Aria
We burst into Lucas's apartment at 12:47 AM, soaking wet and running on pure adrenaline.
"Clothes in my bedroom," Lucas said, already pulling out his laptop. "Change fast. We don't have time to waste."
I grabbed dry clothes—one of his hoodies and sweatpants that were three sizes too big—and changed in the bathroom while calling Damien back.
"I need you at Lucas Pierce's apartment in thirty minutes," I said when he answered. "Can you do that?"
"I'm already in my car." I heard the engine in the background. "Text me the address."
"Come alone. No security, no Wil, nobody. If anyone follows you, this whole thing falls apart."
"Understood. Aria?" His voice softened. "Thank you. For fighting for me when you have every reason not to."
"I'm not doing this for you," I said, though we both knew it was at least partially a lie. "I'm doing this because Sienna needs to be stopped. You just happen to benefit from that."
"I'll take it." He paused. "Be careful. Victoria's people are going to be looking for you."
"Let them look. I'm done hiding." I hung up and walked back to the living room.
Lucas had transformed his apartment into a war room. Three monitors displayed different datasets—Sienna's crimes on one, Victoria's empire on another, the timeline of Damien's setup on the third.
"Okay," he said, not looking up from his keyboard. "I've contacted six journalists I trust. They're all standing by, waiting for whatever we send them. But we need to organize this properly. If we just dump everything, it'll be dismissed as a conspiracy theory."
"We need a narrative." I pulled up a chair beside him, my mind already racing through possibilities. "A clear, simple story that anyone can follow."
"With receipts," Lucas added. "Every claim needs ironclad evidence backing it up."
"And we need to release it in waves. If we give them everything at once, the important stuff will get buried." I started organizing files on the screen. "First wave at 6 AM: Sienna's fraud, her manipulation of Damien, proof that he was set up. That prevents his arrest."
"Second wave?"
"Victoria's involvement. The corporate espionage. The conspiracy to destroy Ashford Technologies." I pulled up the evidence Elena had given us. "But we hold that back for a few hours. Give the Sienna story time to gain traction first."
"And the third wave?"
I looked at the files about Victoria's entire empire. Every crime, every bribed official, every destroyed competitor going back fifteen years.
"The third wave destroys the Castellano family forever," I said quietly. "But we hold that until we're sure we're safe. It's our insurance policy. If Victoria comes after us, we release everything and watch her empire burn."
Lucas nodded slowly. "Smart. Mutually assured destruction."
"Exactly." I started compiling documents. "Now we just need to—"
A knock at the door cut me off.
Lucas's hand went to his gun. "You expecting someone?"
"Damien. But it's too soon. He couldn't have gotten here that fast."
We approached the door carefully. Lucas checked the peephole, then relaxed slightly.
"It's Damien," he said, opening the door.
Damien stood in the hallway, looking disheveled and desperate. When he saw me, relief flooded his face.
"Thank God. I thought—when I heard about what happened at the pier—" He stopped himself. "Can I come in?"
Lucas stepped aside, and Damien entered, his eyes taking in the equipment, the organized chaos of our investigation.
"This is impressive," he said quietly.
"This is survival," I corrected. "Sit down. We have a lot of work to do and not much time."
For the next four hours, the three of us worked like a machine. I organized evidence and wrote narratives. Lucas handled the technical side—encryption, secure transfers, setting up dead man's switches. Damien made calls, lining up people who could verify information, preparing his own statement.
At one point, around 3 AM, I found myself alone with Damien while Lucas was in the other room on a phone call.
"I meant what I said earlier," Damien said quietly, not looking up from the legal documents he was reviewing. "About loving you."
"Damien—"
"I know you don't want to hear it. I know I don't deserve to say it. But I need you to know—" He finally looked at me, and the vulnerability in his eyes was almost painful to see. "If we survive this, if we manage to take down Sienna and Victoria and come out the other side—I'm going to spend the rest of my life proving I've changed. Whether you take me back or not."
"You hurt me," I said simply. "You broke my heart. You believed lies about me without even asking for my side of the story."
"I know. And I'll never forgive myself for that." He set down the papers. "But Aria, you need to understand—I was terrified. Terrified of how much I needed you. Terrified of what it would mean to admit I'd fallen in love with someone I wasn't supposed to love. So when Sienna gave me an excuse to push you away, I took it. And that makes me a coward."
"Yes, it does."
"But I'm trying not to be a coward anymore." He stood up, moving closer but not touching me. "I'm here, at 3 AM, helping you destroy the woman I almost married. I'm about to publicly admit I was manipulated and defrauded. I'm risking everything on your plan, your expertise, your judgment. Because I trust you. Even though I never showed you that trust when we were married."
I wanted to stay angry. Wanted to hold onto my hurt and use it as armor.
But I was so tired of being angry.
"If we get through this," I said carefully, "if we survive and Sienna goes down and you don't go to prison—then we can talk. About what happened. About what comes next. About whether there's any possibility of forgiveness."
"That's all I'm asking for." He reached out, hesitated, then gently took my hand. "A chance."
Before I could respond, Lucas walked back in.
"Sorry to interrupt," he said, though his tone suggested he wasn't sorry at all, "but we have a problem."
"What kind of problem?" I pulled my hand away from Damien's.
"James Chen just posted bail. He was arrested six hours ago on an unrelated charge—tax evasion—but someone paid his $500,000 bail." Lucas pulled up the information on his screen. "Three guesses who."
"Victoria," Damien said.
"Exactly. Which means Chen is probably on his way to warn Sienna right now. They know we're coming for them."
"Good," I said. "Let them know. Let them be scared for once."
My phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.
You should have taken my offer, Ms. Sterling. Now you've made an enemy you can't afford. Last chance—walk away, or face the consequences. - V.C.
Victoria.
I showed the message to Lucas and Damien.
"She's threatening you," Damien said, his voice tight with anger.
"She's scared," I corrected. "She knows we have evidence that could destroy her. This is her trying to intimidate me into backing down."
I texted back: I don't respond well to threats. Release the evidence at 6 AM as planned. See you in hell. - A.S.
"That's going to make her come after you harder," Lucas warned.
"I know. Which is why we need to finish this before she has a chance." I checked the time. 3:47 AM. "We have two hours and thirteen minutes until the first release. Everyone clear on the plan?"
Lucas nodded. "At 6 AM, I send the Sienna package to all six journalists simultaneously. They'll have thirty minutes to verify and prepare their stories before the SEC announcement at 10 AM."
"And I'll be giving a press conference at 9 AM," Damien added. "Explaining that I was a victim of corporate espionage, that I'm cooperating fully with authorities, and that I have evidence proving Sienna Blackwood orchestrated the fraud."
"What about protective custody?" Lucas asked. "Once this goes public, both of you are going to be targets."
"I've arranged for private security," Damien said. "Six former Secret Service agents. They'll be at my apartment by 5 AM."
"And me?" I asked.
"You're coming with me," Damien said firmly. "Until this is over, until we know Victoria's been neutralized, you're under protection too."
"I don't need—"
"Aria." He met my eyes. "Please. Let me protect you. It's the least I can do."
I wanted to argue. Wanted to insist I could take care of myself.
But the truth was, I was exhausted. Scared. And the idea of not facing this alone—of having someone watching my back—was more appealing than I wanted to admit.
"Fine," I said. "But only until Sienna and Victoria are arrested. After that, I'm going back to my own life."
"Deal." Damien looked relieved.