Chapter 4: Drop the guns. Now!

Alexander’s POV

The heavy door of my study clicked shut, echoing like a heartbeat in the silent corridor. I leaned my head back against the chair, closing my eyes. My mind was a storm of static and ghosts. 

Inside that room, I had spent the last four hours staring at both Isabella Grey file records, a spy who once worked for a syndicate and Aria Bennett file records, a top-tier architect from New York. The dates didn't make sense. The records for Aria Bennett started exactly six months after Isabella’s car went over that cliff. Six months of silence, and then a new woman suddenly appeared.

"How?" I whispered to the empty hallway.

How did she crawl out of that freezing water and turn into an Architect in New York? Architect? A career she doesn't know but yet she's so good at it. I was confused, caught between a desperate hope that she had returned and a terrifying fear that I was being played by a master of disguise. But the mole behind her ear... the tiny scar on her chin... those weren't things a surgeon could just recreate perfectly.

I needed the truth. And I was going to get it, even if I had to break her to find it.

I stood up, determined to go to the master suite and demand the truth. But as I opened my study door, I heard a soft sound.

Scuff!

The sound of bare feet on the cold marble floor.

I moved into the shadows of a large stone pillar, my hand going to my gun at my waist. I watched as a figure moved through the dark hallway. 

It was her. 

She wasn't wearing the silk nightgown I gave her. She was in her dark travel clothes, moving fast and quiet toward the stairs.

She was trying to escape. 

I waited until she reached the middle of the hall before I stepped out. "Going somewhere, Aria?"

She jumped, spinning around so fast she almost fell. She backed up until she hit a pillar, her blue eyes wide and full of anger.

"I'm leaving," she snapped. Her voice was shaking, but she looked ready to fight. "I'm finding Mila and the guys, and we’re getting out of here. You can't keep us here like prisoners, Mr Sterling."

I walked toward her slowly. I didn't feel angry. I felt a deep, burning need to keep her close. I trapped her against the pillar, leaning in until I could smell the rain and jasmine on her skin.

"The gates are locked, and my guards are everywhere," I said softly. I put my hand on the wall next to her head, pinning her in place. "Where did you think you were going, Isabel?"

"My name is Aria!" she yelled. "I have a life in New York! I’m not a ghost!"

"Then tell me why you know this house," I challenged. "You took the shortcut through the west wing. You’ve never been to Sydney before, right? So how did you know the way?"

She froze. Her eyes darted around, looking for a lie. "I... I just guessed."

"You didn't guess," I whispered,  leaning closer to her 

"That... that was nothing. You’re just gaslighting me." She said,

"Am I?" I reached out, my thumb grazing the line of her jaw, right where the small scar sat. "You look like her. You smell like her. You even fought like her when she was angry."

"I thought you said she was obedient," she reminded me, her voice trembling.

A flash of a smile touched my lips. "She was but not to people who get on her nerves"

I leaned closer to her again, my  forehead resting against hers. For a second, she didn't pull away. It felt like she was leaning into me.

"Let me go, Mr Sterling," She whispered but wasn’t still moving. Then I knew my Isabella was still there within her.

"I can't," I murmured against her skin. "I’ve spent five years in the dark, Isabel. Now that I’ve found the light, I’m never letting it go again."

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from the floor below, the sound of breaking glass and a woman’s scream.

CRASH!

The sound of my front doors being smashed open echoed through the mansion. Then, a woman screamed.

"Mila!" Aria cried out. She pushed me away with all her strength.

I didn't waste time. I pulled my gun out, my eyes turning cold. The husband was gone; the billionaire protector was back.

"Stay behind me," I ordered.

We ran to the balcony and looked down at the foyer. My beautiful marble entrance was covered in broken glass. Four men in black gear and masks were standing there. One of them was holding Mila on the floor with a gun to her head.

"Mr Alexander Sterling!" the leader shouted, looking up at us. "Give us the girl, and the architect lives."

I felt Aria go stiff behind me. I expected her to be crying, but when I looked back, she wasn't. Her eyes were dark and cold. She looked like she was studying them, counting their weapons. Indeed this was my Isabel.

"Who are they?" she whispered.

"People who are about to die," I growled.

But then the leader did something strange. He didn't look at me. He looked straight at Aria. "Come on, Aria. Our Boss is tired of waiting. It’s time to come home."

My heart felt like it stopped. Our Boss? 

I looked at the woman who I thought was an innocent woman but she wasn't scared. She looked dangerous.

My instincts were right, she's indeed Isabella but how did Isabella's boss know that she's Aria. No…. Something is fishing.

"Mr Sterling," she whispered again. "Who are these people? And how did they know me as Aria and not Isabella?"

I looked at her, searching for a lie, but she looked genuinely confused. "I don’t know yet, but they aren't leaving this house."

Downstairs, the leader, a man in a black mask, laughed. He pressed his gun harder against Mila’s head who was shivering in fear. "Don't play games, Mr Sterling! We know she’s Aria Bennett. And we know she belongs to us. Give her up, and the girl lives."

I didn't answer him. Instead, I raised my hand and gave a sharp signal to the shadows of the hallway.

Suddenly, fifteen of my best security men appeared from the wings of the mansion. They moved like ghosts, their laser sights painting red dots on the chests of the four intruders. My men were elite, battle-trained in the Australian outback. They didn't miss.

"Drop the guns," I roared, my voice echoing like thunder. "Now!"