Aria
I spent that night in Lucas's apartment—the same minimalist space I remembered from three years ago, all clean lines and tech equipment. While I'd been playing housewife, Lucas had apparently upgraded his setup. Three massive monitors dominated his living room, surrounded by enough computing power to run a small country.
"You've been busy," I said, setting down the coffee he'd made me.
"Security consulting pays well." He pulled up a chair beside his main workstation. "Especially when you're good at finding things people don't want found."
"That's exactly what I need." I showed him the contract again on my phone. "This came from someone who knows what Sienna did. But I need more. I need to know everything—who else she's manipulated, what other crimes she's committed, how deep this goes."
Lucas cracked his knuckles. "Then let's start digging."
He pulled up a blank search screen. "What do we know for certain?"
"Sienna Blackwood received two million dollars from Richard Ashford three years ago. She disappeared from Damien's life. And she came back eight months ago." I paced the room, my mind racing. "The question is—what was she doing during those three years?"
"Let me see what I can find." Lucas's fingers flew across the keyboard. Within minutes, he had financial records, social media archives, travel records. "Sienna Blackwood. Born in Greenwich, Connecticut. Elite boarding schools, Yale graduate. Dated Damien Ashford for two years before their sudden breakup three years ago."
"What happened after the breakup?"
"She disappeared for about six months. No social media, no credit card activity, no travel records." Lucas frowned. "That's unusual for someone in her social circle. Then she resurfaces in Paris, living at the Ritz for three months. After that, she's in Monaco, then Milan, then London."
"All on Richard Ashford's dime?"
"Looks like it. Monthly wire transfers of fifty thousand dollars to various accounts." Lucas pulled up bank records. "She was being paid to stay away."
"And eight months ago?"
"The payments stopped. Richard Ashford died seven months ago." Lucas looked at me. "Two weeks after his death, Sienna returned to Silvercrest City."
I felt cold wash over me. "She was waiting for him to die."
"Or she killed him."
"You can't be serious."
"Can't I?" Lucas pulled up medical records—how he had access to those, I didn't want to know. "Richard Ashford died of sudden cardiac arrest. He was seventy-eight, had a history of heart problems. It would be easy to induce a heart attack in someone that age and make it look natural."
My phone buzzed. An email from the same unknown sender.
You're getting closer. But you're missing the biggest piece. Sienna isn't working alone. Meet me tomorrow, 9 AM, Russo's Café. Come alone. - A Friend
I showed Lucas.
"That's a trap," he said immediately.
"Maybe. But they've given me accurate information so far." I stared at the message. "And if Sienna has a partner, I need to know who."
"Then I'm coming with you."
"They said come alone."
"I don't care." Lucas's voice was firm. "You're not meeting some mysterious contact by yourself, Aria. Not after everything that's happened."
I wanted to argue, but the determined look on his face told me it would be pointless. "Fine. But you stay back. Let me talk to them first."
"Deal." He turned back to his computer. "Now, let's see what else we can find before tomorrow."
We spent the next four hours diving deep into Sienna's background. Lucas had access to databases I'd never heard of—financial records, sealed court documents, private investigator reports.
What we found painted a disturbing picture.
"She's done this before," Lucas said, pulling up a file. "Five years ago, Sienna dated Marcus Chen, heir to the Chen pharmaceutical fortune. They were together for six months. Then she suddenly broke up with him, and two months later, Chen Pharmaceuticals was embroiled in a massive insider trading scandal."
"Let me guess—Sienna was involved?"
"She was never charged, but the SEC investigation notes mention an 'unnamed female informant' who provided key evidence." Lucas pulled up another file. "And here's the kicker—Marcus Chen's lawyer during the investigation was James Chen."
"Wait—Damien's James Chen?"
"The very same. Marcus is his nephew." Lucas met my eyes. "James Chen has been Sienna's fixer for years. Every scandal, every manipulation, every time she's destroyed someone—he's been there to clean up the mess and make sure she walks away clean."
My blood ran cold. "And he's Damien's attorney. He drew up our marriage contract."
"Which means he knew exactly what Sienna was planning. He was part of it from the beginning." Lucas pulled up the marriage contract I'd signed three years ago. "Look at this. Clause 37B."
I read it, my hands shaking.
