Novel & Cerita Ariana Lu Leaks

“I forced the magazine to remove the online article within an hour of it going out. But this…I couldn’t stop. One by one, everyone started posting the news. It’s everywhere, man.” Isabela’s gift. That heartless woman leaked Arianna’s photos as she’d threatened. Fuck. She released the photos from her seventeenth birthday. Arianna had shown me a few samples when we stayed together. She called it her album of shame. She kept it because she wanted to remember why she should never touch alcohol again.

"Luca." The voice came from behind me. Soft, steady, unmistakable. I turned to find Aria standing at the edge of the ruins. She wore simple clothes, jeans and a sweater Elena must have given her. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She looked tired, her eyes red rimmed like she'd been crying. In her hand, she held the USB drive. My heart stopped. She'd had hours with that drive. Hours to study every file, every secret, every crime I'd ever committed. She could upload it to the FBI right now and watch my empire burn even faster than this mansion had.

Just that was sufficient to turn the tide. “What is it?” Lucien asked. The man was hesitant, and offered him a tablet. Lucien took it. Looked down. And everything in him went still. “Lucien?” Aria signed from across the room. He took his time to reply. He hadn't seen this coming, after all, for the first time. He slowly swivelled the screen towards her. And Aria saw it. A new leak. Not about her past. Not about financial records. About Lucien.

The words hung in the air like smoke. “They said if I didn’t follow instructions, if I didn’t keep you close, if I didn’t make sure you stayed exactly where they wanted you—” He swallowed hard. “They’d release everything.” Ariana’s mind spun. “Everything?” The monitors flickered again. And then— A new clip began to play. One none of them had seen before. Ariana. In a room. Alone. Crying. Talking to someone off-camera. Admitting something.

Ariana said, but her voice wavered, and her fingers twisted the napkin in her lap. "Actually, we can." Leon moved to Aria's side, his presence reassuring. "Bank records, shell company traces, digital forensics, security footage, and hotel records all show your activities in New York, not a mysterious emergency." Ariana's face went ashen, all the bravado draining away, leaving only raw terror. "Oh, and my personal favorite," Aria added, her voice deadly calm. "A complete audit of my trust fund showing systematic theft over seven years. Forty million dollars, Ariana. You stole forty million dollars from me."

Too silent. Drawn by a thirst for water and answers Ariana wrapped a robe over her nightdress and padded barefoot down the hall. As she neared the hallway to her father's study, she paused. Voices. Low. Tense. Male. "You promised this would stay buried, Westbrook." "And I said I’m handling it." "Clearly you’re not. If the Seraphim data leaks, we’re both done." She crept closer, pressing her back to the wall near the door.

Under all of it, fainter, stubborn, impossible: cedar after rain. I set the bowl down before my hand could shake. “There.” Caden watched me, eyes dark as river rock. “Hands.” I could lie about a place. I could lie about a footprint. I could not hide a mark glowing under my skin when wolfsbane had stripped all the covers id been trying to hide under. “Alpha.” Kade said quietly, stepping in. “This isn’t necessary.” “It is.” Caden said. His gaze didn’t leave me. His voice softened, dangerous in a different way. “Rhea. Show me your hands.”

"Lu, why are you doing this? Jennifer has been helping Mama⁠n coord⁠inate the legal defense for the board. S⁠he’s bee‌n l‍oyal! Unlike‌ some peo⁠ple who spend their time running into the arm‍s of s⁠ome Ethan dude." ⁠ "Serap‌hina, you don't know what you’re talking about,‍" Lucien said, hi⁠s voice tightening. "I k‌now what Jennifer told me!"‍ Seraphina insisted‌, h⁠er voice rising in a bratt⁠y,⁠ hi‍gh-pitched pitch. "⁠She t‌old me Aria was the one who leaked‌ the gar‌age codes to‍ ba⁠it Ethan! She said Aria⁠ is t‌ryi‍ng‌ to⁠ play both si‌des t‌o get a bigger settlement!"

I coldly said, "During Madam Madox's birthday banquet, Ariana gave Madam Madox a brooch that was a plagiarism of mine. I didn't expose her at the time. My office has surveillance. When she stole my design drawings, it was all recorded. This is the evidence." With that, I threw a USB drive in front of Daria and continued, "Either sign the papers, or I'll expose this video. Ariana is already in disrepute. If this video is exposed, she will be completely ruined. Livia is very displeased with Ariana now. If it weren't for her designer status, do you think Ariana could still marry Nelson? By the way, Ariana should be taking antiretroviral drugs now, right?"

But without makeup, she looked pure and innocent like the girl he had grew up with. After shaking his head for a moment, he said, "The post on the internet, you were right, it was Carla who leaked the news. I don't know why she would target you like this, but I hope you let this slide, I apologize to you on her behalf." Aurora did not comment or glance at Lucien. Lucien continued, "I can also make it up to you, you can say anything you want." Aurora raised her eyebrows slightly, "Really? Anything?”