Jax Ryland answering the secure line instantly silenced the celebratory noise inside Aether's armored motorcade. He pulled the privacy screen shut, separating himself from Kellan, Rhys, and Nick, who immediately fell silent, recognizing the gravity of the call.
"Jax, it's Aria," her voice was low, fast, and entirely professional, cutting through the thick glass. The truce is being tested. Soverkis just made her move. It's not corporate. It's personal."
Jax's adrenaline, still surging from the massive Times Square show, channeled instantly into a cold, professional focus. I'm listening. What did she hit?
She didn't hit Vigilance. She hit my company, Aria stated, giving him the critical information without preamble. My new firm. She used deep financial espionage to find the shell corporation I secured for the launch. She didn't stop the money, she put a regulatory freeze on the final transfer of capital through a specific investment group she controls.
Jax instantly grasped the complex, layered attack. She's not trying to kill the company. She's trying to expose you.
"Exactly," Aria confirmed, her voice tightening slightly with professional frustration. If I use Vance Global's legal weight to unfreeze the funds, a public connection is made. The narrative she failed to establish—that I use my security firm for personal gain—becomes a fact. It links my secret business to the chaos she tried to create, and it ruins the company's financial integrity before the doors even open.
He remembered the immense focus Aria put on her new career, her future, her freedom.
"Elias is out of the country," Aria continued, the urgency escalating. He flew to Switzerland for a critical business negotiation two hours ago. I cannot contact him. If I involve anyone at Vance Global, the integrity of the shell corporation is compromised. I need to move the funds, Jax. Now."
She was asking him to apply pressure on Zenith's vast, non-Vance-related financial infrastructure to quietly neutralize the freeze, an act of high-level corporate sabotage that risked exposure for them both.
"You're asking me to commit to an untraceable financial maneuver to protect a business I know nothing about," Jax stated, not as a challenge, but to confirm the severity of her request.
"I'm asking you to honor the terms of the truce," Aria countered, her voice dropping to a near-whisper. I gave you the absolute truth about the nature of the threat. I give you one line of communication we only share. If you honor this, you prove that your commitment is to my security, not my capture.
Jax felt the profound shift. This was his chance to prove that the raw emotion he showed in the gallery was genuine, transforming his obsession into reliable care and respect.
"Send me the encrypted details of the holding group and the bank regulators involved," Jax said. I need the coordinates, the exact amount, and the names of the individuals applying the pressure. I will use Zenith's shadow network. This never happened, Aria. This call never took place.
"The file is sent. End transmission," Aria replied.
The line went dead. Jax immediately pulled down the privacy screen. The cold, controlled power settled over him.
"Nick, Kellan, Rhys, celebrate all you want," Jax instructed, opening his executive terminal laptop. But no one interrupts me for the next two hours. This is an urgent, high-level Zenith Records operational issue.
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Elias Vance was already deep into his own high-stakes negotiation. He was in a secured conference room overlooking Lake Geneva, Switzerland, engaged in a marathon meeting with a global defense consortium.
Elias was a master strategist, his focus absolute. He was negotiating a critical, multi-billion dollar arms and security contract to solidify Vance Global's position as the world leader in defense technology. The pressure in the room was immense, measured in tense silence and precise, low-voiced exchanges.
His personal phone, locked in a secure box outside the room, was vibrating repeatedly with automated, non-urgent company alerts. Elias ignored them. He trusted Aria's capacity to handle any professional crises, and this contract was a key component of the future he was building for her. As a soldier and mercenary commander, her competency was absolute, and he knew she was a major shareholder who would protect Vance Global's interests.
He watched the representative from the consortium, a stern, grey-haired general, tap a file.
"Mr. Vance, your personal attention to this contract is noted, the General stated. "We require absolute assurance that your firm's leadership is stable and not prone to distractions or personal vendettas, especially given the recent media noise surrounding your sister, Ms. Aria Vance."
Elias leaned forward, his eyes sharp. General, Aria is an Executive Consultant, not the CEO. The media noise was a coordinated attack by a corporate rival, Volkov Global, which was neutralized by our swift transition to the Vigilance protocol. I flew here to personally assure you that my focus is absolute. Vance Global is not stable, it is an immovable fortress. We are here to talk security, not tabloid rumors.
He maintained the lie, defending Aria's professional position and his family's image, unaware that his "immovable fortress" was currently under attack from a financial side door, forcing Aria to turn to the one-person Elias tried to lock out: Jax Ryland.
Back in the motorcade, Jax was executing the complex counterstrike. He bypassed the official chain of command and logged into the secure terminal that controlled Zenith's auxiliary financial holdings, a vast, discreet network used for proprietary investments.
