ARIA'S POV
I wake up to the feeling of being carried. Strong arms hold me against a solid chest. My head is spinning so badly I can't open my eyes all the way.
"Please don't hurt me," I whisper. My voice sounds weird, like it's coming from underwater.
"I'm not going to hurt you." The man's voice is deep and calm. "You've been drugged. I'm taking you somewhere safe."
Drugged. The word echoes in my foggy brain. Maya. The champagne in the car. To new beginnings, she'd said with that smile. How could I be so stupid?
"My sister," I manage to say. "Need to find... Maya..."
"Your sister did this to you." His voice turns hard. "I saw her watching from across the room when you collapsed. She smiled, then walked away."
No. No, that can't be right. Maya wouldn't—
But even through the fog in my brain, I know he's telling the truth. I saw it in her eyes at dinner. That glitter of something cruel. She planned this. All of it. The invitation, the kindness, the champagne.
"Why?" The word comes out broken.
"I don't know," the man says. "But right now, we need to get you somewhere you can sleep this off safely."
I force my eyes open wider, trying to see his face. Dark hair. Strong jaw. Eyes that look gray even in the dim hotel hallway. He's younger than I expected from his voice. Maybe early thirties. Handsome in a sharp, dangerous way that makes my drugged brain fuzzy for a different reason.
"Who are you?" I ask.
"Someone who's seen this happen before," he says quietly. "I lost a friend to a drugged drink at a party like this. She didn't have anyone to help her." His arms tighten slightly around me. "You're not going to be another statistic."
Something about the pain in his voice makes me trust him. Or maybe I'm just too drugged to think straight. Either way, I let my head fall against his chest as he carries me into an elevator.
"Where are we going?"
"My room. It's the only safe place I can think of right now." He must feel me tense because he adds quickly, "I'll sleep in the chair. You can have the bed. I just need to make sure you're okay."
The elevator doors open and he carries me down a hallway. Everything is blurry. My body feels like it weighs a thousand pounds. When he sets me down on a soft bed, I almost cry from relief.
"Can you tell me your name?" he asks, kneeling beside the bed.
"Aria," I whisper. "Aria Chen."
Something flickers across his face. "Chen? As in Chen Enterprises?"
Even drugged, I recognize that look. Everyone in the business world knows my family's company is failing. We're a joke. A cautionary tale.
"Yes," I say, shame burning through the fog. "The useless Chen daughter. That's me."
"I didn't say that."
"You didn't have to." I close my eyes. "Everyone thinks it. My own family thinks it. Maybe Maya drugged me because I'm not worth keeping around."
"That's not true." His voice is firm. "What your sister did is evil. It has nothing to do with your worth."
I want to believe him. This stranger is being kinder to me in five minutes than my own family has been in years.
"I need to call someone," I mumble. "Tell them what happened..."
But who would I call? Dad wouldn't believe me. He'd say I got drunk and embarrassed the family. Patricia would agree. And Maya... Maya is the one who did this.
"Rest first," the man says gently. "We'll figure everything out in the morning."
"You'll stay?" I don't know why I'm asking. I don't even know him.
"I'll stay right here in this chair." He moves across the room and I hear him settle into what sounds like a leather seat. "Sleep, Aria. You're safe now."
Safe. I haven't felt safe in so long.
As I drift off, I hear him making a phone call. His voice is low but urgent.
"Marcus, I need you to look into someone. Maya Chen. Yes, the daughter of Chen Enterprises. I want to know everything about her by morning... Because she just drugged her own sister at a business party, and I want to know why."
His words follow me into drugged sleep. Someone cares. Someone is trying to help me. A complete stranger is showing me more loyalty than my own blood.
I dream in fragments. Maya's cold smile. My father's disappointed face. Patricia's cruel words. But through it all, there's a steady presence—a deep voice saying, "You're safe now."
When I wake up, sunlight is streaming through heavy curtains. My head pounds like someone hit me with a hammer. My mouth tastes like metal. But I'm alive. I'm okay.
I sit up slowly, looking around the fancy hotel room. It's massive—way bigger than my bedroom at home. The chair where the man sat is empty now.
Did I dream him? Was any of that real?
Then I see the note on the bedside table. My hands shake as I pick it up.
