Aria’s POV“I’m not leaving until I talk to Jessica,” Troy growled, stepping forward. His voice was cold, hard—so unlike the easygoing man I once knew. He was practically seething now, the tension rolling off him in waves. I planted my hand on the door, gripping it so tightly my fingers began to hu
Aria’s POVI managed to wriggle free, my heart beating like crazy. But Troy’s body was now wedged in the doorway, and he was too strong for me to just push him out. “Please, Troy,” I pleaded, forcing my voice to remain steady. “Let’s talk about this another time.”He ignored my request, his voice r
Aria’s POVI leaned against the door, my heart still racing, trying to make sense of everything that had just happened. Troy’s desperate, rage-filled threats echoed in my mind, but it was the mystery of those men who’d intervened that kept me on edge. Who were they, and why had they come to my rescu
Aria’s POV“Uh, Jess…” I hesitated before continuing. “There’s something you should know… Troy was here a while ago, asking to see you and ranting about some deal gone wrong.” I sort of held my breath, waiting for her reaction. “Wait, he came here?” Jessica whispered in a barely audible voice, her
Aria’s POVAs Jessica’s sobs finally quieted, her breathing became more steady. It was well past midnight now, and the room felt heavy with everything she had just shared. I felt a pang of guilt—she had come home so happy, so full of excitement from her date with Fabian, and now here she was, dealin
Victor’s POVI paced back and forth in my large office, thinking about Aria and Jasmine. The glass of wine in my hand had long since become a crutch, and I swirled the dark liquid, watching it catch the light as I tried to drown out my worries. But the wine wasn’t doing its job.Sleep had evaded me
“Worried? About me?”“Yeah,” I admitted, scratching the back of my neck awkwardly. “I didn’t want to seem overbearing, but I couldn’t concentrate at work. I just kept thinking about you and Jasmine.” I gave her a sheepish smile. She chuckled for a while. “I’m okay, Victor. Really. And Jasmine’s in
Aria’s POVI hurried to the phone, my fingers trembling slightly as I picked it up. “Hello? This is Aria Everhart.”“Hi, Ms. Everhart, this is Ms. Lewis from Jasmine’s school. I’m calling to inform you that it’s been an hour since dismissal, and no one has come to pick her up yet.”My breath caught
Wendy’s POVIt wasn’t supposed to go this far.I crouched behind the low wall outside the edge of the old warehouse, heart hammering as the rain came down in cold, relentless sheets. The building was dimly lit, tucked away in a forgotten pocket of the city, but I knew what was happening inside. I’d
Samuel’s POV"Wait for me, I'll bring it to you now," I told Aria over the phone, my fingers brushing against the envelope sitting quietly on my desk. Her voice was tight. "Thank you, Samuel. Please be careful.""You too."I ended the call just as footsteps approached my study. I turned, surprised
Aria’s POVI was halfway down the corridor when my phone buzzed again.It was Jessica: Packaging floor. Terminal 4. Now.My heels clicked against the tiles as I turned sharply and practically jogged to the elevator. My chest was tight, my pulse a steady hammer in my ears.I tried calling Wendy again
Aria’s POVI locked my office door, pretending to take a call as I slid the flash drive into the secure offline laptop Jessica and I used only for emergencies. The light blinked once, then twice, and the folder opened.I held my breath as the contents loaded.Documents. Dozens of them.At first glan
Samuel’s POVI wasn’t exactly sure what brought me to the Velvet Vibe office that morning.Maybe I wanted to check in on the tech team after the breach. Maybe I wanted to make sure Aria was okay, after everything. Or maybe—and this was harder to admit—maybe I just wanted to see her.I walked in, and
Aria’s POVMy phone buzzed on the table, vibrating next to my untouched coffee.Victor.I answered quickly. “Hey, everything okay?”“I’m really sorry, love,” he said. “I won’t be able to drop by the office. Emergency meeting with the board. One of the European partners is threatening to pull out unl
Aria’s POVThe smell of buttery pancakes and fresh strawberries filled the air as I poured a generous drizzle of maple syrup onto Jasmine’s plate. She beamed up at me, still in her pajamas, her feet swinging under the breakfast table.Victor was making coffee, humming to himself, hair slightly tousl
Aria’s POV"Okay, so we've locked the backend to only three admin logins," Jessica muttered, her eyes glued to the screen. She had dark circles under her eyes and her fourth coffee of the day in hand. "I had the IT team purge the cloned QR redirect code from our database. But if the data's been stol
Aria’s POVThe laughter in the room was easy, flowing like music that hadn’t been played in far too long. It was the kind of afternoon I had only dreamed of during those long, uncertain nights. One filled with light, warmth, and peace.But what caught my eye most wasn’t the cake or the wine or even