Chapter six

Chapter Six

Killian’s POV

The airport terminal buzzed with movement, the overhead announcements blending into a dull hum. But for me, time had just stopped. My world narrowed to a single, impossible sight.

Aurora Hayes

Alive. Beautiful. Untouchable. And walking away with a little girl clutching her hand.

I couldn’t move. My polished Italian leather shoes felt cemented to the ground, my breath stuck somewhere between disbelief and fury.

She was supposed to be gone—erased from my life like a bad debt. She was supposed to rot for what she did to my family, for the betrayal that nearly cost me everything.

Yet here she was, as if the past never happened.

And that girl…

My pulse pounded, a slow, deafening drum in my ears.

The child had my eyes.

Sharp, glacial blue—the unmistakable mark of the Blackwood bloodline. The same eyes I saw in the mirror every morning. The same eyes my father had. The same eyes that could shatter boardrooms with a single stare.

It was impossible. Wasn’t it?

I clenched my fists, nails biting into my palms. That girl couldn’t be mine. Aurora was a liar. A fraud. A convicted criminal. She had deceived me once, and I had paid the price in blood. The headlines had declared her guilt before the ink had even dried.

And yet—

My instincts wouldn’t let it go.

The child was too young. Too perfectly aligned with the last time I saw her. The timeline fit. Too well. Too damn well.

“Mr. Blackwood?”

Clark, my assistant, materialized at my side, his voice cutting through the storm in my head. I barely registered his presence.

I tore my gaze away, forcing myself to breathe. “We’re leaving.” My voice was sharp, commanding, but inside, I was spiraling.

I needed answers.

And I was going to get them—no matter what it took.

---

The city blurred past in streaks of neon and steel, but I barely noticed. My mind was trapped in a loop of rage and something far more dangerous—uncertainty.

Aurora Hayes had been buried deep, locked away in the darkest parts of my soul. I had convinced myself she was just another lesson learned, just another betrayal to carve into my skin and never forget.

But seeing her today? Seeing that child?

It cracked open wounds I thought had healed.

By the time I reached Blackwood Tower, I was wound too tight, a blade ready to snap. The skyline stretched before me as I stepped into my office, the floor-to-ceiling windows offering a view that usually calmed me.

Not tonight.

Tonight, every reflection mocked me, every shadow seemed to whisper her name.

“Aurora Hayes,” I muttered under my breath, the name venomous on my tongue.

I turned sharply. “Clark.”

He straightened immediately.

“I want a full background check on her,” I ordered, my voice as sharp as glass. “Everything since she got out of prison. Where she’s been. Who she’s been in contact with. And most importantly—who that child is.”

Clark hesitated for half a second before nodding. That’s why I kept him around—he knew when to follow orders without question.

“I’ll get on it right away, sir.”

The door clicked shut behind him, leaving me alone with my demons.

Aurora wasn’t just a ghost from my past—she was a threat. A threat to everything I had rebuilt. To my company, my future. To the fragile empire I had been forced to reconstruct from the ashes she left behind.

I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my temples.

If that child was mine, if Aurora had kept my daughter from me for years—it was an unforgivable crime.

Worse than the one that had sent her to prison.

---

By the time I arrived home, Selena was waiting in the dimly lit living room, arms crossed over her designer dress, her expression sour.

The city lights flickered behind her, casting sharp angles across her perfect features. A fitting backdrop for yet another performance in this sham of a marriage.

“Late again,” she said, voice cool but laced with accusations.

I barely spared her a glance as I loosened my tie, the silk suddenly suffocating. “Not tonight, Selena.”

She scoffed, the sound practiced and sharp. “You’re never in the mood, Killian. Do you even care about this marriage anymore? Or are you just going to let your mother run our lives until we both choke on it?”

My spine stiffened. Not Isadora. Not tonight.

“Don’t bring my mother into this.” My voice was low, a warning that would have sent most people running.

But Selena was not most people.

“Oh, please.” She laughed bitterly. “Isadora controls every aspect of your life—including this farce of a marriage. And you let her.”

The words stung more than I wanted to admit.

“Enough,” I growled, my patience fraying. “I have bigger problems than your complaints.”

Her eyes narrowed, calculating. “Oh? Would those problems have anything to do with the woman you saw at the airport?”

My jaw locked so tight I could hear my teeth grind.

“My mother’s spies work quickly, don’t they?”

She smirked. “I’m sure they know exactly who she is. The same woman who ruined your life.”

I didn’t answer. There was no point.

Selena was a fixture in this game, another piece on the board controlled by Vivienne Blackwood.

As I turned to leave, her parting words followed me, sharp as daggers.

“Maybe if you stopped playing puppet, you’d finally be happy.”

Happy.

What a joke.

---

The next morning, Clark placed a thick file on my desk.

“I’ve got the information you requested,” he said, his expression carefully blank.

The sunlight streamed through the glass, casting a glow over the manila folder like some cruel omen.

I flipped it open.

Aurora Hayes had disappeared after her release.

Then, three years ago, she resurfaced.

Not just anywhere. At the head of a rising empire.

“Darlington group of company?” The words tasted bitter. “You’re telling me she’s connected to this company?”

The company that was dominating the tech industry.

The one company that could save Blackwood Enterprises from the financial storm we were facing.

The irony was a slow, cutting burn.

Clark nodded. “It appears so. Their CEO is notoriously private. No public appearances, no interviews. Just results.”

My fingers tightened around the file. No. This was not a coincidence.

“Are you telling me that Aurora Hayes is working for the one company that can bail us out?”

Clark hesitated. “It’s possible. The timing is… convenient.”

I snapped the file shut. My chest burned with frustration.

How had she done this? Gone from a convicted felon to a power player? The Aurora I knew had been brilliant, but this level of success?

And why was she back now—just when my empire was on the brink?

I wasn’t a fool. Aurora Hayes didn’t come back by accident.

She came back with a purpose.

And I was going to find out exactly what that was.

I turned to Clark, my voice steel.

“Set up a meeting with Darlington company. I want to speak directly to the CEO.”

Clark's brows lifted slightly. “Do you think they’ll agree?”

“They don’t have a choice,” I said darkly, staring out at the empire I’d sworn to protect.

And neither do I.

Aurora Hayes was back.

And she didn’t come alone.

She came with secrets.

And I was going to unearth every. Single. One.

No matter the cost.