Ethan agreed to meet her at the rooftop.
The same rooftop where he once pulled her close and whispered, "You're the only thing that feels real."
Tonight, nothing felt real.
The wind was violent. The sky dark with coming rain.
Aria waited, clutching the printed documents like they were oxygen.
When he arrived, he looked exhausted.
Like a man fighting battles no one could see.
"You said it was urgent."
She handed him the file without a word.
He scanned the first page.
His jaw tightened.
Second page.
His eyes flickered.
Third page.
His breathing changed.
"No."
He flipped faster.
"No… this doesn't make sense."
"It does," she said quietly. "Look at the dates. Look at the signatures."
He did.
And the color drained from his face.
"My mother… wouldn't…"
"She did."
The words sliced between them.
Ethan ran a hand through his hair, pacing.
"This could be fabricated."
"It matches the collapse of my father's company. Every detail."
He stopped walking.
And for the first time since she'd met him… Ethan Kingsley looked uncertain.
"I was abroad when that happened," he murmured. "I trusted her to handle everything."
Aria stepped closer.
"I trusted your company with my father's life."
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Lightning cracked in the distance.
Ethan stared at the city below — at the empire built in his family's name.
"If this goes public," he said slowly, "Kingsley Global collapses."
"So does the lie."
He turned to her.
"And my mother goes to prison."
Her voice softened.
"And my father finally gets justice."
His chest rose and fell heavily.
"You're asking me to destroy my own blood."
"I'm asking you to choose truth."
Rain began to fall.
Cold.
Relentless.
Ethan closed the file.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then finally:
"I won't protect corruption. Not even hers."
Aria's heart pounded.
But she knew this decision would cost him everything.
His name.
His legacy.
His family.
The war wasn't between her and Margaret anymore.
It was between Ethan and the man he thought he was.
He looked at her through the rain.
"If we do this… there's no going back."
She met his gaze.
"I never wanted to go back."
Should they expose everything publicly… or gather more proof first?
Comment EXPOSE NOW or WAIT