The next morning I find myself in Blackwood corp.
I shouldn't be here ,not after what happened yesterday but Damian called for a meeting by 8am.
The new security guard greeted me and took me through the private elevator .The one that leads to Damian's Office.
I guess he wasn't joking when he said "you don't walk through this building alone"
I should be annoyed but instead I feel exposed.
I enter his office and see him standing, facing the window.
He turned immediately I opened the door.
"Aria" he called
His eyes suddenly felt alive when he saw me
"Damian". I responded and shut the door behind me ignoring the excitement in his eyes.
He directed me to the chair facing his desk.
"Sit " he commands
I obeyed crossing my arms " You dragged me up here at 8 in the morning . The least you can do is be polite."
"Please" he said looking at me with a smile but I immediately look away.
He walks towards the desk and leaned against it. I could smell the expensive cologne he wears.
"We have an internal problem" he says quietly
I look at him in a confused state.
He continues, "I pulled the access logs from last night. Whoever scrubbed the cameras is not just skilled—they have high-level clearance."
"How high ?" I ask
"Executive clearance "he said
"Hold on, you mean someone at the top tried to hide what happened to me?"
"Yes and this isn't random " he says
"Damian this is connected to my father"
He nods in agreement.
I become pained in his admission to what I said.
"What did you find? " he asks
I didn't want him to know what I found yet because I wasn't sure so I hesitate but his sharp and protective eyes pin me down.
"I found a file with NovaArc's name on it," I say finally. "But the date—Damian, the file was created months before my uncle became wealthy. He wasn't supposed to have anything to do with my father's investments."
His expression change into something I can't explain but then he says "Show me"
I pull out the folder slowly. "There's more, look at this."
He takes the pages and starts reading.
Watching him read is terrifying. His eyes track every line, his brows sharpening.
When he reaches the page with the suspicious signature, he stops.
His fingers go still.
"This isn't your father's handwriting," he says.
"No, It's not." He continues
"And the signature—this is sloppy. Someone forced it."
Someone forced my father to sign a contract he never wanted
Someone ruined him, lied to me for years and wanted Blackwood Corp.
Damian looks at me with a dark expression
"Aria this goes beyond your father. Whoever did this was targeting my family too."
I become shocked but he's right. This is bigger than revenge ,grief.
"What are you hiding from me" he asks softly.
I look away and say " I need more proof"
Then you should stay away from whoever might be involved" he says
"That includes you" I whisper
He stands in shock looking directly into my eyes.
"Is that what you think?" he murmurs. "That I'm involved in this?"
"I don't know what to think anymore"
Instead of getting angry he walks up to me and says
"Then let me be clear: I did not destroy your family."
I take a deep breath."You're the CEO everything points to you."
"Because someone wants you to believe that or hate me " he says
"I already did" I whisper
"And now?" he asks quietly
I can't answer
He exhaled and forced him self to give me space "We need to discuss something else"
What?" I ask
He hands me a different file from his desk.
I open the file and realize someone has been monitoring my movement in Blackwood Corp.
"Why do I see pictures of the first day I came here when I just started here?"
Well obviously someone tracked every visit you made here before you were hired."
"How…?"
"Whoever did it knew you're connected to Lawson investment and you will come back for answers ."
"But —why me?" I ask
Because you're the last person your father spoke to about his suspicions."
"What did you say?
"Jonathan Lawson contacted this company three days before he died," Damian says quietly. "He had questions about his contract. Questions he never got the chance to ask."
" My father reached out to Blackwood Corp?" "How am I just hearing this?"
His voice is a rough whisper. "I never knew it was him until last night."
Interesting
I close my eyes in disbelief. Anger and grief is what I feel at the moment.
When Damian tries to step close,I step back but he doesn't stop.
"Aria, you're not alone in this"
I shook my head…
"you don't get it" I say "I have spent years believing you ruined everything "
And now you know I didn't." His voice deepens. "So let me help you find who did."
He keeps coming close .
"I need air," I whisper.
"Okay" he continues "I will have someone escort you downstairs "
"No , I need to be alone " I say
But he disagrees anyway.
Just as I turned to open the door, he calls my name
"Aria "
But I don't turn
Then he continues "If someone is willing to threaten you, it only means you're close to something"
I stand there still facing the door.
" Whatever you find next…will change everything ."
Those words are like a warning.
I open the door with my hands shaking as I enter the hallway.
"I'm afraid of the truth and how Damian Blackwood is starting to matter.