Chapter 24
Aria POV
“Am I?” I leaned my head against the window. “Because it doesn’t feel like it p>
“You stood up to your parents. You’re protecting your son. You’re running a successful company.” She glanced at me. “Sounds like handling it to me p>
“I don’t feel successful.” The words came out before I could stop them. “I feel tired p>
“Then rest.” She said it like it was simple.
“I can’t.” I closed my eyes. “If I rest, I’ll fall apart. And I can’t fall apart. Not now. Not with Damien circling and my parents making threats and Vivian doing God knows what p>
“Vivian?” Olivia’s voice sharpened. “What’s Vivian doing p>
“I don’t know.” I opened my eyes. “But she’s been too quiet. That’s never good p>
“Maybe she’s moved on.” Olivia didn’t sound convinced.
“Vivian doesn’t move on.” I turned to look at her. “She wins. Or she destroys it. There’s no in-between p>
The leather seat creaked under me as I shifted, my neck aching from staying in an uncomfortable position. I rolled my shoulders, feeling the tension sitting there like a weight.
“So what do you think she’s planning?” She merged onto the highway.
The car hummed as we picked up speed, other vehicles blurring past the window. I watched them without really seeing, my mind somewhere else, trying to figure out what my sister’s next move would be.
“I don’t know.” I pulled out my phone again and scrolled through my emails. “But I’m going to find out p>
The screen was too bright—I squinted at it and adjusted the brightness down while my inbox loaded slowly, the little circle spinning in the center.
Nothing suspicious. Just the usual business emails. Partnership proposals. Meeting requests.
I skimmed through them—delete, delete, mark as unread, delete. The same routine I did every morning. Most of it was junk anyway, people wanting meetings I didn’t have time for.
Then I saw it. A message from an unknown sender. Subject line: You might want to see this.
My finger hovered over it as something in my gut twisted. I should delete it. Probably spam or a virus. But I opened it anyway.
My blood turned to ice.
The phone felt suddenly cold in my hand, like all the warmth had been sucked out of it. It was a grainy photo taken from a distance.
I zoomed in, the image pixelating before coming back into focus as my heart stopped.
Noah. In the park. Playing on the swings.
His little legs pumped back and forth—I could see his red sneakers, the ones with the lights that blinked when he walked. He was smiling, his mouth open like he was laughing.
And in the corner of the photo, barely visible, was a figure watching him.
A dark shape standing away from the other parents, away from the playground, just standing there like a shadow that didn’t belong.
I couldn’t tell who it was—the image was too blurry.
But the message was clear.
Someone was watching my son.
“Pull over.” My voice came out strangled.
The words barely made it past my throat as everything felt tight, like someone had wrapped their hands around my neck and squeezed.
“What? Why?” Olivia glanced at me.
Her eyes left the road for just a second before returning while she continued driving at full speed, the highway stretching out ahead of us.
“Pull over now.” I gripped the phone so hard my knuckles went white.
The plastic case dug into my palm, my fingers aching, but I couldn’t let go, couldn’t look away from the photo.
She swerved into a parking lot and stopped the car.
The tires screeched as the smell of burnt rubber filled the air. My body jerked forward against the seatbelt, then back against the seat.
The engine was still running, making that low rumbling sound, but we weren’t moving anymore.
“What’s wrong?” She turned to face me.
I showed her the photo and watched her face go pale.
The color drained from her cheeks as she reached for the phone, but I pulled it back, holding it closer to me.
“Oh my God.” Her hand flew to her mouth. “Who sent this p>
“They’ve been watching him,” I said, my voice cracking on the last word.
Olivia snatched the phone from my hand, her eyes moving across the screen as her face went from pale to white, like all the blood had drained out.
“This is insane.” She shoved the phone back at me. “We’re calling the police. Right now. I don’t care what you say p>
“Wait.” I held up my hand, my fingers still shaking. “Just wait p>
“Wait for what? For them to actually grab him?” Her voice got louder.
She was right. The photos proved it. Someone had followed us. They knew when Noah was vulnerable.
“Aria, someone took a picture of your son.” She pulled away.
“I know.” I looked at the photo again, trying to see any identifying features. “But if we call the police, it becomes public. Noah’s name gets out there. His face. Everything p>
“Better public than dead.” Olivia’s voice was harsh.
She was right. I knew she was right.
