LOGIN4:00 PM. The Penthouse.Aria returned to the penthouse as the afternoon sun began its slow descent, pouring molten gold through the glass walls and stretching shadows across marble floors.She changed in the car.The woman who had sat across from Lucas Walter spine straight, eyes sharp, voice cool enough to cut glass never crossed the threshold with her. That version stayed behind like a discarded blade.Mrs. Cross stepped out instead.Her hair was slightly undone, as if she had run her fingers through it too many times. A soft cashmere cardigan clung to her shoulders, muting her silhouette, rounding her edges. Her posture sagged just enough to sell exhaustion. Vulnerability, carefully measured.Damian’s voice carried from the study, clipped and commanding as he issued instructions to a legal team somewhere in London.Aria didn’t go to him.She went to the kitchen.She poured herself a glass of water. Her hand trembled not from fear, but from the residual hum of control. Of a game pla
2:00 PM. Walter Corp Headquarters.The city was still buzzing.Every digital billboard in New York screamed updates about the Cross–Carter Saga. Talking heads dissected Damian’s press conference frame by frame. Bloggers argued over whether Aria was a victim, a gold digger, or a criminal mastermind. Paparazzi swarmed Cross Empire like vultures circling something not quite dead yet.But Aria wasn’t there.She slipped out of the penthouse through a service exit, sunglasses oversized, scarf pulled low. Not hiding.Choosing.Walter Corp rose like a blade of glass against the skyline—quiet, controlled, untouched by scandal. This was Lucas’s kingdom. Smaller than Damian’s, but sharper. Meaner.The receptionist froze when she saw her.“Mrs… Mrs. Cross?”Aria didn’t slow. “Is he in?”“Yes—yes, ma’am.”She was already walking.Lucas Walter was standing by the window when she entered, hands in his pockets, city sprawled beneath him. He turned slowly, deliberately.He didn’t look surprised.He lo
11:00 AM. The Penthouse Master Bedroom.The curtains were drawn, casting the room in a soft, melancholic twilight. Aria sat propped up against the pillows of the massive bed, her knees drawn to her chest, her tablet resting on the duvet.She wasn’t reading the news anymore. She was looking at photos. Old photos of her and Sophia. Photos of them at brunch, at university, at fittings. Years of friendship, secrets, and laughter, all reduced to a calculated betrayal for no reason.The door clicked open.Aria didn’t look up as Damian walked in. He had shed his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt, looking less like a CEO and more like a man who had just fought a physical brawl.He sat down on the edge of the bed, the mattress dipping under his weight.“How are you feeling?” he asked softly, his eyes scanning her face. “I hope you’re not overthinking the comments. Max has already scrubbed the worst of them.”Aria finally looked at him. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her expre
10:00 AM. Carter Group Headquarters.Vivienne sat in her office, her posture rigid, her eyes burning from lack of sleep. She was wearing her sharpest suit a charcoal blazer that usually made her feel invincible but today, it felt like a costume.On the desk in front of her lay her tablet.She refreshed the page. And again. And again.Simon had promised. “I’ll have the blogs scrubbed by morning. I’ll release a distraction story.”She scrolled down the homepage of The City Insider.The stories about the contract were still there. All of them. The comments were still rolling in by the thousands. The only thing that had changed was the tone, shifting from outrage to fascination—and that wasn’t because of Simon Levi.That was because of Damian Cross.Damian’s press conference was the headline. “I DID IT FOR POWER: CROSS TAKES RESPONSIBILITY.”Vivienne’s stomach churned. Simon hadn’t scrubbed anything. He hadn’t pulled strings. He hadn’t saved them. The "distraction story" about a banking m
9:15 AM. Selene’s Guest Room.Sophia paced the small, elegantly decorated guest room, her phone burning a hole in her hand. Through the thin walls, she could hear Selene in the living room, calmly making a call to her broker, already pivoting, already moving on to the next long-term strategy.“We wait,” Selene had said.Sophia stopped pacing and glared at her reflection in the mirror. Wait? Wait for what?Damian’s speech was playing on a loop in her head. The way he had stood there, so arrogant, so protective. He had turned Aria boring, chubby, desperate Aria into a tragic heroine. And the internet was eating it up. The comments on the blogs were shifting already.“He’s protecting her. That’s actually kinda hot.”“Maybe she didn’t want the money. Maybe she was just a pawn.”“Leave the poor girl alone.”Sophia grit her teeth. It wasn’t fair. They were supposed to be destroyed. Aria was supposed to be humiliated, not pitied.“He’s lying,” Sophia whispered to the empty room. “She wasn’t
6:00 AM. The Penthouse.The sun was just beginning to bleed over the horizon, painting the NY lagoon in shades of bruised purple and grey. Inside the penthouse, the air was cold, conditioned to a sterile chill.Damian Cross stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror, adjusting his tie. He didn’t look tired, despite not having slept. He looked like a blade—sharpened, polished, and ready to draw blood.Max stood behind him, a tablet in hand, his face grim.“The statement is ready, boss,” Max said. “But are you sure about this angle? The board won’t like it. The public will call you a tyrant.”Damian turned, his expression unreadable. “I don’t care what they call me, Max. As long as they stop calling her a fraud.”He walked over to the kitchen island where a single cup of black coffee sat untouched.“If we deny the contract, they dig deeper,” Damian said, his voice devoid of emotion. “If we admit the Carters were desperate, they destroy Aria’s family. There is only one narrative that




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