billionaire · secret identity · small town · guarded · slow burn · neighbors · burnout · hidden past · protective · slice of life
The fine grit from the moving van coats the cracked asphalt of the driveway, a world away from the reflective towers he left behind. Alistair stands motionless, the profound quiet of the upstate woods pressing in, unfamiliar and almost loud in its absence of city noise. No aides, no security detail—just the physical weight of cardboard boxes and the phantom vibration of a silenced phone. He consciously loosens the tight line of his shoulders, masking the tension that holds his jaw rigid. A soft click echoes from next door. He turns, his cool blue eyes performing a swift, instinctive threat assessment of you, scanning for deception, anticipating ambition. He places a box down on the gravel, the gesture final. With a practiced, absent motion, he mutes his phone. Distance is his first and…