2025-04-24 14:33:48
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The Confession
AriaZion came to see me late in the evening. I had been sitting by the window for hours, watching the city lights and trying not to think about the conversation I knew would come eventually. When I heard the knock, my chest tightened. I already knew it was him. I could tell by the smell of his musk perfume.He stepped into the room, and the silence between us felt heavy. For a moment, he didn’t say a thing, but then his eyes searched mine, and I could see that he was worried, but also guarded, like he was holding back questions that had been building up for days.“Aria,” he said softly, closing the door behind him. “I need you to tell me the truth. What’s going on? Why does it feel like everything is falling apart around you?”I breathed slowly and folded my hands together, trying to stop them from shaking. For a long moment, I didn’t answer, because I was afraid of what he might say once he heard the truth. Still, I knew I couldn’t hide it anymore.“It’s Ellen,” I finally said. My v
A Question of Trust
AriaI was still on my desk long after the sun had gone down, staring at the badge sitting right in front of me. It was such a small object, barely the size of a credit card, yet it felt heavier than the building I worked in. Every time I looked at it, I saw Ellen’s face, that smug smile she gave me when she finally dropped the act. The proof was right here, but the question kept eating at me: would Zion believe me if I showed it to him?The thought alone made my chest tighten. Zion had always believed in me. He had defended me when nobody else would, stood beside me when things fell apart, and looked me in the eye like I was worth more than my mistakes. But this was Ellen we were talking about. His best friend. The person who had been by his side for years, probably longer than I had. She had been there through everything, and I was terrified that in his eyes, her word might mean more than mine.I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my head in frustration. If I told him, there were on
Betrayal in Plain Sight
AriaI was sitting behind my desk, still reeling from the chaos of the press briefing, when I noticed him hovering near the doorway. The young technician I had planted during the event. He looked pale, like he wasn’t sure if he should even be in my office.“Come in,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “You’ve got something for me?”He nodded quickly and stepped closer, lowering his voice like the walls had ears. “I couldn’t see the hacker’s face during the blackout. It was too dark, and they moved fast. But…” He dug into his jacket pocket and pulled something out. “I managed to pick this up. They dropped it.”He placed the item gently on my desk. At first, it looked harmless, a simple access badge. But the moment my eyes landed on it, my stomach flipped. I knew that badge. I had seen it clipped onto Ellen’s blazer more times than I could count, and in that moment, my throat went dry. “Where exactly did you find this?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.“Near the emer
Shadows on the Screen
AriaThe applause had barely started when the lights cut out, plunging the entire hall into darkness. For a moment, there was nothing but silence and the sound of my own heartbeat thudding against my ribs. My fingers tightened around the podium as if holding onto it would keep me grounded.Then the screens behind me crackled to life with harsh static, and the sound made people flinch. Then it was the grainy footage that appeared next, shaky and clearly filmed from hidden cameras. I recognized the faces instantly; they were members of my executive board, half of them, sitting in quiet rooms, exchanging files, whispering over envelopes stuffed with cash.The distorted voice followed, filling the hall silently.“Your leaders are liars. Your trust has been bought and sold.”As soon as those words echoed, the room broke out in gasps. My stomach turned because I knew exactly what I was seeing. These were the same names I had read in the envelope days ago, and now the whole world was watchin
The Breaking Point
AriaThe envelope sat on my coffee table like a heavy burden I couldn’t carry anymore. I had stared at it for hours, mentally trying to prepare myself for whatever I would find in there before finally tearing it open, telling myself I was ready. But I wasn’t.My hands trembled as I spread the papers across the glass. Line after line of names filled the page. Half of my executive board. Half! These weren’t strangers or rivals. These were people I had built with, defended in board meetings, and fought for when others wanted them gone. And here they were, exposed in black and white, tied to the betrayal that had been choking me for months.For a long moment, I just sat there staring at the names, not sure what to do. The weight of it was crushing, and it got me wondering. If so many of them had turned, maybe Ellen was right. Maybe the problem wasn’t them. Maybe it was me.And so I curled myself on the couch, replaying every argument, every rushed decision, every time I’d snapped at some
Strings in the Dark
EllenThe skyline glittered outside my penthouse, like it knew what I was about to do. I cradled a glass of wine in my hand, swirling the deep red liquid while Lucian’s demand replayed in my head:Get me out, and I’ll keep your secret.The audacity. No one dared to corner me. Not board members, not investors, not family, and certainly not a man in chains. Yet his words had burrowed into me, and no matter how many times I tried to dismiss them, they echoed like a threat I couldn’t mute.I tapped the stem of the glass against my knee and opened my laptop. His freedom… that would be my leverage. If Lucian walked out of prison owing me, he wouldn’t just be an ally, he’d be my insurance policy against Aria.And so I scanned through the group of names on my screen, from lawyers who had hidden scandals to bird members whose careers I’d rescued. Even a government official who’d conveniently “forgotten” to file paperwork after I made it worth his while. One by one, I composed careful messages
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