All Chapters of Behind The Mask : Chapter 121 - Chapter 130

Sterling's POV Work returned to its usual rhythm, though my mind was anything but steady. Cassian’s case still lingered on my desk.I compensated the remaining victims through a third party, anonymously. They never knew the real man behind their torment, and I preferred it that way.Life moved on in fragments. Aria visited me sometimes. We’d share coffee, talk about trivial things, pretend our past wasn’t made of blood and ashes. I never touched her. Not because I didn’t want to, but because it felt wrong. She’d just lost her husband, and though their marriage was broken, it still didn't give me the right.One night, she decided to stay. I let her. She took her shower first, leaving traces of her perfume in the steam-filled bathroom. When I came out with a towel around my waist, I caught her reflection in the mirror, also in a towel, her hair damp, her skin glowing in the soft light. I looked away instantly.She crossed the room toward me, the sound of her bare feet against the floor

Zara's POV Confusion settled over me like a cool cloak, not because I didn’t understand what this place was, but because I could not fathom how I had somehow ended up here, into the belly of something my father had only dared scribble about in tremulous ink.We were led to the front of the hall. Conversation hushed into a ripple of polite applause as the members rose to greet Mr. Everhart and, with almost ceremonial ceremony, welcomed me, his daughter. Their voices were a chorus of practiced warmth; their eyes, when they rested on me, were sharp as cut glass.Mr. Everhart stood straighter than I’d ever seen him, the old coldness smoothing into something like pride. He took my hand as if introducing me to the world, a father presenting his heir. For a moment, his touch felt almost tender. Then the music shifted, an old, hollow melody that slid through the chamber like a memory best left buried. The guests began to move in a slow, precise choreography as if the steps had been learned

Zara's POV When the initiation ritual finally ended, a platinum card was placed in my palm, sleek, cold, and heavy with silent authority.“This,” Mr. Everhart had said, “is your key to everything. Whatever you want, doors, accounts, influence, show that card, and they’ll open.”For a moment, I simply stared at it. A part of me thrilled at the power now literally resting in my hand; another part whispered that I had just sealed a deal with something far darker than I understood.When the masked congregation began to disperse, they left slowly, each person having the privacy to drop their masks, tag their bags and leave, before the next person at the receptionist desk.The car was silent for a while after we left the estate. My curiosity finally won.“Those waiters,” I asked, glancing at Mr. Everhart. “Aren’t you afraid they’ll talk about what they saw here?”He scoffed. “You underestimate me. They can’t speak.”I turned to him. “Can’t... as in won’t?”“As in literally can’t,” he repli

Zara's POV When I left the office, I went straight to see Sterling. He massaged me slowly, his hands tracing away the knots of tension I didn’t know I’d been carrying.“If you ever found out I had a deep secret… a dark one,” I murmured into the pillow, “what would you do?”He paused briefly. “How dark?”“Very dark.”He resumed, his voice steady. “It all narrows down to what you did as an individual. If you killed someone, I wouldn’t be quick to judge. I’d need to know if it was self-defense… or if you attacked.”I smiled faintly against the pillow. “You’re too nice for this world.”Sterling chuckled softly. “Aria, this elite world is eat or be eaten. It’s darker than it appears. Everyone carries one or two secrets, some inherited, others collected along the way.”I sighed. “You’re right.”A brief silence stretched between us, filled only by the rhythm of his hands and the sound of my heart pounding against the truth.“So…” he asked quietly, “do you have something to tell me?”I chuck

Zara's POV The following week passed in its usual rhythm, work, training at Dominic’s place, late-night calls with Raina, and quiet evenings with Sterling. Everything almost felt normal.Tessa and Nico stopped by midweek to check on me. I smiled, welcoming their drama. By Friday, Mr. Everhart called. “We’ll be away for a week,” he reminded me.That evening I met Sterling. I told him I’d be busy for a while, some vague business trip with my father. He didn’t pry, but the way he looked at me made my chest ache. I hated lying to him.Saturday came. I dressed in a black suit and joined Mr. Everhart at the dock. The sky was clear, the water glittered like polished glass. He led me aboard a sleek yacht, the kind that screamed money and silence.It was nearly an hour before I realized we were heading for an island, isolated, green, and oddly quiet. The sight of it clawed at old memories of Vanderlyn, but this place felt colder.From the distance, the island seemed bare, untouched. No buildi