登入The door didn’t just open.
It burst.A violent force crashing into the quiet tension that had been building in the room, the sharp sound echoing against the walls like a gunshot.For a split second, everything froze. A slow smile creeped into Daniella’s face as she pretended to be shocked by the chaos.“Mr. Thompson! Over here!” “Sir, what is happening here?” “Who is the woman?” “Is this part of your business negotiations?”The room filled instantly with noDaniella couldn’t stop staring at the empty space inside the folder.The page was gone.A few seconds ago, it had contained three names that had changed everything she thought she understood about her father’s past. Now there was nothing except the faint indentation left behind by the paper that had been removed.Her father.Christian’s father.Her uncle.Three men connected to the same mysterious symbol.And someone had been inside the archive with them.Christian was still staring toward the locked doorway when Daniella finally spoke.“How did he get in?”Christian didn’t answer immediately. He moved toward the door and checked the electronic lock. The indicator remained green.“It’s still locked.”Daniella’s stomach tightened. “Then nobody left.”“That’s what I’m thinking.”She looked around the archive. Rows of shelves stood silently around them, packed with documents that had been untouched for years.“Christian.”He turned.“The voice.”“What about it?”“That was my uncle.”“I k
Christian watched Daniella carefully as she stepped out of the bathroom. Something about her expression had changed. The uncertainty that had been there moments ago had hardened into something more focused, almost determined, and he knew her well enough now to recognize when she had discovered something she wasn’t ready to share.“What happened?” he asked again.Daniella slipped her phone into her pocket. “I told you. I found something.”“Something that made you look like you’ve just seen a ghost?”She almost smiled, but the expression disappeared before it could fully form. “You’re exaggerating.”“Am I?”Christian stepped closer. Daniella could feel his attention following every movement she made, and for one dangerous second she considered telling him everything—the photograph, the anonymous messages, the symbol, her uncle, Crown Meridian, Victor Hale. But she still didn’t know who was sending the messages or what they wanted from her. She couldn’t drag Christian into something when
Daniella stared at the photograph until the numbers stamped across the bottom began to blur. Three days before her father died. Three days before the life she knew had been ripped apart forever. Her uncle had been there with him, standing outside a building Daniella had never seen before, while an unfamiliar man stood several feet behind them with his face hidden in shadow. She enlarged the image again, but the photograph had been taken from too far away. She could make out the man’s dark suit, broad shoulders and something metallic around his wrist, but nothing that could give her a name. Whoever had sent it had chosen the image carefully. They wanted her to know her uncle had been lying, but not enough to understand why.Daniella looked toward the bed. Christian was still asleep, one arm stretched across the space where she had been lying. For a moment, she considered waking him. She could tell him about the photograph, about Crown Meridian, about her uncle admitting that Christian
Daniella didn’t read the message again until she was several blocks away from her uncle’s house. Her hands tightened around the steering wheel as the words remained on the screen.Your uncle just lied to you again.She swallowed and looked at the second message.But this time, he lied to save your life.Whoever had sent it knew where she had been. They knew she had spoken to her uncle, and somehow they knew what he had said. That meant someone had been watching the house, watching her, or worse, watching both of them for longer than she realized.Her first instinct was to call Christian.Her thumb hovered over his name.Then she stopped.Her uncle’s warning returned to her.Don’t tell Christian about Crown Meridian.Daniella hated that she was even considering listening to him. Christian deserved the truth. After everything they had survived, keeping another secret from him felt almost cruel. Yet she couldn’t ignore what had happened inside that house. Her uncle had been genuinely afr
Daniella barely slept. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw her father’s handwriting and the name that had appeared in his financial records three days before his death: Crown Meridian Holdings. By morning, she had convinced herself there was only one person who could explain why that name had been connected to her father. Her uncle.She waited until Christian left for Harper Global before driving to her uncle’s house. She told Christian she had an appointment, and although he studied her face for a moment, he didn’t question her. Somehow, that made the lie feel worse. He trusted her completely, yet she continued hiding pieces of the truth from him.Her uncle opened the door before she knocked.His eyes immediately moved over her shoulder toward the street.“You came alone?”Daniella noticed the question. “Yes.”He stepped aside. “Come in.”The house looked exactly as she remembered it, but something about it felt different today. Colder. Daniella followed him into the sitting room
Daniella remained in Christian’s arms, but her mind was still trapped inside the study. The photograph of her father, the old calendar, the strange message on her laptop and the warning from the unknown number had all blended into one terrifying realization. Someone knew what she was looking for. Someone had been watching her closely enough to know when she accessed the files, and whoever that person was had gone out of their way to make sure she understood that they could reach her whenever they wanted.Christian pulled back slightly and studied her face. “You’re thinking about it again.”Daniella forced herself to look at him. “About what?”“My father. Your father. The photograph. Everything you’ve been digging into.”She glanced toward the desk. The photograph was still there, its edges slightly curled with age. “I found something tonight.”Christian followed her gaze. “What?”Daniella walked back to the desk and picked up the photograph. She placed it between them and pointed towa
“My secretary,” Christian said simply. “Starting now.” The words did not settle immediately. They hung in the air between them, heavy, unexpected, almost unreal. Daniella stared at him, her brows slowly knitting together as if her mind refused to process what she had just heard.
The door didn’t just open; it slammed against the wall with enough force to snap Daniella out of whatever storm she had just walked into.She flinched.Her body jerked slightly as her grip tightened around the file in her hand. “Jesus Christ!” she breathed out, her chest rising sharply. “
The mansion felt and smelt different that evening, of course it was the day everyone has been waiting for, the day contract would be signed, people would display everything their nonchalant teachers have been teaching them. It was D NIGHT. Even the staff moved differently, quieter, more care
“What?”The word left Daniella’s lips slowly, almost like she wasn’t sure she had heard him correctly. Her brows pulled together in confusion as she stared at him, searching his face for any sign that this was some kind of joke. But Christian wasn’t smiling. He wasn’t even slightly amused. Hi