He needed to apply pressure from a completely different direction: Asia, where Zenith maintained an enormous, quiet influence.
Frank, find the head of our Tokyo investment relations immediately. Tell her I need a secure, encrypted video conference. Now. This is priority alpha, Jax commanded.
Minutes later, Jax was on a high-definition screen with Ms. Kaito, Zenith's most aggressive overseas financial strategist.
"Ms. Kaito, I need a targeted, invisible application of leverage, Jax began, sharing the encrypted data Aria had sent. This financial holding group is improperly freezing a crucial investment intended for a private startup. It's a calculated attack by a rival, Volkov Global. I need you to exert pressure on the specific banking regulators involved.
Ms. Kaito studied the complex data, her expression neutral. This investment group, Mr. Ryland, is indirectly linked to Volkov Global. A direct attack would expose Zenith to a corporate war.
I don't want an attack, Ms. Kaito. I want a distraction, Jax corrected, his voice sharp and steady. Use Zenith's massive market weight in a non-related sector. I don't care if it's tech patents or Asian real estate. I want a simultaneous, overwhelming market maneuver that forces the regulators to shift their focus immediately to a problem of Zenith's making. We create so much noise in one sector that they are forced to release the small, irrelevant freeze in the other. Quietly. No paper trail. I need that freeze released within six hours.
Ms. Kaito grasped the severity and the brilliance of the strategy. It was a perfect corporate feint, a high-stakes game of distraction and misdirection. Understood, Mr. Ryland. Zenith will be a massive distraction, but the small freeze will be gone. Six hours."
Jax closed the laptop. The act of saving Aria's future felt more significant than the success of the entire tour. He was using his full, ruthless power not for self-gain, but to protect her fragile, secret dream.
Aria was back in her studio, which was quickly transforming into a bustling, full-scale company headquarters. Though the public launch was months away, the sheer volume of specialized staff required for a luxury fashion line meant the offices were already full of movement and intense work.
She moved through the massive space, which housed the Design Floor, the Pattern Making Lab, and the administrative offices. She saw Helen, the Executive Secretary, managing calls and scheduling interviews for the General Manager COO position. She saw Liam, the CFO, pacing near the accounting office, his anxiety mounting.
"Ms. Vance, the banking situation is becoming critical, Liam reported, his brow furrowed. The investment group is applying deeper scrutiny. We need to decide whether to bring in outside counsel, a large, high-profile firm, to force the release, or risk the delay damaging our production timetable.
Aria held up a hand, glancing at the secure line on her desk. We will wait, Liam. We do not use outside counsel. We will not expose the company. I initiated a private, auxiliary measure that should resolve the regulatory issue without external noise. Give it five hours.
Liam was stunned by her calm faith in an invisible solution, but Aria's absolute conviction silenced his protest.
Aria walked over to the Design Floor where Rachel, the Pattern Maker, was working with an assistant designer, sketching prototypes. Aria needed to feel the physical reality of the future she was fighting for.
Aria thought: He knows my deepest secret. He knows the consequences of the kidnapping. If he fails me now, I lose my freedom. If he succeeds, the truce is sealed by an action more powerful than any apology.
She knew the financial battle was a critical test of trust, but she was already preparing for the next layer of the personal war. She had to ensure that when the funds were released, the business transition was so seamless that Soverkis couldn't find another entry point.
Aria called Helen. Helen immediately prioritized the hiring of a buyer merchandiser and a Quality Control Specialist. I need people who can manage our materials and product quality with absolute discretion. We need to lock down our supply chain before the financial noise subsides.
The need to move her business forward was now driven by a dangerous, shared secret.
Jax spent the next six hours in his office, monitoring the massive market movements Ms. Kaito was executing. It was a stressful, multi-billion dollar ballet designed to distract an entire regulatory body.
Just as the sun began to rise over Manhattan, painting the city gold, Ms. Kaito's secure message arrived: Regulatory review shifted. Target investment cleared for immediate release. No trace. No exposure. The freeze is gone.
Jax felt the tension drain from him, replaced by a profound, strange sense of vindication. He hadn't just saved a contract, he had protected Aria's future.
He immediately sent a two-word encrypted text message to the secure line: "Funds clear."
Across town, Aria felt the sharp vibration on her desk. She snatched the phone, reading the two words. A deep, steady wave of relief washed over her, an emotion she hadn't allowed herself to feel in days.
She sent an immediate reply, equally brief, utterly professional, but carrying an immense weight of meaning: "Agreement upheld."
Jax leaned back in his chair. He was no longer the arrogant star hunting the fascinating executive. He was a secret collaborator, tied to Aria by a dangerous, shared objective of protection. The professional truce was now bound by a personal secret, solidifying the foundation for a much deeper, more complex relationship built on high stakes and care.