"You were drugged. I made sure you were safe. I've called for help—someone trustworthy will arrive soon to take you home. Your sister is dangerous. Please be careful. - L.P."
L.P. I don't even know his full name. The man who saved me is a mystery.
I stumble to the bathroom and splash water on my face. In the mirror, I look terrible. Smudged makeup, messy hair, borrowed dress wrinkled. But I'm alive. That's more than I would've been if L.P. hadn't found me.
What was Maya's plan? Just humiliate me? Or something worse?
A knock on the door makes me jump. My heart races. What if it's Maya coming back to finish whatever she started?
"Miss Chen?" A woman's voice, professional. "Hotel security. We received a call about a guest needing assistance."
L.P. must have called them. I open the door to find a kind-looking woman in a security uniform.
"Are you alright?" she asks. "Mr. Pierce was very concerned."
"Mr. Pierce?" The name sounds familiar but my pounding head can't place it.
"The gentleman who helped you. He's already checked out but he wanted to make sure you got home safely. He also left this." She hands me an envelope.
Inside is five hundred dollars in cash and another note: "For a cab and whatever else you need. Stay away from your sister. - L.P."
Five hundred dollars. This stranger just gave me five hundred dollars.
The security guard helps me to a taxi. As we drive away from the hotel, I stare at the note in my hands. L.P. Mr. Pierce. The man who saved me.
I need to find out who he is. I need to thank him.
But first, I need to figure out what to do about Maya.
When the taxi pulls up to my family's mansion, I see Maya's car in the driveway. She's home. Probably sleeping peacefully after destroying her sister.
I pay the driver and walk toward the house, my head still pounding. I'm going to confront her. I'm going to tell Dad what she did.
But when I open the front door, I hear voices in the living room. Maya's laugh. Dad's relieved tone.
"So the Pierce Industries deal is really happening?" Dad asks.
"Absolutely," Maya says. "I met with their representatives last night. Everything is moving forward. Chen Enterprises is saved."
My blood runs cold. Pierce Industries. L.P. Mr. Pierce.
No. It can't be.
I walk into the living room. Maya sees me and her smile gets sharper. Dad barely glances my way.
"Where were you?" he asks. "Maya said you got drunk and left early. Very irresponsible."
"That's not what happened—"
"It doesn't matter," Dad interrupts. "Maya saved us. Pierce Industries is buying forty percent of Chen Enterprises. We're saved."
Pierce Industries. The company run by the mysterious L.P. who saved me.
Maya walks over and squeezes my shoulder. Her fingers dig in hard enough to hurt. She leans close and whispers in my ear, so quiet only I can hear:
"I needed you out of the way last night for important meetings. Thanks for being so useful, sister. And if you tell anyone what really happened..." Her smile turns vicious. "I'll make sure Dad knows you tried to sabotage the deal. Who do you think he'll believe?"
She pulls back, her public smile returning. "I'm so glad you're okay, Aria. You really should be more careful with alcohol."
I stand frozen as the truth hits me. Maya drugged me to get me out of the way. The Pierce Industries deal was happening at that party. And the man who saved me—L.P., Mr. Pierce—he's part of the company that's taking over my family's business.
But which Mr. Pierce? And what will happen when he finds out the drugged girl he rescued is connected to the business deal his company just made?
My phone buzzes in my borrowed purse. Unknown number.
I open the text message and my whole world stops spinning.
"Aria, this is Marcus Reid from Pierce Industries. My boss, Logan Pierce, asked me to check on you. He wanted to make sure you're safe. If you need anything, call this number. He also wanted me to tell you: your sister's involvement in the deal is being investigated. He saw what she did to you."
Logan Pierce. L.P. The man who saved me.
And he's investigating Maya.
I look up to find my sister watching me with cold, calculating eyes. She knows something is wrong.
"Who's texting you?" she asks sweetly.
Before I can answer, my phone buzzes again. This time it's a news alert:
"BREAKING: Logan Pierce, CEO of Pierce Industries, announces major acquisition of Chen Enterprises. Deal to be finalized within three weeks."
Three weeks. In three weeks, Logan Pierce will own my family's company.
The man who saved me will become my father's boss.
And I have no idea if that's the best thing that ever happened to me—or the beginning of an even bigger nightmare.