The house was quieter than usual after the attack, but it wasn't peace it was the silence before a storm.
Alexander had doubled the guards.
Every camera was checked, every window sealed.
But Ariana couldn't shake the feeling that danger had simply changed shape.
She sat by her window, clutching the small velvet pouch in her hand the one she'd stolen from Aria's room.
Inside was the flash drive.
She'd promised herself she wouldn't look at it.
But she couldn't stop thinking about the man's words
"You shouldn't have taken her place."
If this drive held any clue to what Aria was hiding she needed to see it.
The Secret Unlocked
She slipped into Alexander's private study after midnight.
Her hands trembled as she inserted the flash drive into the laptop.
A folder appeared.
Just one.
Labeled: VOLKOV INDUSTRIES / PROJECT HALCYON.
She hesitated, then opened it.
Documents filled the screen transaction records, offshore accounts, encrypted files.
But one stood out a video file.
Ariana clicked it.
Static. Then a dark room.
A man's voice: "Transfer confirmed. Once Volkov signs the contract, we own him. No loose ends."
Another voice answered feminine, calm, confident.
Her stomach dropped.
It was Aria's voice.
"Good. I'll handle the rest. He won't know until it's too late."
Ariana's breath caught. "No"
She replayed it, heart racing.
Her sister had betrayed Alexander.
She'd been working with the White Circle not as a victim, but as a conspirator.
The flash drive fell from her trembling hand.
The Confrontation
"Couldn't sleep?"
The voice came from the doorway.
Alexander stood there, half in shadow, his shirt unbuttoned at the collar, eyes sharp even in the dim light.
Ariana froze, the laptop still glowing behind her.
He walked closer, silent, unreadable. "You're in my study. Using my computer. Tell me why."
"I"
"Don't lie." His tone was low, dangerous.
She took a shaky breath. "It's about Aria. I found something. You need to see this."
He glanced at the screen and the color drained from his face as the video began to play.
When it ended, the silence was deafening.
Alexander's jaw tightened, his hands curling into fists.
"She set me up," he said finally, voice hollow with disbelief. "She was going to sell out my company."
Ariana nodded, tears brimming. "It's worse, Alex. The White Circle they're not just after money. They're after control. Aria's the link."
He turned to her slowly, his expression darkening into something dangerous.
"If this is true," he said, "she didn't just betray me. She betrayed you too."
Ariana's voice trembled. "She's not the sister I knew."
"She never was," Alexander muttered, pacing, his mind already spinning with plans and consequences.
The Listening Shadow
Neither of them noticed the faint red light blinking in the corner of the room a hidden camera lens.
Recording. Watching. Sending everything to someone else.
Across the city, in a penthouse office, a man watched the footage on his screen tall, sharp-featured, eyes like cold steel.
He smirked faintly as he watched Alexander and Ariana on the video feed.
"So," he murmured, "the little twin found the drive."
He turned to the woman standing beside him Aria, dressed in black, her expression unreadable.
"Looks like your sister's more useful than we thought," he said.
Aria's lips curved. "Let her play the innocent. When it's time, she'll hand us everything."
Meanwhile — The Line Between Them
Back in the study, Alexander turned off the laptop, then faced Ariana.
"You did the right thing," he said quietly. "But from now on, you don't move alone. Not until I end this."
Ariana hesitated. "And what about Aria?"
He looked away, pain flickering in his eyes. "If she's truly with them then I'll treat her like I treat any threat."
She took a step closer, voice trembling. "You don't mean that."
"I do," he said flatly. "The moment she chose to destroy me, she stopped being my wife."
Their eyes met too close, too raw.
In that moment, surrounded by shadows and betrayal, something unspoken sparked between them.
Something forbidden but undeniable.
He reached out then stopped himself.
"I need you to trust me," he said. "No matter what happens next."
Ariana nodded slowly, though fear twisted in her heart.
Because trust was the one thing that could destroy them both.