By the time I return to the audit room, the floor is empty. Only the fluorescent light hum overhead in the lobby.
Good I need quietness, I need space.
I need to breathe without Damian's intensity pressing against my ribs like a second heartbeat.
I dropped the files on my desk, trying to wrap my head round the issue on ground.
I open the first folder.
Jonathan Lawson.
My father's handwriting covers the margins—neat, detailed, methodical. His engineer's precision reflected in every stroke. He always said numbers couldn't lie.
But he never accounted for people.
People lie, twist numbers and bury the truth at every cost.
I flip through the pages of the document, looking for any clues about the missing contract sheets.
Then I find something—Small, barely noticeable at the lower end of the file.
NovaArc Holdings.
My eyes lit seeing it.
The investment group my Uncle claimed he built from nothing after my Dad died. But the date on this file is before his miraculous rise.
I took a deep breath. "No" I whisper "This can't be"
My father didn't invest in NovaArc. He didn't trust his brother with anything important. So why is NovaArc listed in a Blackwood partnership file? And why isn't the handwriting my father's?
I take a closer look,
The signature isn't my Dad's but my Uncle's from years ago before he changed his signature style.
I become cold.
"Oh my God"
I reach for my phone to take a picture—
Suddenly,a sharp sound behind me
I freeze.
The room becomes stuffy ,I could barely breath.
I turn slowly but no one was there .
I swallow, forcing my breath out. "Get it together, Aria."
I lock the door—the kind of lock that suddenly feels too thin—and return to the table.
Just as I pick up the next page—
Another Tap on the frosted glass wall.
This time it's unmistakable.
My legs move before my mind catches up.
Someone is standing behind the glass but I can only see a shadow .
Goosebumps all over my body.
"Who's there?" I call out.
No response.
The shadow doesn't answer or flinch.
My heart starts to race.
I step closer, one careful movement at a time.
The shadow shifts—slowly—and something taps against the glass again.
A folded note.
I became sacred.
The shadow walks away with calm, measured and confident steps.
I wait five seconds ,before unlocking the door and stepping into the hallway.
Empty, quiet but wrong. Someone was definitely here.
I look down.
The note lies at my feet like a trap disguised as paper.
I summon courage to pick it up.
When I unfold it, the words left me terrified:
STOP DIGGING. YOU WON'T LIKE WHAT YOU FIND.
The Lobby suddenly feels colder and quiet.
My first instinct is to run to Damian.
Second is to burn the note and pretend nothing happened.
But my third—the one that wins—is to shove the fear down my throat.
Because if someone is trying to scare me off, then I am dangerously close to the truth.
I return to the audit room, lock the door again—double-checking this time—and sit.
"NovaArc," I whisper "What did you do?"
The more I read, the worse it gets.
My father's books were clean, his accounts steady, his investments safe.
Then suddenly—months before his heart attack—
everything changed.
Massive transfers.
Unapproved transactions.
Documents altered and signatures forged.
All channeled into NovaArc.
By the time I finish reading the file, fear gripped my hands.
My uncle didn't just manipulate my father ,
he helped destroy him.
For a moment my eyes become blurry ,I closed the folder and hold the edges of the desk so I don't fall down.
He lied about everything. Yet he said he was protecting us.
No this can't be right.
Anger and shame fueled inside of me. All this years I hated the wrong person and blamed him for it all not realizing the enemy was within.
I stuff the documents into my bag. I need time to process it all…
Just then my phone rings :
Damian: My office, Its Urgent.
"Of course" I hurriedly left for his office.
In Damian's office ,I saw him pacing around .
Unlike the Damian Blackwood to be worried.
"Where were you?" he demands
"In the audit room" I grip my bag tighter "Why? What's going on?"
He steps towards me ,Some inches away.
"Someone accessed restricted security cameras thirty minutes ago," he says "and they wiped the footage from the hallway outside the audit room."
"They were watching you and they didn't want me to see it"
"Someone left me a note." I say
His expression snaps into something I can't tell
"Show me " he said
His jaw tightens and his eyes darkened as I hand over the note to him.
He comes closer to me. I held my breath because I felt something strange in his eyes.
Is this care?
From now on," he says quietly, "you don't walk through this building alone."
"I'm not a child Damian," "I don't need protection "
I lied because I am as scared as a baby.
"Yes," he murmurs, "you do." "Someone is threatened by you."
"Threatened by what? I haven't even done anything yet."
"You're Jonathan Lawson's daughter," he says.
"And that makes you dangerous to the wrong people."
"Let me help you Aria "he said
" I don't trust you " I responded
If only he knew he is the only person I trust right now .
"Ari," he said "I don't need your trust, I just need you safe."
"If anything happens to you I will blame myself for life."
The way he called my name. Only my father called me that way.
"I need to go home," I whisper.
" I will have someone escort you"he said
This feels like care and that's something I don't want from him
"There's no need for that Damian I…I can handle it."
"No," he murmurs, stepping even closer, gaze falling briefly to my lips
"but you're in danger and I take care of what's mine."
My heart…I could feel it beat even faster
"I'm not yours." I muttered
"Not yet "he said. The assurance from his voice made me feel safe for a second.
I suddenly feel different when I'm with him …like he is the one thing I have always wanted .
To be honest a hug or a kiss from him will be nice but to avoid all the drama coupled with what's going on I step back .
"I'll see you tomorrow Damian"
I could feel his gaze at my back as I stepped out of his office.
One thing is certain; this is no longer revenge, this isn't simple and this is no longer safe.
The truth is hunting me and Damian Blackwood wants me more.