The silence in Amelia's apartment was unnerving. It wasn't the comfortable quiet that usually accompanied late-night thoughts, but the heavy kind—thick with unspoken truths and the eerie feeling that something was about to change.
She sat cross-legged on her living room floor, laptop balanced on her knees, papers scattered around like the aftermath of a storm. Her heart raced as she opened yet another file Julian had discreetly passed her earlier that week. She hadn't planned to look. She had told herself she didn't need to. But her curiosity—and the growing tension between Liam and her father—had become impossible to ignore.
The folder was labeled: "Private Communications – 2011 to 2014."
At first, the emails seemed routine—formal negotiations, contract drafts, the sort of correspondence that passed between two business titans. But the deeper she read, the more cracks she found in the polished surface.
"You owe me more than silence, Marcus. We had an agreement. I trusted you."
"Trust is a luxury men like us can't afford, Liam. You knew the cost of getting involved."
Amelia's blood chilled.
She recognized both names. Marcus Hale—her father. Liam Blackthorne—her boss, her... whatever he was to her now. The tone was colder than any fatherly wisdom or romantic charm she had known from either of them. This wasn't a business disagreement. It was something deeper.
More personal.
She clicked another file.
It was a voice memo, timestamped from twelve years ago. The voices were distant but familiar. Her father's voice was steady, strained.
"If this backfires, Liam, it's on you. I won't let my family pay for your mistakes."
"Your family's already involved. Whether you like it or not."
She paused the recording.
Her breath caught in her throat.
Her family?
She tried to recall where she had been at that time. College. Just starting out, oblivious to everything happening behind corporate doors. Her father had always been distant about business, but she had assumed it was out of protection—not guilt.
The next file she opened was a signed document. A contract. Between Hale International and Blackthorne Group. It outlined a joint investment in a third-party company—Borealis Tech—a name she vaguely remembered hearing in passing.
It had collapsed within a year.
She narrowed her eyes. The terms of the agreement were unusual—there was a large transfer of equity from her father's side, yet the returns were disproportionately funneled to Blackthorne. It looked less like a deal and more like a setup.
She leaned back on her hands, her stomach twisting.
What if her father had been coerced into a business move he hadn't wanted? Or worse—what if he had willingly agreed to something unethical, only to later regret it?
The next moment, her phone buzzed.
A message from Julian.
Julian:"I know what you're finding isn't easy. But you deserve to see the full picture. Don't stop now."
Her hands trembled as she typed back:Amelia:"Did you know about all of this from the beginning?"
His reply came quickly.Julian:"Enough to worry. Not enough to act. I didn't want to drag you into something that would destroy the way you see both of them."
Too late for that, she thought bitterly.
She closed the files and stood, pacing the room. Her thoughts were racing.
All this time, Liam had played the role of the powerful executive with a mysterious past. She had fallen for his intensity, his ambition, his gaze that held secrets. But now that she was seeing some of those secrets, she didn't know if she could handle them.
Her father had warned her about Liam.
And Liam had warned her about her father.
Was either of them ever telling her the truth? Or had she always been just a pawn in a much larger, much older game?
She sank onto the couch, head in her hands.
And for the first time since this all began, she didn't know whom to believe.
The sharp knock at her door pulled her back to reality.
She stood slowly and opened it—only to find Liam standing there, his jaw tight, his expression unreadable.
"How much have you read?" he asked quietly.
She stepped aside. "Enough."
He entered, glancing at the papers. He didn't touch them.
"You should have told me," she said, voice low.
"I couldn't," he replied. "Not without risking everything."
Her laugh was bitter. "You mean not without risking control."
"No," he said, eyes locking on hers. "Not without risking you."
She didn't move. "You manipulated my father."
"He wasn't innocent, Amelia. You think I forced his hand? He made choices—choices that hurt a lot of people. Including me."
"But you didn't stop him," she snapped. "You let him fall into it. You both did things… and now I'm stuck in the middle."
He stepped forward. "I didn't expect to care about you the way I do. That wasn't part of the plan."
"There was a plan?" she asked, voice rising. "Of course there was."
His silence confirmed it.
She turned her back, pacing. "And what now? I'm supposed to forgive you because you feel something for me?"
"I don't want your forgiveness," he said. "I want you to understand. I want you to see that this world—the one your father and I built—isn't black and white. It's shades of survival."
She looked at him, pain in her eyes. "And what about me? Where do I fit in your world of survival?"
He stepped closer. "With me."
Her heart betrayed her. For one brief, burning moment, she wanted to believe him. To let the weight of her discoveries vanish in the warmth of his nearness.
But not tonight.
"Get out," she whispered.
He hesitated, then nodded. "I'll be back. When you're ready to listen."
The door closed behind him.
And she collapsed back onto the couch, her mind spinning.
The truth had come at a price.
And now, Amelia Hale would have to decide whether she could bear the cost—or burn everything down to build something of her own.