Chapter 9

_Aria's POV_

Lucien stepped closer and reached to tuck a stray hair behind my ear. His fingers brushed my cheek. They felt warm against my cold skin. My breath caught. He leaned in, close enough that I could feel the faint heat of his breath near my jaw.

“Think, Aria,” he murmured softly. “Use your head. Why would Ryan do what he did? Why would your parents meet suspicious people in the middle of the night? Why would someone say, ‘She does not suspect anything. We will do the job as you asked’?”

His voice wrapped around me like smoke. My heart tripped in my chest. Those words, we will do the job as you asked, felt like claws dragging over my skin. I tried to breathe tightly but my lungs felt too small.

“You don’t have proof. You only have a beaten man and his word.”

Lucien’s lips pulled into a soft and almost sad smile. “Not only his word,” he whispered.

He took his phone from his pocket. His hand brushed mine as he placed the phone in it. My fingers were trembling. I pressed play.

The screen showed a dark video. It was shaky and grainy. It was my backyard. I recognized the fence, the old tree and the shadows near the wall. Two figures stood with my parents. My parents were wearing coats with hoods up. I could barely see their faces.

The man filming hid behind something. The angle was low..... like he was crouched.

My mother’s voice spoke first. “Aria must never know the truth,” she said, her voice cold and sharp. “She must stay blind. For now, she does not suspect anything.”

My father nodded. “We are doing our job properly,” he said. “She believes we are just a normal family.”

My whole body went cold. My mouth worked, opening and closing, but no sound came out. It felt like the ground had vanished under my feet and I was falling. Falling forever.

Lucien’s eyes were on me the whole time. Watching every breath and every flinch. He took the phone back gently like he feared he might break me if he moved too fast.

I shook my head. “No,” I whispered. “No, this… this can’t be real.”

Lucien stepped forward. He lifted my chin with one careful finger. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I didn’t want you to see it like this.”

I pulled away. “Why were they talking to those people? Why were they wearing hoods? Why would they say something like that about me?”

He did not answer at first. He reached into his coat and pulled out a folded paper. He held it out to me.

“What is that?” I whispered.

“A bank statement,” he said. “Look.”

My fingers shook as I took it. The paper was cold from his pocket. My eyes traced the lines, slow at first....then faster.....then stopped.

There was a large amount of money which was transferred to my father’s account on the same date every year. The same amount....for years.

My throat tightened. “No,” I breathed. “This must be a mistake.”

“It is not a mistake,” Lucien said. His voice was firm but soft enough to feel like a blanket being placed over me. “They took money to raise you.”

I stared at the numbers again. They blurred. Tears burned behind my eyes.

Lucien’s voice lowered. "They never loved you or cared for you. It was just about money.” He stepped closer. “You were a job to them, Aria.”

A job.

The word cut me open.

My hands lowered slowly. The paper fluttered a little in the wind. I felt numb. My chest hurt like something sharp had been pushed inside.

“But why?” I whispered. “Why would anyone pay them for me? What would they gain?” My voice broke. “Why me?”

Lucien looked at me with something close to pity. “Because there is someone evil. Someone powerful.” His words were slow and heavy. “Someone who wants you, Aria.”

My skin prickled. “Wants me? For what?”

His jaw clenched. “To use you. To harm you. To take something from you.” His eyes fixed on mine. “You are special, even if you don’t know it yet.”

I shook my head again. “Special? I’m not special. I’m nothing.”

He stepped closer and placed a hand on my shoulder, grounding me. “You are not nothing,” he said firmly. “That person has been paying your parents to raise you quietly. To keep you hidden. To control you. So when the time comes, he will take you away.”

A cold wave rolled through my body. I wrapped my arms around myself.

Lucien continued, “Think about your life. Think about how your parents treated you. Think about the restrictions. Think about how Elena always had more freedom than you.”

My chest tightened. Elena always came home late. She stayed at her friends’ houses. She was allowed to attend parties. No one lectured her.

Me? I had to follow rules. I had to be home early. I had to tell them where I was going every single time.

I swallowed hard. “They said it was because they were strict,” I whispered. “They said it was for my safety.”

