Midnight call: married to the deadly CEO by dark queen

Anna's breath caught in her throat as she backed away from the door.

The stranger's shadow loomed in the thin slice of hallway light under her door.

He knocked again — three slow, deliberate raps that sounded like a judge's gavel.

"Miss Blake. Open the door," the man's voice came again, deeper now, unbothered by her silence.

Anna's heart pounded in her ears. She grabbed her dead phone, ready to call the police — only to remember it was still useless. Her gaze darted to the cursed phone on her table. Its screen flickered, the same UNKNOWN call waiting for her.

She squeezed her eyes shut. This isn't real. Just a prank. Just a prank…

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Anna." The man spoke her name like he'd said it a thousand times before. "If you don't open this door in five seconds, I will open it for you."

Something in his calm voice made her skin crawl more than the ghost call did. Who was he to threaten her in her own apartment?

Before she could decide, the door handle rattled. Anna gasped and stumbled back as the lock clicked open.

She hadn't even heard a key turn — but there he was, pushing the door open like he owned the building.

The man stepped inside, tall and sharp in a dark tailored suit that looked like it cost more than her rent for the whole year. His hair was jet black, his eyes so cold and piercing that they pinned her to the floor without him saying a word.

"You shouldn't have answered it," he said, his voice smooth like glass cutting skin.

"Who are you?" Anna forced her shaking legs to stand straight. "Get out! I'm calling the police—"

He stepped closer. She could smell his expensive cologne — cool, distant, the kind that made you feel poor just by breathing it in.

"You can call whoever you want, but they won't help you." He held up a black leather folder. On its cover, stamped in gold, was a logo she didn't recognize.

He flipped it open — inside was a photo of her. Her student ID photo, her old address, her name spelled out in perfect print: Anna Blake.

Her blood ran cold. "What is this? Who are you?"

"My name is Ethan Cole." His eyes flicked to the cursed phone still ringing on the table. "And you have something that doesn't belong to you."

Anna's lips parted. "You mean… the phone? I bought it— I didn't steal anything—"

"You bought a death sentence," he cut her off. He walked past her like she wasn't even there, picked up the phone, and turned it over in his gloved hands.

The ringtone stopped the moment he touched it.

Anna felt like she couldn't breathe. "How did you— What is that thing? Why did my ex call me? He's dead— he's been dead for two years—"

Ethan's eyes narrowed just a fraction, cold calculation behind them. "Did you answer his questions?"

She shook her head, hugging herself. "He just said not to smash it. He said if I did, they'd come for me. Who's they?"

Ethan slipped the phone into his inner jacket pocket like it was nothing but a business card. "You shouldn't have answered the call. Now you're linked."

"Linked? Linked to what?"

He stepped closer, so close she could see her terrified reflection in his eyes. "To me. To them. To everyone who ever died holding that phone."

Anna's knees buckled and she grabbed the edge of her table. "No… no, I just wanted to sell it. I just needed money. I don't—"

"You need money?" Ethan's lips curled into a humorless smile. "Good. Because if you want to stay alive, you'll do exactly what I say."

Anna's throat tightened. "Or what?"

"Or you'll be the next voice on the other end of the line."

The words sank into her bones like ice water.

"Pack a bag," Ethan said calmly, adjusting his cufflinks like he hadn't just threatened her with death.

"You're coming with me. Starting tonight, you belong to me."

Anna's breath caught. "I'm not— I'm not going anywhere with you—"

He leaned in so close his breath brushed her ear. "If you stay here, you'll be dead before dawn. Pack. Now."

Outside her window, the wind howled — and the phone, the one that should have been gone, vibrated in Ethan's pocket.

Ring. Ring.

Anna's knees gave way as darkness threatened to swallow her whole.