The Thorne Heiress Unveiling Shadow novel Chapter 38

A week after the competition, a sleek, black courier motorcycle with no license plates pulled up to the imposing gates of Thorne Crest. The rider, dressed in a featureless black uniform and a helmet with a tinted visor, handed a single, heavy envelope to the head of security before speeding off into the Hamptons traffic.

Inside Evelyn's study, a sprawling, modern room with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Atlantic, her brother Chase handed her the envelope. It was made of thick, cream-colored cardstock, so heavy it felt more like a plaque than a piece of paper. Embossed on the back in stark, minimalist silver was the sigil of Blackwood Industries: a stylized raven with its wings spread.

"Looks like you've got an admirer," Chase said, a teasing note in his voice, though his eyes were wary. He had seen the way Kaelen Blackwood had looked at Evelyn on that stage, a look of intense, predatory focus that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. It was not the look of a man admiring a student; it was the look of a man who had just identified the most dangerous piece on the chessboard.

Evelyn slit the envelope open with a silver letter opener. The invitation inside was not what she expected. It wasn't a request for a date, a congratulatory note, or an offer for the internship prize she had technically won. It was a formal, engraved business proposal.

"Kaelen Blackwood, CEO of Blackwood Industries," she read aloud, her voice neutral, "requests a meeting with the principal stakeholder of the newly acquired 'Shadow Capital' to discuss a potential strategic partnership of mutual interest."

Evelyn saw something else entirely. She saw an equal, another player in the great game. And the game was about to become much more interesting.

"Don't worry, Chase," she said, her voice a soft, confident murmur as she picked up her phone to instruct her assistant to accept the meeting. "I've swam with sharks before."