CHAPTER 4 — THE FILE SHE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO SEE
Ariel barely slept.
Every time she drifted off, she heard that voice again—
"His love was a lie. Stay away from him."
Morning sunlight did little to calm her. Her chest still felt tight, her mind restless. But rent wasn't going to pay itself, and quitting wasn't an option. Not when danger followed her whether she stayed or left.
She dressed carefully, choosing a plain black blouse and modest skirt. She wanted to blend in—to be invisible.
To not look like someone worth targeting.
But deep down, she knew it wasn't about how she looked.
Someone had already decided she mattered.
The thought made her stomach twist.
When she stepped onto the executive floor, the tension hit her instantly—thick, electric, wrong. The staff whispered in tight circles, faces drawn and anxious.
Morgan stood stiff by the coffee machine, eyes sharp the moment she saw Ariel.
"You," Morgan said, pulling her aside. "Are you alright? Kade wouldn't say what happened, only that you needed to be escorted upstairs."
Ariel blinked. "He… what?"
Morgan crossed her arms. "Did someone threaten you?"
Ariel hesitated. She didn't know how much she should share, or if trusting anyone here was safe.
"I'm okay," she said softly. "It was dark. I got scared. That's all."
Morgan didn't look convinced, but she didn't push.
"Just do your work," she said. "And stay near people."
People.
Right.
Except even people in this building felt dangerous.
Kade's office door swung open at nine sharp.
He didn't greet her.
He didn't look at her.
He strode straight into his office like a storm in a tailored suit.
Ariel exhaled shakily and followed him with his morning schedule. The moment she stepped inside, she froze.
Because Kade wasn't alone.
Another man stood near the window—a quiet, calculating presence. His blond hair was neatly combed back, his expression cool and sharply intelligent. He wore a gray suit that somehow looked more dangerous than Kade's black one.
Kade glanced at Ariel.
"Close the door."
She obeyed, pulse quickening.
"This is Noah Hale," Kade said. "Head of Internal Security."
Her heart skipped.
Security.
Finally, someone who could help.
Noah studied her like she was a puzzle piece he wasn't sure belonged in the box.
"You're the new assistant," he said. "The one who was present during last night's incident."
Ariel swallowed. "Yes."
"What did you see?" Noah asked—too calm, too smooth.
She described the figure, the voice, the blackout. Kade listened silently, jaw tense.
When she finished, Noah exchanged a look with Kade.
"You think it's him," Noah said quietly.
Kade didn't answer. His silence was confirmation enough.
Ariel frowned. "Who?"
Noah turned to her. "Someone who shouldn't be anywhere near this building."
"Someone who shouldn't still be alive," Kade added, voice hard and ice-cold.
Ariel's skin prickled.
Before she could ask more, Kade dismissed Noah with a sharp nod.
Noah left silently, but not before giving Ariel a final, unreadable look.
When the door closed, Kade exhaled slowly and rubbed his forehead.
"You're shaking," he said, voice unexpectedly soft.
Ariel stiffened. "I'm trying not to."
He didn't smile—he rarely did. But something in his expression softened.
"You didn't choose this," he said, almost to himself. "Yet here you are."
"Because you hired me," she countered.
"No," he said calmly. "Because someone targeted you before I even met you."
She froze. "What?"
He walked toward his desk, tapped a screen, and rotated the monitor toward her.
Ariel's breath caught.
It was a CCTV still—grainy, timestamped from the night she was almost hit by the SUV.
But in the corner of the frame…
A man stood watching her.
Not the driver.
Someone else.
Hidden in the shadows.
"What—what does this mean?" she whispered.
Kade's eyes darkened. "It means last night wasn't random. Someone knew where you'd be. Someone waited."
Her heartbeat thudded painfully.
"Me? Why me?" Ariel whispered. "I don't even know anyone."
"That's what scares me," Kade said. "Because nothing about this points to you."
His gaze locked on hers—intense, burning with a truth he wasn't yet ready to share.
"It points to me."
Ariel's throat tightened.
Something twisted painfully inside her.
"Then why involve me at all?" she said in a trembling voice. "If I'm in danger because of you, why not fire me? Or tell me to disappear?"
Kade didn't flinch.
He didn't break eye contact.
"Because," he said slowly, "the moment I let you walk away, you become an easier target."
Ariel stared at him, stunned.
"And because," he added quietly, "I don't believe in running."
Silence stretched between them.
A heavy, magnetic silence that made her chest tighten.
Ariel took a step back. "I need air."
Kade didn't stop her.
He only watched as she left, his expression unreadable.
Ariel headed toward the stairwell, needing space to breathe. She pushed open the door—
—and froze.
A single manila file sat on the landing.
Her name scrawled across the cover.
Her blood ran cold.
She bent down slowly, hands shaking as she opened it.
Inside were photos.
Photos of her apartment.
The café she worked at.
Her walking to the bus stop.
And one last photo—
A close-up of her sleeping, taken through her bedroom window.
Ariel's stomach dropped.
Her vision blurred.
Someone had been watching her long before she met Kade.
Her fingers trembled as she pulled out the final sheet—
a handwritten note.
Stay away from Kade Blackwood.
His love was a lie.
He will destroy you like he destroyed her.
Ariel staggered back, gripping the railing.
Her heart pou
nded so loudly she could barely hear her own breath.
"Who… who is her?" she whispered.
But she already knew:
Whoever she was—
whatever had happened—
It wasn't over.
It had just begun.