Chapter 15 — The Girl in the Quiet Hallways
Emily's desk sat just outside the executive offices — a quiet, neutral space where her presence blended into the background like soft wallpaper.
Too easy to overlook.
Too easy to forget.
Which made her dangerous.
Aria watched her from the end of the corridor, one hand resting lightly against a column, gaze steady. The office floor was quieter at night; only the click of a vacuum cleaner two floors down and the muted hum of lights filled the silence.
Emily typed softly, neatly, orderly — the picture of efficiency.
Perfect posture.
Modest clothing.
Pleasant smile.
And yet…
Aria had learned to read stillness the way other people learned languages. It wasn't just Emily's composure. It was the precision of it.
No wasted movement.
No restless fidgeting.
No jitter of nerves when the world shifted.
She was too controlled.
Too perfect.
A person trained to disappear in plain sight.
Aria approached the desk.
Emily looked up immediately, her smile blooming like a flower opening to the sun.
"Mrs. Kane," she said warmly. "You're still here! Do you need anything? I can call a car, or arrange—"
"No," Aria said, voice smooth. "I just wanted to speak to you."
Emily blinked, surprised but attentive. "Of course. About work tomorrow? I completed the scheduling brief and the international contract summary—"
"It's not about work."
Emily paused.
Subtle.
Faint.
But there.
Fear.
Just for half a second — a single flicker — before she smoothed it away.
Aria leaned against the desk, appearing relaxed.
"Tell me something, Emily."
She kept her tone light. Casual. Almost friendly.
"How did you get this job?"
Emily blinked again. "Human Resources hired me. I submitted my resume online—"
"I've seen your resume," Aria cut in softly. "You interned once. You jumped positions too fast. No references. No connections. And yet you were placed in one of the most confidential roles this company has."
Emily's throat moved when she swallowed.
Aria smiled.
Not kind.
But not cruel.
Just knowing.
"Who placed you here?"
Emily's fingers tightened around a pen. Barely. But not invisible.
"Mrs. Kane, I don't understand—"
Aria leaned closer.
"You don't have to pretend with me. I know what it means to be owned by someone."
Emily's heart stopped.
Aria saw it.
Felt it.
Recognized it.
Emily wasn't a spy.
Emily was a girl who belonged to someone.
Someone who shaped her.
Used her.
Controlled her.
Someone who trained her to disappear.
Just like Aria once was.
Emily looked down — eyes shining, just barely.
"He said… I just needed to watch," she whispered. "Not interfere. Just watch. And tell him if you looked… happy."
The word broke on the way out.
Happy.
Aria's chest tightened.
Not in pity.
Not in softness.
In recognition of pain.
Because this wasn't Rafael making a strategic move.
This was Rafael making a statement.
If Aria was going to live something new, Rafael wanted to watch it fall apart from the inside.
Aria's voice was low. Gentle in tone, sharp in meaning.
"What did he promise you, Emily?"
Emily's lips trembled.
"That he'd love me," she whispered. "That one day, I'd be enough. That I just had to prove I could be useful."
Aria closed her eyes.
Not in weakness.
But in rage so cold it could freeze veins.
Rafael hadn't just sent a spy.
He sent a mirror.
A ghost of the girl Aria once was.
Aria straightened, every part of her controlled.
"Look at me," she said softly.
Emily obeyed instantly.
Because obedience was bone-deep.
"You don't belong to him," Aria said.
Emily's voice cracked. "I don't know how to leave."
Aria understood.
She stepped closer — slow, so Emily didn't flinch — and placed a hand gently over Emily's shaking ones.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"You don't have to yet."
Emily's breath hitched.
Aria continued:
"But you will not report to him anymore."
Emily's eyes widened — terror opening through them like a wound.
"He'll know," Emily breathed. "He always knows."
"And he will know," Aria said. "Because I'm going to tell him."
Emily stared at her — shock, disbelief, awe.
Before she could respond—
The elevator dinged.
Footsteps.
Low. Steady. Measured.
Adrian.
He stopped beside Aria, reading the situation in a single glance.
Emily froze like prey under a predator's gaze.
Adrian didn't look at her with judgment.
He looked at her the same way Aria did.
A piece on the board.
A soul bound in chains she didn't choose.
Aria spoke to Adrian without looking away from Emily.
"Rafael didn't place her here to spy on our business." Her voice held no tremor. No softness. "He placed her here to watch me."
Adrian nodded once.
"That changes the game," he said.
Emily's voice trembled. "I'm sorry. I didn't want—"
Aria held up a hand — not to silence her.
To steady her.
"I know."
And Emily's knees nearly gave out — because no one had ever believed her before.
Adrian spoke then, calm and certain:
"Emily, starting tomorrow, you will work under internal audit. No access to executive documents. No confidential communication. You'll have structure. Boundaries. Space to breathe."
Emily nodded shakily.
"But," Adrian continued, voice like steel wrapped in silk, "you answer only to Aria."
Emily's inhale was sharp and broken.
She didn't know whether that was salvation or another prison.
Maybe both.
But for the first time, someone had given her choice.
Aria stepped back, releasing her hand.
"We're not saving her," Aria said quietly once Emily left down the hall.
"No," Adrian agreed. "We're building a weapon Rafael made — and turning it on him."
Aria looked out the window — city lights burning like distant fires.
"Rafael thinks I'm still something he created," she said softly.
Adrian's voice was low.
"He's about to learn you became something he can't control."
Aria didn't smile.
She didn't need to.
Because war had officially begun.
And the first strike wasn't destruction.
It was taking back the pieces he thought were his.