The Uninvited Guest

Elion sat behind his massive mahogany desk, the quiet broken only by the low whir of his laptop and the pen gliding on paper. Bookshelves lined the walls, each packed with leather-bound volumes and files neatly arranged. On the desk, a pristine stack of papers waited for his attention, along with a black laptop displaying charts and emails.

His sharp gaze moved across the documents in front of him, but his mind wasn't entirely on his work. A subtle frown crept onto his face as his thoughts wandered briefly—inevitably—to Raelynn. She had been occupying his house and, unknowingly, his thoughts more than he cared to admit.

The soft knock at his door broke his focus. Without looking up, Elion called out, "Come in."

The door creaked open, and Kade, his ever-efficient right-hand man, stepped inside. His expression was hesitant, which immediately caught Elion's attention. Kade rarely hesitated.