Lucien’s eyes darkened. “Yes. Your safety. So you would not run too far. So they could always keep an eye on you.” His words were soft but sharp. “So they could deliver you when the time came.”

My stomach rolled. I wanted to deny it. I wanted to scream that he was wrong.

But he wasn’t.

It made sense. A horrible and twisted kind of sense.

“And Ryan,” Lucien added quietly, “he is working with them.”

My breath stopped.

“He made himself your boyfriend so you would not look at other men,” Lucien said. “So they could control you better. But you caught him with Elena. That was not a part of the plan.” His voice dipped. “He loves her. Not you. But you were his job.”

I pressed my hand over my mouth. My breath came shaky and fast.

“How do you know all this?” I whispered. I could barely speak. It felt like something thick was pushing against my throat.

Lucien looked away for a moment. His jaw tightened. Then he looked at me again.

“I hired people,” he said. “Private detectives. Many of them. They are the best. I wanted to know why things around you felt wrong. I wanted to know who might harm you.” His eyes softened. “I sensed something was not right. I felt it from the first day I met you.”

“You did all this… for me?” My voice trembled.

“Yes,” he said simply. “Because I was worried about your safety. Because something about you felt… fragile and hidden.”

I shook my head. Tears rolled down my cheeks without permission. “But… I would have known. If my parents had a hidden agenda… I would have known.”

Lucien stepped forward. He touched my cheek with his thumb, wiping a tear away. “No, Aria,” he said softly. “They kept it well hidden. They hid everything. They hid their meetings. They hid their payments. They hid their fear.”

“Fear?” I whispered.

“Yes,” he said. “Fear of the one who wants you. Fear of losing the money. Fear of being caught.” His voice lowered even more. “They didn’t adopt you out of love, sweetheart. They adopted you because they were paid to.”

The words stabbed into me.

“Why would someone pay for me?” I whispered. It felt like begging. Like I was asking for breath.

Lucien’s eyes softened. His voice dropped. “Because you are special. There is something inside you that person wants. Something that gives him power.”

I hugged myself tightly. My knees felt weak. My mind spun. Everything inside me twisted.

“I don’t understand,” I whispered. “I don’t understand any of this.”

Lucien’s expression darkened. His voice dropped lower like he was telling me a secret that could break the world.

“They knew, Aria. Your parents knew you went out with me on Christmas night.”

My breath froze.

He stepped closer, his eyes burning with quiet anger. “That is why they worked with Ryan. That is why they wanted you scared today. That attack wasn’t random. It was punishment.”

“Punishment?” I whispered, my voice cracking.

“Yes.” His jaw tightened. “You stepped out of line. You did something they could not control. And this”, he gestured toward the bushes where the beaten man lay, “was their way to remind you who holds the strings.”

I felt the blood drain from my face. My stomach twisted in a painful knot. My breath came in quick short bursts.

“No… no, they wouldn’t…” I whispered. But even as I said it, doubt clawed at me.

Lucien stepped closer. His presence wrapped around me like a shadow. He placed both hands on my arms.

“Listen to me. You don’t have to understand everything right now. You just need to trust me.” His thumb rubbed my arm slowly. “I will protect you. I will keep you safe. No one will harm you again. Not Ryan. Not your parents. Not the man who wants you.”

I stared at him. His face was close....too close. But I didn’t step back.

His words wrapped around me like chains and comfort all at once.

I would be safe with him.

But he was not like me....he was a werewolf.

My heart felt torn. My mind felt lost. Doubt and fear tangled inside me until I couldn’t breathe.

“Lucien…” I whispered. “I don’t know what to think.”

“It’s okay,” he murmured. “You don’t have to think right now.” He pulled me gently into his chest. His coat brushed my cheek. His heartbeat was steady and strong. “Just let me protect you.”

His arms tightened around me. And even though I wanted to fight it, even though I wanted to scream that he was wrong, a part of me felt safe.

I closed my eyes.

Confusion churned inside me like a storm.

Nothing felt real anymore.

Nothing felt true.

And that was when I realized....

I no longer knew who to trust.

Not my parents.

Not Ryan.

Not myself.

Maybe not even Lucien.

My breath shook.

Lucien’s arms stayed around me.

He was holding me tight.

And for the first time in my life.…I had no idea what tomorrow would bring.