CHAPTER 33: The Night Of The Fire

The SUV cut violently through rain-slick streets while thunder shook the city overhead.

Nobody spoke for several seconds after Ethan’s confession.

The fire wasn’t an accident.

The sentence sat heavily inside the vehicle, darker than the storm surrounding them.

Aria stared at him from the backseat.

“What do you mean it wasn’t an accident?”

Ethan’s hands remained steady on the steering wheel despite the speed they were moving at. Headlights streaked across his face in sharp flashes of white and gold.

Daniel checked the vehicles behind them again.

“They’re still following.”

“Lose them first,” Ethan said coldly.

Aria’s pulse hammered harder.

“No.” Her voice sharpened. “No more waiting. Tell me now.”

Ethan exhaled slowly through his nose.

“The night Blackwater House burned, Isabella contacted me.”

Aria froze.

“She asked you to meet her there.”

“Yes.”

The rain intensified, blurring the city beyond the windows into rivers of light.

“She sounded terrified,” Ethan continued quietly. “Not emotional. Not panicked. Focused.” His jaw tightened slightly. “She said she found something Victor would kill to protect.”

A chill moved down Aria’s spine.

“The documents.”

“Yes.”

Daniel swore softly from the front seat.

Aria frowned sharply. “You knew about the documents back then?”

“Not exactly.”

“Then what did you know?”

Ethan’s grip tightened around the wheel.

“I knew Isabella had been searching for someone.”

Silence.

“For me,” Aria whispered.

Ethan didn’t answer directly.

But she already knew.

The SUV swerved sharply around another corner.

One of the pursuing vehicles nearly lost control behind them before correcting itself.

Daniel looked back again.

“They’re getting closer.”

Ethan accelerated harder.

Aria barely noticed.

Her attention remained locked on him.

“What happened when you got there?”

For a second, Ethan looked older somehow.

Not physically.

Emotionally.

Like the memory itself carried weight he never fully escaped.

“The house was already burning.”

Aria felt her stomach tighten painfully.

“She called me from inside.”

Thunder cracked overhead.

“She told me Victor knew she’d been hiding things.”

“What things?”

Ethan’s eyes darkened.

“You.”

The answer hit harder than expected.

Aria looked away toward the rain-streaked window.

“She found me before she disappeared.”

“Yes.”

A strange ache spread slowly through her chest again.

Isabella searching for her.

Protecting her.

Risking herself for someone she barely even knew.

The thought hurt in places Aria couldn’t explain yet.

“She told me there were records hidden inside Blackwater House,” Ethan continued. “Proof about the accident. About the missing child.”

“Why didn’t she leave with them?”

Silence.

Then:

“She tried.”

Aria’s chest tightened.

“She never made it out?”

Ethan’s expression hardened sharply.

“No.”

The certainty in his voice caught her attention immediately.

“You don’t think she died in the fire.”

“No.”

Before Aria could respond, Daniel suddenly leaned forward.

“Hang on.”

The SUV lurched sharply sideways as Ethan swerved onto a narrow industrial road near the waterfront.

Another vehicle appeared ahead.

Blocking part of the route.

Aria’s pulse jumped violently.

“Oh my God.”

Daniel reached for his weapon again.

“They boxed us in.”

Ethan’s face went cold with calculation.

“No,” he said quietly. “They’re herding us.”

That terrified Aria more.

Because it sounded intentional.

Planned.

Lightning flashed overhead, illuminating the empty docks surrounding them.

Rain pounded against the windshield hard enough to distort visibility completely.

Then suddenly, one of the vehicles behind them accelerated.

Fast.

Too fast.

“Ethan!”

He reacted instantly.

The SUV swerved violently seconds before the pursuing vehicle slammed into the rear corner hard enough to send them skidding sideways across wet pavement.

Aria cried out as the world tilted.

Metal screamed.

Daniel braced against the dashboard while Ethan fought the wheel hard enough for his knuckles to whiten.

The SUV corrected just before crashing into the guardrail overlooking the dark water below.

Everything went silent afterward except rain.

Heavy breathing filled the vehicle.

Aria’s hands trembled uncontrollably now.

“Oh my God…”

Headlights appeared again behind them.

Approaching slowly this time.

Deliberately.

Ethan stared through the rearview mirror.

Then quietly said:

“Stay inside the vehicle.”

Daniel immediately objected. “Absolutely not.”

“If they want her alive, the safest place right now is with me outside.”

Aria grabbed Ethan’s arm before he could move.

“No.”

His eyes met hers.

And for one terrifying second, she saw genuine fear there.

Not for himself.

For her.

“It’ll be okay.”

“That’s a terrible lie.”

Something almost like a smile flickered across his face despite the situation.

Then headlights flooded the SUV completely.

Three black vehicles now surrounded them beneath the storm.

Doors opened slowly.

Figures stepped out into the rain.

Armed.

Organized.

Waiting.

Aria’s breathing turned uneven again.

Victor’s people.

It had to be.

Then one final car approached through the rain behind them.

Long black sedan.

Elegant.

Calm.

The vehicle stopped several feet away.

And from the backseat, Victor Hale stepped into the storm.

Everything about him looked composed.

Even now.

Rain slid down his dark coat while thunder rolled overhead, but Victor carried himself like a man entirely in control of the night around him.

Aria felt cold all over.

Ethan exited the SUV first.

Daniel followed immediately after.

Victor’s gaze moved past both of them.

Directly to Aria inside the vehicle.

Then softly, almost warmly, he said:

“Aurora.”

The name hit her like ice.

Aria stared at him through the rain-streaked glass.

Victor stepped closer slowly.

Not threatening.

Worse.

Certain.

“You’ve grown into your mother’s eyes,” he said quietly.

Something deep inside Aria recoiled instantly.

Not because of his words.

Because of the way he said them.

Possessive.

Like he already believed she belonged to him.

Ethan moved slightly between them.

Victor’s expression cooled immediately.

“You’ve interfered long enough.”

Ethan’s voice remained flat. “You set the fire.”

The storm seemed to pause around the accusation.

Victor tilted his head slightly.

“You still believe Isabella died there.”

That wasn’t a denial.

Daniel noticed too.

“So she survived.”

Victor’s gaze shifted briefly toward him.

Then back toward Ethan.

“She made a choice.”

The answer chilled Aria instantly.

Ethan’s expression darkened dangerously.

“You destroyed that house trying to stop her.”

Victor stepped closer through the rain.

“No,” he said quietly. “I destroyed it because some truths poison everything they touch.”

Aria’s pulse quickened sharply.

The same philosophy again.

Secrets disguised as protection.

Victor finally looked directly toward her once more.

“You deserve to know what really happened to your mother.”

The sentence shattered the tension instantly.

Aria pushed the SUV door open before anyone could stop her.

Rain drenched her immediately.

“What are you talking about?”

Victor watched her carefully.

Not like a stranger.

Like someone studying a ghost returned from the dead.

“Your mother didn’t die in that accident,” he said softly.

The world stopped.