CLAUSE 37B: In the event that Ms. Aria Sterling is found to have misrepresented her intentions, financial status, or relationship motivations to Mr. Damien Ashford, all settlement agreements shall be voided and Ms. Sterling shall receive no compensation beyond return of personal effects.
CLAUSE 37C: Evidence of misrepresentation includes but is not limited to: deliberate pregnancy, financial manipulation, interference with Mr. Ashford's business relationships, or attempts to extend the marriage contract beyond its intended temporary nature through emotional manipulation.
"This was designed to trap you," Lucas said quietly. "Anything you did—falling in love, wanting a baby, asking to stay married—could be used against you as 'emotional manipulation.' If Damien had wanted to, he could have thrown you out with nothing."
"He didn't though." I thought about the five million dollars, the apartment. "He gave me a generous settlement."
"Because he felt guilty. But Sienna made sure the contract gave him the option to destroy you if he wanted." Lucas pulled up more files. "And James Chen wrote every word of it."
I stared at the contract, seeing it with new eyes. Every clause, every stipulation—it had all been designed to keep me powerless. To make sure I could never threaten Sienna's eventual return.
"We need to expose James Chen," I said.
"We will. But first, we need more evidence." Lucas checked his watch. "It's 3 AM. We should get some sleep before your meeting tomorrow."
"I can't sleep."
"Try anyway. You're going to need your energy for whatever's coming." He gestured to the couch. "I'll take the floor."
"Lucas, this is your apartment—"
"And you're my guest. Couch is yours." He grabbed a blanket from the closet. "Besides, I need to keep working. I want to trace that email you got, see if I can figure out who's been sending you information."
I settled onto the couch, pulling the blanket over me, but sleep felt impossible. My mind was racing with everything we'd discovered.
Sienna had been manipulating people for years. She had James Chen as her fixer. She'd been paid to disappear. And now she was back, ready to complete whatever plan she'd started three years ago.
But what was the endgame? Just marrying Damien? That seemed too simple for someone as calculating as Sienna appeared to be.
"Lucas?" I said into the darkness.
"Yeah?"
"What if this isn't about love? What if Sienna never actually wanted Damien at all?"
I heard him stop typing. "What do you mean?"
"Think about it. She got paid two million dollars to break up with him. Then she disappeared for three years. Then she came back exactly when his grandfather died." I sat up. "What if the goal was never to marry Damien? What if it was to destroy him?"
"Destroy him how?"
"I don't know yet. But someone paid her to break his heart once. Maybe someone's paying her to destroy his company now." I grabbed my phone, pulling up Ashford Technologies' stock price. "Look at this. Eight months ago, when Sienna came back, the stock was at an all-time high. Now it's down 23%."
"That could be market fluctuation."
"Or it could be sabotage." I pulled up news articles. "Look—eight months ago, Ashford Technologies lost three major clients. Six months ago, there was a data breach. Four months ago, a failed product launch. Two months ago, rumors of accounting irregularities."
"All after Sienna returned."
"Exactly." I stood up, pacing. "What if Sienna's not trying to marry Damien? What if she's trying to destroy Ashford Technologies from the inside? And marrying him is just the final move—get close enough to finish the job."
Lucas was quiet for a moment. "If you're right, we need to know who's paying her. Who benefits from Ashford Technologies failing?"
"Competitors. Rival companies. Anyone who wants to buy them out at rock-bottom prices." I thought about the business landscape of Silvercrest City. "The Castellano family has been trying to acquire tech companies for years. They've made offers to Damien before, and he's always refused."
"The Castellanos." Lucas pulled up information on his screen. "One of the eight founding families of Silvercrest City. Old money, extensive political connections, ruthless business practices. They've destroyed dozens of companies over the years through hostile takeovers."
"What if they're behind this? What if they paid Sienna to destroy Ashford Technologies so they could buy it for nothing?"
"That's corporate espionage. If we can prove it—"
"We destroy them." I felt that cold determination settling in my chest again. "We expose Sienna, we expose whoever's backing her, and we burn the whole thing down."
Lucas smiled slowly. "I love it when you get bloodthirsty."
"I learned from watching you hack into the Silvercrest City Police Department database when I was your intern."
"In my defense, they were covering up evidence in that hit-and-run case."
"I'm not judging. I'm just saying—you taught me that sometimes you have to break the rules to find the truth." I met his eyes. "So let's break some rules."