A Warning Ignored

Emily James had always been cautious. She believed in reason, logic, and staying far away from trouble. But after last night, trouble had found her—and it had piercing blue eyes and a name whispered in fear across Raventhorn.

Sam Wisely.

She should have forgotten about him. She should have erased the memory of his bruised knuckles, the cold authority in his voice, and the way his presence seemed to suffocate the air around him.

But she couldn’t.

Because for the first time in her life, she had seen danger up close. And instead of running, she wanted to understand it.

A Risk Too Tempting

The next morning, Emily sat at her desk, staring at her laptop screen. The title of her unfinished article glared back at her.

"The Rising Mafia Wars of Raventhorn."

For weeks, she had been researching the hidden power struggles between two mafia families—the Wiselys and the Lorenzos. Rumors of violent clashes had been increasing, but last night, she had seen the truth with her own eyes.

She typed rapidly, her fingers moving faster than her thoughts.

"Last night, a brutal confrontation between the city's most feared criminal families unfolded in the shadows of the Upper District. The man at the center of it all? Sam Wisely—the ruthless heir to the Wisely empire, a man whose name is both feared and respected in the underworld of Raventhorn."

Her heart pounded as she read her own words. The memory of Sam’s voice surfaced in her mind.

"Forget what you saw."

Emily hesitated. He had let her go last night—but would he be so lenient if he found out she was writing about him?

With a sigh, she deleted his name from the article. She wasn’t reckless enough to challenge him directly. Not yet.

An Uninvited Guest

That night, Emily tried to push Sam Wisely out of her thoughts. She wrapped herself in a blanket, turned on an old movie, and tried to pretend that her life was still normal.

But normal didn’t exist anymore.

A knock at the door shattered the quiet.

Her pulse spiked. It was nearly midnight. No one visited her this late.

Slowly, she stood and approached the door. “Who is it?”

Silence.

A chill ran down her spine. She knew she shouldn’t open it. But curiosity had already led her into one mistake—what was one more?

She unlocked the door.

And there he was.

Sam Wisely stood in the dim hallway, dressed in black, his expression unreadable. His presence swallowed the space between them, thick with danger.

Emily’s breath caught. “How did you find me?”

Sam leaned casually against the doorframe, but there was nothing casual about his presence. “Finding people is what I do.”

Her heart pounded. “What do you want?”

His gaze dropped slightly to her laptop on the table behind her. “You’re writing about me.”

Emily’s stomach twisted. How did he know?

“I—”

Sam stepped inside without waiting for an invitation. She backed up instinctively, but he didn’t come closer. He didn’t need to. His mere presence was enough to make her feel trapped.

“You’re smart,” he said. “So I won’t repeat myself.”

Emily swallowed hard.

“Stay away from me. Stay away from my business.” His voice was calm, but the threat underneath it was clear.

She should have nodded. She should have agreed, apologized, promised never to write about him again.

But something in her rebelled.

“I don’t take orders from criminals.”

Sam’s lips twitched slightly, as if amused. “No, you just follow them into dark alleys and write stories about them.”

She clenched her fists. “I only write the truth.”

“The truth?” Sam echoed, stepping closer now, his voice dangerously soft. “The truth is, people who look too closely at my world don’t usually live long enough to write about it.”

A shiver ran down her spine, but she refused to let him see her fear. “Are you threatening me?”

Sam tilted his head, studying her. “No,” he said, almost thoughtfully. “If I were, you’d know.”

Silence stretched between them.

Then, just as suddenly as he arrived, Sam turned toward the door.

“This is your last warning, Emily.” He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes locking onto hers. “Stay out of my world.”

And then he was gone, leaving her standing there, breathless and shaken.

A Line Crossed

Emily should have been terrified. She should have packed her bags and left the city.

But instead, as she locked the door and leaned against it, one thought consumed her mind.

She wasn’t afraid.

She was intrigued.

And Sam Wisely had just made himself the most interesting story of her life.