WHISPERS IN THE DARK

Aria returned to her office with the weight of Damon’s warning still lingering in the air. She tried to shake it off, tried to drown herself in work, but his voice replayed in her mind like a shadow she couldn’t escape.

Be careful, Aria.

Why would a billionaire—a man known for being cold and emotionless—warn her?

Why choose her for such a sensitive case?

Why care?

She pushed those questions away. Feelings didn’t matter. Only facts did.

The moment she opened the confidential file, her breath caught.

The anonymous complaint wasn’t vague.

It was precise.

Detailed.

Painfully accurate.

Whoever wrote it knew things only someone deep inside Reed Corporation could know.

Financial inconsistencies dating back two years.

Misplaced assets.

Unauthorized transfers.

Shadow accounts.

Aria leaned back, frowning. “Someone inside Damon’s empire is trying to bring it down…”

And they weren’t hiding it anymore.

Hours later, her eyes burned from staring at spreadsheets and coded financial jargon. She rubbed her temples, leaning back in her chair.

A knock broke her concentration.

“Come in.”

It was Leo Hart, a senior associate and one of the few people who didn’t treat her like an intruder.

“You look like you’ve been fighting numbers for hours,” he said with a gentle smile.

“I have,” Aria admitted. “And the numbers are winning.”

Leo chuckled and walked closer. “I heard you were assigned to the Reed audit. You know, some associates would kill for that.”

Aria stared at the file on her desk. “I’m not sure whether to be honored or terrified.”

Leo hesitated before lowering his voice.

“Just…be careful, Aria. Damon Reed doesn’t give people second chances.”

Something in his tone made her look up sharply.

“Do you know something?”

Leo swallowed, glancing at the slightly-open door. “Only rumors. Whispers. Nobody says them out loud.”

Aria’s pulse quickened. “Tell me.”

He stepped closer. “Someone tried to expose a financial irregularity two years ago. The associate went missing from the firm a week later.”

Aria blinked. “Missing? As in…?”

“Gone. No explanation. No resignation. Just disappeared.”

A chill slid down Aria’s spine.

“But it’s probably nothing,” Leo added quickly, seeing her expression. “I’m sure your case is different.”

Before she could respond, her door opened again.

This time, no one knocked.

Damon Reed walked in like he owned the building—which, in a way, he did.

Leo straightened immediately. “Mr. Reed.”

Damon didn’t even look at him. His eyes were locked onto Aria, dark and unreadable.

“Miss Donovan,” he said, “a word.”

Leo quickly excused himself, almost stumbling out. Damon closed the door behind him with a soft click that sounded too controlled…too intentional.

“You’ve started reviewing the file,” he stated, not asked.

“Yes,” Aria replied. “And I have questions.”

“Good,” he said. “But first—I have one for you.”

He stepped closer, his voice dropping to that dangerous softness again.

“Has anyone approached you about the case?”

Aria blinked. “No.”

Damon’s eyes studied her face closely, searching for any sign of a lie. He wasn’t just asking—he was warning.

“Good,” he said finally. “Trust no one.”

His words were low…intimate…almost protective.

“Why?” Aria asked, her heart beating faster. “Why is this case so dangerous? What aren’t you telling me?”

Something flickered in Damon’s eyes—pain? Regret?

Gone in a second.

“There are people,” he said slowly, “who would destroy everything I’ve built. People closer than you think.”

“Someone inside your company?”

“Maybe.” His jaw tightened. “Maybe not.”

Her frustration bubbled. “You want me to investigate something you’re not being fully honest about. How do you expect me to—”

Suddenly, Damon moved, slamming a file onto her desk. Aria jumped.

“I expect you to do your job,” he said sharply. “No matter how difficult it becomes.”

The air crackled between them.

Heat. Fury.

Something else she didn’t want to name.

Aria narrowed her eyes. “I’m not afraid of the truth, Mr. Reed. Even if you are.”

His gaze darkened, and for a moment she thought he would snap back. Instead, he stepped just a little closer. Too close.

“You think you know me?” he murmured. “You don’t. Not even a little.”

Her breath caught. He was close enough that she could smell him—clean, dark, intoxicating. Close enough that she felt the warmth of him seep into her skin.

“I know you’re hiding something,” she said, refusing to step back.

Damon’s voice lowered to a whisper.

“And I know you’re too smart to get caught in something you don’t understand.”

A moment of silence.

Heavy. Charged.

Palpable.

Then, unexpectedly, his gaze softened.

“You need to be careful, Aria.”

She stilled. There it was again—the softness beneath the steel.

“Why?” she asked quietly. “Why warn me?”

His jaw flexed. “Because you don’t know what danger looks like yet.”

“And you do?” she whispered.

His eyes held her prisoner.

“Intimately.”

Before she could respond, he stepped back—putting distance between them as if he suddenly realized how close he’d gotten.

“I’ll expect your report tomorrow,” he said, voice cold again. Controlled.

Then he walked out, leaving her alone with her pounding heartbeat and a new realization:

Damon Reed wasn’t just a billionaire.

He was a man at war.

And somehow…

she had just been pulled into the center of it.