Chapter 1 - The Night the Elevator Stopped
The elevator jolted so violently that Alessia's cleaning caddy slammed into the steel wall. A bottle rattled against her ankle. The floor stopped between levels, and the lights went out.
When the emergency lamp returned, Enzo Vieri stood one step away, his fist poised above the controls.
Alessia knew his name because everyone in the Milan office tower knew it. They lowered their voices when they spoke of the feared owner. She cleaned those offices late into the night, saving every euro to care for her grandmother and pay their bills. Most people barely noticed her. Tonight there was nobody else in the elevator, nowhere to step aside, and no signal on the floor indicator.
A muscle moved in Enzo's jaw as he repeatedly pressed the elevator button. Nothing happened. He cursed under his breath in Italian.
This was not how Alessia's late shift was supposed to end. She had been cleaning the offices on the top floor long after most employees had gone home. When she entered the elevator, the last person she expected to slip inside before the doors closed was Enzo.
Now the lights flickered around them, leaving them suspended inside a metal box with no obvious way out.
Alessia forced herself to remain calm. Hardship had taught her that panic rarely solved anything.
She pressed the emergency call button.
Static crackled from the speaker.
No voice answered.
Enzo pulled out his phone. There was no signal.
He cursed and struck the side panel with his fist.
The bang made Alessia flinch, but she quickly steadied herself.
"Let's not do that," she said quietly.
Enzo's cold gray eyes turned toward her.
"No one tells me what to do."
He stepped closer.
Alessia's back was nearly against the elevator wall. She could smell his expensive cologne and feel the tension radiating from him.
"I'm just trying to help."
She glanced toward the ceiling. There might have been an escape hatch, but it was too high and probably locked.
"Someone will notice the elevator is stuck soon."
Enzo's mouth tightened.
He was clearly accustomed to control, and at that moment he had none.
Then the lights flickered again.
The elevator dropped approximately an inch.
Alessia gasped and grabbed the railing. Enzo braced one hand against the wall.
The lights went completely dark for a heartbeat before the emergency illumination returned in a dim amber glow.
When Alessia's eyes adjusted, Enzo was only inches from her.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
He studied her.
"You seem awfully calm. Most people would be terrified stuck in here with me."
Alessia was afraid, but she refused to let fear dictate her behavior.
"Getting scared won't get us out of here. We should save our energy and figure out a solution, Signor."
Enzo gave a humorless laugh.
"Signor. You know who I am."
"I clean the offices here every night. I've seen you before."
She had seen him arrive in luxury cars surrounded by bodyguards and cross the marble lobby as though the building belonged to him. Coworkers spoke his name with a mixture of fear and awe.
Everyone knew Enzo Vieri.
"Then you understand why it might be dangerous to displease me."
He placed a hand against the wall beside her shoulder, subtly caging her between his body and the metal panel.
Alessia lifted her chin.
"I'm just doing my job. I didn't plan this, Signor. And I want to get out just as much as you do."
"People usually want to get out of my presence for other reasons."
His voice carried a quiet threat.
Her pulse was racing and her palms were damp, but Alessia refused to grovel simply because he was powerful.
Enzo studied her.
"Why aren't you afraid?"
She was afraid. She knew exactly who he was.
But they were both equally trapped.
"I pressed the alarm. I tried to call for help. That's all I can do. Unless you have any better ideas, Signor."
His eyes flashed.
"Careful."
He moved closer until barely an inch separated them.
"People in my city show respect. They know their place. Perhaps you should, too."
Alessia understood what he meant by respect.
Fear.
She could have apologized and submitted until someone rescued them. Instead, she drew a slow breath.
"I'm not trying to disrespect you. But if you expect me to panic just because you're Enzo Vieri, I'm sorry to disappoint you."
His expression changed.
"You should be worrying about what might happen if you make me angry."
His fingers brushed a loose strand of her dark hair and slowly tucked it behind her ear.
Alessia remained still.
"We're stuck in here, possibly for a while. Making you angry won't change that, Signor."
"You're a bold one, aren't you?"
His fingers moved along her jaw.
Alessia's instincts told her the intimidation had gone far enough.
She knocked his hand away.
Then she moved sideways, put space between them, and pressed the emergency alarm again.
A shrill bell echoed through the shaft.
"Back off," she snapped.
Enzo stared at her.
"Power isn't permission."
For several seconds, neither moved.
Alessia's heart hammered, but she held his gaze.
No one dared refuse Enzo Vieri to his face.
Then, unexpectedly, a slow smile appeared on his lips. It was neither warm nor reassuring. It was the expression of a man who had encountered something he had not expected.
Before either could speak, a metallic groan sounded above them.
The elevator moved.
The lights returned.
Alessia stepped away and gathered the cleaning supplies that had fallen from her caddy.
The elevator descended to the ground-floor lobby and stopped with an ordinary chime.
The doors opened.
2 large men in dark suits were waiting.
Enzo's bodyguards.
One immediately moved toward Enzo while the other blocked Alessia.
"Boss, are you all right?"
"I'm fine."
Alessia remained inside the elevator, clutching her cleaning caddy.
The scar-faced guard grabbed her forearm.
They had lost contact with the elevator and suspected the malfunction might not have been accidental. He asked Enzo whether Alessia had caused trouble and whether they should detain her.
Enzo looked at the guard's hand around her arm.
"Let her go."
The guard released her immediately.
"She's not to be harmed. Understood?"
The guard, Luca, nodded.
Enzo turned to Alessia.
"It's late. Go home, Signorina."
Stunned, she thanked him and hurried across the lobby.
Only after she reached the street did she take a full breath.
May you like
She had confronted Enzo Vieri and walked away unharmed.
Above the lobby, a security screen recorded a door opening at 1:14 a.m. The name beside that entry was Alessia's. But at 1:14, she had been trapped inside the elevator, close enough to Enzo that she could hear him breathe.