But the thought of Noah’s picture being plastered across every news site, every gossip rag p>
“Let me handle it.” I saved the photo. “I’ll hire private security. Bodyguards. Whatever it takes p>
“Aria” Olivia started.
“Please.” I looked at her. “Just give me twenty-four hours. If nothing changes, we call the police. I promise p>
She studied my face, then nodded reluctantly.
“Twenty-four hours.” She held up a finger. “That’s it p>
“Thank you.” I looked at the photo again.
Who was watching Noah? Damien? My parents? Vivian?
Or someone else entirely?
My phone rang—an unknown number.
I answered without thinking. “Hello p>
“Did you get my message?” A woman’s voice, distorted like she was speaking through a filter.
“Who is this?” I gripped the phone tighter.
“Someone who knows your secrets,” the voice said with amusement. “All of them p>
“What do you want?” My heart pounded.
“Just to remind you.” The voice turned cold. “You took something that wasn’t yours. And now you’re going to pay p>
The line went dead.
I stared at the phone, then at Olivia.
“What?” She looked terrified. “What did they say p>
“Someone thinks I took something from them,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “And they want revenge p>
“Who?” Olivia grabbed my hand.
My stomach turned as I pushed open the car door and threw up in the parking lot.
The concrete was hot under my hands, the smell of asphalt mixing with car exhaust. My throat burned, my eyes watered.
Olivia was beside me in seconds, her hand on my back. She didn’t say anything—just stayed there while I emptied my stomach.
When I was done, she handed me a bottle of water from her bag. I rinsed my mouth and spit onto the pavement. The water was warm but it helped.
“Sorry,” I said.
“Don’t apologize.” She helped me back into the car. “You’re allowed to be terrified. Someone is stalking your child p>
That word again. Stalking. It made everything real.
I checked the time—2:15. Noah would be in school right now.
“I need to know who sent these,” I said, opening the email again to study the address. “Can you get someone to trace this p>
“I know a guy.” Olivia pulled out her phone. “Used to work in cybersecurity before he went private. He owes me a favor p>
She made the call. When she hung up, she looked frustrated.
“He says it’ll take a few hours. The sender used multiple proxies p>
I thought about the voice on the phone—distorted but female. The words kept playing in my head: You took something that wasn’t yours.
What had I taken?
My mind went through the last three years, every business deal, every contract, every competitor I’d crushed on my way up.
There were plenty of people who hated me. I’d made enemies. That was how you built an empire—you stepped on people, took what they wanted, beat them at their own game.
But most of those people were professionals who understood business was business. They didn’t take it personally enough to threaten a child.
Unless this wasn’t about business.
“What if it’s personal?” I said out loud.
Olivia looked at me. “What do you mean p>
“The voice said I took something that wasn’t mine. Not that I beat them in a deal or cost them money. Something that belonged to them p>
“Like what p>
I thought about it, my brain feeling slow, like I was moving through water.
Then it hit me.
“Damien,” I said.
Olivia’s eyes widened. “You think someone wants him p>
“He’s the most eligible bachelor in the country. Even when he was engaged to me, women threw themselves at him. He probably has a dozen exes who think I ruined their chances p>
“But you left him. You’ve been gone for three years p>
“And now I’m back.” I pulled up the photo of Noah on the swings again and looked at the timestamp. “This was taken days after I arrived in Ravenwood. Right after the news broke about Monroe Global opening offices here p>
“So someone saw you were back and immediately started watching Noah p>
“That’s what it looks like p>
Olivia drummed her fingers on the steering wheel again, the sound making my teeth hurt, though I didn’t tell her to stop.
“What about Vivian?” she asked.
I’d thought about my sister—beautiful, cruel Vivian who’d stolen my husband and helped destroy my life.
“She wants Damien for herself,” I said. “But threatening Noah doesn’t help her get him. If anything, it would make Damien hate her more p>
“Unless she’s trying to scare you away. Make you leave town so she can have him p>
That made more sense. Vivian had never been above playing dirty—she’d proven that when she climbed into Damien’s bed at our wedding.
But something about it didn’t fit. The voice on the phone had been cold, calculated. Vivian was passionate, hot-tempered. She would have confronted me face to face, probably in public where she could make a scene.
This felt different.
“I don’t think it’s her,” I said. “Not alone anyway p>
“Who else could it be p>
“I don’t know.” I looked back at the photo of Noah. “But I’m going to find out p>
And then I was going to destroy them.
But first, I needed to keep my son safe.
Everything else could wait.