MasukThe nights had been long. The days even longer.
Helena and Leonard stayed close, guiding Aria as she found her rhythm as a mother. Marcus remained a quiet presence, attentive, watchful, always within reach.
Caelum grew, day by day. From fragile newborn hours to unsteady first steps, and then to a boy who laughed and ran through the halls of their Ravensford home, as if the
Inside the private elevator, silence pressed in from all sides. Not calm, but tense, each of them holding back words they weren’t ready to say.Richard stood at the back, arms folded, his attention fixed on Aria.Finally, he spoke.“Why are you here?” His voice was sharp, controlled. After a beat, it turned colder. “Did you come with him?”The question wasn’t simple curiosity. It carried clear judgment.Richard’s meaning was obvious. Adrian and Alessia’s marriage had barely ended, yet Adrian was already standing beside Aria, as if one chapter had closed only for another to begin immediately.Richard didn’t bother softening his tone.“So this is where we are now,” he added quietly. “Things move on quickly.”Aria didn’t look away.“Ever wondered,” she said evenly, “that all of this started because of you... not me?”The air inside the elevator tightened.Richard’s jaw clenched, but he said nothing. Not because he agreed, but because cameras watched from above. Even here, nothing was tru
Earlier that afternoon, the Grand Arcadia Hotel moved with its usual quiet elegance.Nolan Volkov had just finished a private meeting in one of the executive suites, long, precise, and draining in the way his work always was, profitable, calculated, strictly business.He was already heading back to his penthouse, eyes on his phone, when someone suddenly collided with him in the corridor.His phone slipped from his hand and hit the floor.Nolan stopped. Silence fell for a brief moment.He didn’t look up right away. Irritation had already set in, his expression darkening. The air around him seemed to shift, colder, sharper. Anyone who knew Nolan Volkov knew better than to touch him, interrupt him, or waste his time.
Back inside the interrogation room, the air had gone quiet.The conversation had stopped going anywhere minutes ago. Across from Aria, Solen remained composed, calm, unreadable, distant.She looked exhausted, but not defeated or emotional. Just worn in a way that felt older than the room itself, as if what she was protecting mattered more than anything waiting outside.Aria watched her in silence, her frustration sharpening. This was no longer about forcing answers from Solen, but understanding why she refused to speak.Solen slowly lifted her gaze to the dark glass wall, the mirrored panel. Her voice was flat, detached. “I’m done talking to her.”A brief pause followed.“Take me back.”Aria leaned forward slightly. “You really won’t tell me?”That finally made Solen look at her, but only for a second.No answer.At that moment, the door opened. A detention officer stepped inside, followed by another guard.Aria kept her eyes on Solen. “You’re afraid of someone.”A tiny shift crossed
Miles away from the detention facility, a white sedan cut through traffic before slowing into a quieter side street.Inside, the driver checked the rearview mirror twice before easing his grip on the wheel. The tension in the car was immediate now, they had been seen.Aria’s security team caught them earlier than expected. The moment the convoy began changing routes, taking turns that made no sense for a direct destination, the driver understood what it meant. They were being tested. And they had failed.The passenger muttered a curse under his breath.Their instructions had been simple: follow Aria, identify where she was heading, and report back. Nothing more.But nothing about this situation was simple anymore.After the dinner at the Wolfe estate, Solen had vanished completely. No calls. No movement. No trace through her office, her home, or her known contacts. It was as if she had been removed from the system entirely.That kind of disappearance did not happen without intent.Whi
Aria was led through two secured doors before reaching the interrogation wing. The hallway was quiet, not empty, but carefully contained. Every sound felt muted, as if even the building avoided anything unnecessary.White walls stretched in clean lines. Reinforced doors broke the rhythm at fixed intervals. Cameras sat in every corner, steady and unblinking.Adrian and Cedric stopped at the final entry.“This part is yours,” Adrian said.Aria glanced at him once, asked nothing, and gave a small nod before stepping forward.A guard opened the last door.Inside was a cold, bare room. A steel table stood at the center with two chairs placed opposite each other. Above them, a single camera pointed down like an eye that never blinked.Beyond the glass wall, the observation room stayed dark from her side. She could not see the people watching, but she knew they were there. Every movement she made was being recorded, studied, measured.She did not know who was behind the glass. Only that they
Aria arrived home late the night before. By the time she stepped inside, the house was already quiet and Caelum was asleep.She stood outside his room for a moment without going in. The hallway light spilled gently across the bed, showing his small frame rising and falling with steady breaths. He looked peaceful, untouched by the weight of everything happening beyond those walls.She didn’t wake him. A part of her wanted to, but she didn’t.She had missed dinner with him again. It wasn’t the first time, yet it still stayed with her as she walked away.The next morning, she decided to make it up to him. Before the noon meeting with Solen, she would spend time with her son.She woke early and went to his room. Caelum was still asleep.Morning light softened the room as Aria stepped inside and sat carefully on the edge of his bed. For a while, she just watched him.There was something steady about Caelum that grounded her. In the middle of her life filled with pressure and constant decis







