed that the last five months of recovery were nothing more than a temporary pause button, not an escape.

I snatched the velvet box, the satellite phone, and the crushed card, shoving them deep into my backpack. I ran up the stairs to the apartment, the cheap canvas bag now holding the literal key to my destruction.

When I finally reached the apartment, I raced inside, locking the deadbolt, the chain, and even placing a chair beneath the handle—a series of futile, frantic measures against a man who could command me to unlock the door with a single syllable.

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