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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE — THE SHADOW AT THE DOOR
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2026-02-27 04:36:59Aria's POV
The silence following my question was more than just an absence of sound, it was a physical weight. Lucien’s hand, usually an immovable anchor of strength, was trembling against my waist. The "Dark Lord" who had just dismantled a boardroom full of predators looked like he was staring at his own executioner.
"Lucien," I repeated, my voice dropping to a whisper as I searched his face. "Who is Vane? Why are you reacting like this?"
He didn't answer. He couldn't. He looked at Marcus, a silent command passing between them that I couldn't decipher. Without a word, Lucien hauled me toward the private elevator, his stride frantic and disjointed.
As the doors hissed shut, plunging us into the high-speed descent, Lucien finally turned to me. His eyes were no longer silver, they had darkened to something terrifyingly black.
"Vane is a ghost I thought I had buried, Aria," he rasped, his voice sounding like grinding stones. "I spent years and a king's ransom making the world believe he was gone. I cleaned up the mess he left behind so you would never have to look at him again."
"Gone?" A cold chill raced down my spine. I looked at the tablet again, staring at the man with the scarred eyebrow and the eyes like cold ash. I felt... nothing. No name came to mind. No sense of kinship. To me, he was a total stranger, a dangerous, clinical anomaly in a world of suits and ties.
And yet, my body was betraying me. My heart was hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs, and my skin prickled with a recognition my mind couldn't access. It was a soul-deep instinct, a warning bell ringing from a part of my brain that hadn't been erased.
"I don't know him," I whispered, looking up at Lucien. "I've never seen him before. So why does looking at him feel like a weight on my chest?"
Lucien’s jaw tightened so hard I thought it might shatter. He reached out, his thumb brushing my jawline with a desperate, possessive heat. "You feel it because he is a predator, Aria. He is the most intelligent, calculating threat we have ever faced. He knows things about the time before your accident, things he will use to poison the life we’ve built."
"If he's just a rival, why hide the fact that he’s alive?" I stepped back, my skepticism flaring. "You let me believe the world was safe. If you lied about him being dead, what else is a lie?"
Lucien didn't answer. The elevator doors opened into the underground garage, and he pulled me toward the armored SUV.
"Marcus," Lucien commanded as he shoved me into the back seat, his voice echoing in the concrete cavern. "Triple the security in the perimeter. I want the penthouse turned into a fortress. If Vane is back, he’s not here for the company. He’s here for a reckoning."
"Lucien, talk to me!" I shouted as he slid in beside me. "Why does he look at the camera like he’s looking at me? What is he to me?"
Lucien leaned over, pinning me against the leather seat, his face a mask of agony. "He is someone who never supported us, Aria. He didn't just dislike me, he wanted me erased from your life. He thinks he knows what’s best for you, but he would destroy your world just to prove he's right."
He was terrified. Not of the man's weapons, but of the man's words. He was terrified that this "Vane" would offer me a version of the past that didn't include Lucien, and he was ready to go to war to make sure I never heard a single syllable of it.
As the SUV roared out of the garage, I looked back at the shadows. I felt those cold, ash-colored eyes watching us. Vane wasn't just a ghost. He was the only person who seemed to know the truth about the woman I used to be, and Lucien was treating that truth like it was a death sentence.
The penthouse felt different within hours. It was no longer a home, it was like a high-tech prison. Lucien moved through the rooms with cold, frantic energy. He ordered the installation of biometric scanners and signal dampeners. The air felt heavy and static. He didn't speak to me. He just kept pacing around, eyes fixed on security feeds, waiting for a threat I didn't understand.
"Lucien, you’re suffocating me," I said. I stood in the living room while Marcus and the guards rounded the balcony for the fourth time. "You’ve turned this place into a bunker. If Vane is just a rival, why are we hiding like this?"
Lucien stopped but didn't turn around. His shoulders were stiff. "You don't know his reach, Aria. He doesn't use bullets. He uses information. Until I know how he broke our security, you don't leave this floor. Not for work, and not for anyone."
He left before I could argue. His silence was like a wall.
I went to the library, restless and suspicious. If Lucien wouldn't give me answers, I would find them. I began searching the shelves for anything hidden, files, ledgers, or notes. I wasn't looking for a specific name, I was looking for holes in the story Lucien had told me.
I pulled a heavy book from the top shelf. As I moved it, my finger hit a hidden latch in the wood. It clicked and a small panel at the back of the shelf swung open.
Inside was a weathered wooden box. My heart began to race as I opened the lid.
There were no papers inside. Instead, I found two matching silver compasses. One was new and the other was bent, its needle stuck pointing northwest. Beside them was a torn photograph with burnt edges.
The photo showed two children on a rocky beach. A young girl with a eyes that looked like mine stood next to a slightly older boy. His face was blurred by a camera flare. They were holding hands tightly, as if they were the only two people in the world.
There was no name or date on the back. But as I touched the boy’s silhouette, I felt a sharp, deep ache in my chest. It was a sense of loss that had nothing to do with Lucien.
I wasn't an only child. I felt that truth in my bones.
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