Chapter Thirteen:

Sebastian's POV

"Where did you get these?" My voice sounds like it belongs to someone else. It's too tight. Too quiet. I don't look up from the folder because if I do, I’m afraid the names on the paper will disappear. 

Adrian Reed.

Elena Sinclair.

My father’s signature is right there, sharp and aggressive, sitting next to a name I only learned a week ago. They aren't just together on a page. They are tied together in a transfer of assets that predates the accident that killed my parents.

"Someone sent me a message," Aurora says.

I finally look at her. She’s standing by the desk, her fingers digging into the wood so hard her knuckles are white. She looks like she’s vibrating, not with fear but with the kind of energy that comes right before a storm breaks. 

"The same person who told me to ask about my uncle?" I ask.

"I assume so." She takes a step back, putting the desk between us. "But that doesn't change what’s on those papers, Sebastian. Your father and my mother weren't strangers. And your uncle was right in the middle of whatever they were doing."

I look back at the documents. There’s a date at the bottom. Two weeks before the crash. A sealed account. A signature from Vincent Reed as a witness. 

My stomach turns. For fifteen years, I’ve looked at my uncle across boardrooms and dinner tables. I’ve trusted his advice. I’ve let him manage the legacy accounts that I was too young to understand when I took over. I thought he was the only piece of my father I had left.

"You knew," I say, the realization hitting me like a physical blow. "That’s why you were asking about the portfolio at the table. That’s why you looked at him like you wanted to tear him apart."

Aurora doesn't deny it. She just watches me with those dark eyes that seem to see everything I’m trying to hide. "I knew he flinched when he heard my name. I didn't know why until I opened this folder."

"And what else do you know?" I move toward her, my shadow stretching across the desk. "Why are you really here tonight, Aurora? And don't tell me it’s because of Damien Cross. You don't look at a man like that and then design clothes for his father’s anniversary. It doesn't fit."

"People change their minds, Sebastian."

"Not this much. Not this fast."

I’m close enough now to see the pulse jumping in her neck. She’s guarded. Every line of her body is screaming at me to stay away, but there’s a pull between us that has nothing to do with the papers on the desk. It’s the pull of two people who just realized they’ve been living in the same lie for a very long time.

Before she can answer, the door handle jiggles.

Aurora freezes. I don't. I grab the folder, slide it into the narrow gap between the desk and the side cabinet, and turn toward the door just as it swings open.

It’s Lucas. He stops, his eyes darting between Aurora and me. He’s smart enough to know he just walked into something he wasn't invited to, but he’s also professional enough to stay calm. "Sir," he says, his voice flat. "Your uncle is looking for you. The toast is over, and the investors are moving to the terrace. He seemed concerned."

"I'll be there in a minute, Lucas."

"He’s right behind me, sir."

I see the shift in Aurora’s expression. The mask slides back into place, the cold, polite designer who knows how to play her part. She smooths her dress and takes a breath that doesn't reach her eyes.

"I should go," she says. "Damien will be looking for me, too."

"We aren't finished," I say, loud enough only for her to hear.

She doesn't look at me. She just walks past Lucas and out into the hallway without a backward glance. 

I wait until she’s gone before I turn to the cabinet and retrieve the folder. I don't give it back to Lucas. I tuck it under my arm and walk out, my mind already mapping out a thousand different questions that all lead back to one man. I find Vincent on the terrace. He’s standing by the railing, a glass of scotch in his hand, looking out at the city like he built it himself. When he hears me approach, he doesn't turn. 

"You were gone a long time," he says.

"I found something interesting in the back offices."

That makes him turn. He looks at the folder under my arm, and for the briefest second, the skin around his eyes tightens. It’s the flinch the message told me to look for. It’s small, but now that I know it’s there, it’s all I can see.

"A folder?" He asks, his voice smooth. "From where? This venue is Cross's territory, Sebastian. You shouldn't be poking around."

"It’s funny you say that. Because I found my father’s name inside."

The silence that follows is heavy. Below us, the party is still going: the music, the fake laughter, the clinking of expensive crystal. But up here, the air feels thin.

Vincent sips his drink. "Your father had many business interests. Most of them are better left in the past." "Including Elena Sinclair?" My uncle stops the glass halfway to his mouth. He doesn't move. He doesn't blink. He just stares at me, and for the first time in my life, I don't see the man who raised me. I see a predator who has been waiting for me to make a mistake.

"I told you to stay away from that girl," he says, his voice dropping an octave.

"You told me the name Sinclair should have disappeared years ago. Why, Vincent? What did she do?" "She didn't do anything." He steps closer, his shadow falling over me. "It’s what she represented. And if you’re smart, you’ll drop this. For the sake of the company. For your own sake."

"Is that a threat?"

He smiles, and it’s the most terrifying thing I’ve seen all night. "It’s a reminder of who kept this empire together while you were still mourning a father who couldn't even keep a car on the road."

My blood boils. I open my mouth to snap back, but my phone buzzes in my pocket. 

One new message. Unknown number.

He’s lying about the crash, Sebastian. And Aurora is currently in a car with the man who helped him do it. If you want her to reach home alive, move.

I don't look at Vincent again. I turn and run toward the stairs, my heart hammering against my ribs; I don't care about the folder. I don't care about the board members watching me. I only care about the fact that I just let Aurora Sinclair walk back into a trap I didn't see coming.

Sebastian just learned that his uncle might have caused the "accident" that killed his parents. 

But even worse, Aurora is currently in a car with Damien, and the messenger just confirmed that Damien is working with Vincent. 

If Sebastian doesn't catch them, Aurora might not make it to her second day of being reborn.