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Chapter Fifty-Two

Author: Queen
last update Last Updated: 2026-01-04 17:29:18

~SIENNA'S POV~

Dinner ended quietly, the kind of quiet that felt warm instead of awkward.

I sat at the small wooden table with Mr. and Mrs. Wood, my hands wrapped around the last cup of warm tea Mrs. Wood insisted I take. The food had been simple but filling. Rice, stew, and a small portion of fish. It tasted like care. Like home in a way I had almost forgotten how to recognize.

“You should eat more,” Mrs. Wood said gently, watching me with soft eyes. “You need strength.”

“I am full,” I replied, smiling. “Thank you. For everything.”

Mr. Wood leaned back slightly on his chair, studying me the way a father would, careful not to ask too many questions. “You can stay here as long as you need,” he said. “No one will trouble you.”

Those words settled deep in my chest. Safe. That was the word my heart kept repeating.

After clearing the table together, Mrs. Wood headed to the kitchen to rinse the plates. Mr. Wood remained seated, his elbows resting on the table.

“You wanted to call your frien
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  • THE FALL OF ARIA DONOVAN   Chapter Sixty-Two

    ~AT HARBORLINE~Employee 1 : “Did you hear what happened between Vanessa and the manager this morning?”Employee 2 replied : “Everyone heard. She stormed into his office like she owned the place.”Employee 3 added: “Her heels were loud enough to announce trouble. I knew something was wrong.”Employee 4 said quietly, “It was about Amelia, right?”Employee 1 answered, “Of course it was. Vanessa could not stand that Amelia was not at work today.”Employee 2 scoffed, “She actually said Amelia thinks she can come to work whenever she wants.”Employee 3 frowned, “That sounded personal. Very personal.”Employee 4 asked, “So what did the manager say to her?”Employee 2 replied, “He was calm. Too calm. He told her he gave Aria the day off.”Employee 1 laughed softly, “The look on Vanessa’s face must have been priceless.”Employee 3 nodded, “She did not expect that at all. She thought he would back her up.”Employee 4 whispered, “After everything that happened last night at the event, she proba

  • THE FALL OF ARIA DONOVAN   Chapter Sixty-One

    “You sounded urgent on the phone,” Caleb Ryder said as he stepped into Ethan Cole’s office. His voice was calm, measured, the kind that never rose no matter the situation. “That is not your usual tone.”Ethan rose from his chair and extended a hand. “Thank you for coming on such short notice, Caleb.”Caleb shook his hand briefly and looked around the office. “You have not changed anything in here. Same view. Same order. You like control.”“It keeps the mind clear,” Ethan replied, motioning toward the chair opposite his desk. “Please sit.”Caleb took the seat slowly. “Now tell me why a man who runs one of the most respected corporations suddenly sounds like he is running out of time.”Ethan sat down, clasping his hands together. “Donovan Corporation is standing at a crucial phase.”Caleb tilted his head slightly. “Every CEO says that when cash flow tightens.”“This is not about survival,” Ethan said firmly. “It is about expansion.”Caleb crossed his legs. “Your last financial statement

  • THE FALL OF ARIA DONOVAN   Chapter Sixty

    ~ARIA'S POV~I slipped off my shoes and stood still in the dim room, my heart still racing from everything that had happened. The first thing I did was reach for my phone.No missed calls.I refreshed the screen, my thumb hovering, hoping Sienna’s name would suddenly appear as if I had imagined her absence. Nothing. My chest tightened slightly, but I forced myself to breathe.“She said she would call,” I whispered to myself. “She will.”I placed the phone on the table and sank onto the edge of the bed. The room was modest, nothing like the apartment I once lived in, but it was safe. That was why I chose this life. Quiet. Ordinary. Invisible. I bent down and reached under the bed, my fingers brushing against a familiar cardboard box.I pulled it out slowly.The box looked older than it really was, coated in thick dust, as if it had been waiting patiently for me to remember who I was. When I opened it, the dust rose into the air, making me cough.“Oh come on,” I muttered, waving my hand

  • THE FALL OF ARIA DONOVAN   Chapter Fifty-Nine

    “Miles?” Clara’s voice cut through the low hum of the classroom, sharp and deliberate. She tapped her pen against her notebook. “Miles, are you even listening to me?”Miles did not respond. His eyes stayed fixed on the empty seat beside him, where Anna usually sat. A subtle tension curled around his jaw as his mind wandered. Was she home safely last night? Was she hurt? The memory of her stumbling slightly while jogging last weekend replayed vividly in his thoughts. He could not shake the feeling that something about her safety now depended on him.Clara leaned closer, her voice dropping just enough to sound conspiratorial. “Miles, you know you are thinking about her again, right? Do you ever think about anything else?”Miles’s gaze flicked briefly toward her, but his face remained neutral, unreadable, almost cold. No smile, no glance, nothing.Clara huffed, crossing her arms. Deep down, she knew what he was trying to do get too close to Anna, too protective, too involved. And that th

  • THE FALL OF ARIA DONOVAN   Chapter Fifty-Eight

    ~ARIA'S POV~“Are you sure you don’t mind if I give you a ride home?” Luca asked as he held the car door open for me. His voice was calm but carried that subtle curiosity that always made me wary.“I don’t mind,” I said, sliding into the passenger seat. The city lights reflected softly on the dashboard. “It’s safer than walking, especially after today.”Luca started the engine and glanced at me. “Do you know Michael, your father’s former orderly? I saw him at the hospital earlier.”“Yes,” I said, keeping my eyes on the road ahead. “Michael has been with the Donovan family for years. He stayed even when my father passed. He’s more than just an orderly ,he’s loyal, dependable.”Luca nodded, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Not surprised. People like him are rare.” His eyes flicked to the rearview mirror, then back on the road.After a few minutes of quiet driving, Luca slowed down near a small, brightly lit restaurant. “Hungry?” he asked.“Yes,” I admitted. “It’s been a

  • THE FALL OF ARIA DONOVAN   Chapter Fifty-Seven

    “Finally,” the voice on the other end said, urgent and impatient. “I want my share, Ethan. I want it now.”Ethan’s jaw tightened. He spoke low, controlled, every word deliberate. “You have my attention. How much exactly are we talking about?”“Thirty thousand dollars. And I mean thirty thousand right now,” the voice snapped. “Don’t test me, Ethan. You know what happens if you step out of line.”Ethan ran a hand over his face, exhaling slowly. The weight of this call pressed down on him, sharper than any deal he had ever negotiated. He didn’t like this. Not one bit. This was the same person who had warned him, the same person who had been quiet until now, watching him grow more successful than expected. Trust was thin. Danger was close.“All right,” Ethan said finally, his tone low, precise, almost cold. “I’ll need your account number.” He jotted it down quickly, his sharp eyes scanning the numbers as he typed them into his secure banking app. The tension in his shoulders eased fractio

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