Chapter 85
Aria pov
“Can we sit?” She gestured to the chairs.
“I’d rather stand p>
She flinched but nodded. “I deserve that. In fact, I deserve a lot worse, actually p>
“Yes, you do p>
“Aria, I came to apologize.” She twisted her hands together. “For everything. For what I did at your wedding, for lying about you to Damien, for choosing our parents over you. All of it p>
I stared at her. “You expect me to believe you suddenly grew a conscience p>
“No.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I expect you to hate me. I hate myself. But I had to try. I had to tell you that I’m sorry and that I’ve been living with what I did for years p>
“Good.” The word came out harsh. “You should live with it. You should remember every day that you destroyed your sister’s life because you were jealous p>
“I know.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “And you’re right. I was jealous. You were always smarter, stronger, better. And when Damien chose you, I was angry and wanted an opportunity to destroy you p>
“By making me into a fool p>
“To feel chosen for once.” She wiped her face. “I know that’s not an excuse. Nothing excuses what I did, but I need you to know—I regret it. Every single day p>
I wanted to believe her. Some small part of me that remembered the sister I’d had before we grew up, before our parents pitted us against each other.
But I couldn’t trust her. Not after everything.
“Is this because of Mother?” I asked. “Did she send you p>
Vivian’s expression flickered. “She called me. Said she was trying to reconnect with you and asked if I’d talked to you p>
“And you decided to show up.” I laughed bitterly. “Let me guess—you both want something. Money? Access to the Blackwood fortune? What p>
“Wait.” Something else occurred to me, cold sliding down my spine. “How did you even know where to find me? Mother doesn’t know this address p>
Vivian’s face went pale. “I… Sophia Clark, Damien Ex told me p>
“What p>
” She gave me this address, said you and Damien were staying here with Noah.” Vivian’s voice dropped. “Aria, I swear”
“Don’t.” I stepped back. “Don’t swear anything. Don’t pretend this is about family or regret or making amends. You and Mother—you’re working together just like always p>
“That’s not”
“Then look me in the eye and tell me she didn’t tell you to come here. Tell me this wasn’t coordinated p>
She couldn’t. She just stood there, tears streaming down her face, unable to lie.
“That’s what I thought.” I turned to leave.
“Wait!” She grabbed my arm. “Aria, please. Yes, Mother suggested I reach out. But my apology is real. My regret is real. I miss you p>
“You miss me?” I pulled away. “You destroyed me, Vivian. You took everything I had and you burned it to the ground. And now you miss me p>
“I made a mistake”
“A mistake is forgetting someone’s birthday. What you did was calculated, cruel, and unforgivable.” I was shaking now. “You slept with my husband on my wedding day. You conspired with our parents to paint me as the villain, you stood by while they threw me out pregnant. Those aren’t mistakes—those are choices p>
“I know.” She was sobbing now. “I know and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, but I actually didn’t have se” She stopped abruptly, her face going pale. “You know what? I am sorry p>
She was about to say something but couldn’t complete the sentence.
“Sorry doesn’t fix this.” I felt suddenly exhausted. “Sorry, don’t give me back those years. It doesn’t erase the pain, it doesn’t make us sisters again p>
“Then what can I do?” She looked desperate. “Tell me how to make this right p>
“You can’t.” I started walking away. “There’s no making this right, Vivian, some things are too broken to fix p>
“Aria, please!” She called after me. “I have information. About Marcus, about his plans. That’s why Mother really sent me p>
I stopped and turned slowly. “What p>
“Marcus contacted Father.” She wiped her face. “He Offered him money to join him in taking down you, Noah, and Damien p>
My blood turned to ice. “And? Did Father help him p>
“No.” She shook her head. “He refused. For once in his life, Charles Monroe did the right thing. But Marcus is desperate, Aria. He’s running out of options, and that makes him dangerous p>
“I already know he’s dangerous p>
“But you don’t know about Sophia.” Vivian moved closer. “She’s been meeting with Marcus and feeding him information p>
My stomach dropped. I pulled out my phone and called Damien. He answered on the first ring.
“Aria? What’s wrong p>
“Get down here. Now.” I kept my eyes on Vivian, my heart hammering. “It’s about Sophia and we have a bigger problem—she knows where we are p>
Damien appeared within minutes, his earlier shame replaced by cold alertness. When he saw Vivian, his expression hardened, but he came straight to my side.
“What about Sophia?” he demanded.
“She knows about this penthouse,” I said before Vivian could speak. “She gave Vivian this address p>
The color drained from his face. “That’s impossible. This property isn’t listed under either of our names. It’s”
“Compromised,” I finished. “She’s been feeding Marcus information, Damien. our security, and apparently our safe houses p>
“She’s been helping Marcus.” Vivian wrapped her arms around herself. “She’s been giving him details about your security, your schedule, everything. She wants revenge on both of you p>
“How do you know this?” Damien’s voice was deadly quiet.
“Because she tried to recruit me.” Vivian’s voice shook. “When Aria came back to town, two weeks later, she showed up at my apartment and said we needed to work together to destroy you you p>
“And you said?” I could barely get the words out.
“I said no.” She met my eyes. “I said no because despite everything, you’re still my sister. And I’ve already done enough damage to your life p>
Damien pulled out his phone. “I’m calling security. If Sophia’s compromised our systems, we need to know how deep this goes p>
He stepped away, already dialing.
I looked at Vivian, at the sister who’d betrayed me, who was now trying to warn me.
“Why tell me this?” I asked. “Why not just let Marcus succeed p>
“Because Noah is my nephew.” Her voice broke. “Because after the last incident when Marcus kidnapped him and I watched the livestream, I just couldn’t bear the thought of Marcus hurting him again. I couldn’t live with myself p>
“But you could live with yourself after what you did to me p>
“No.” She shook her head. “I haven’t been living, Aria. I’ve been existing. Drowning in guilt and regret and self-hatred. And when Sophia approached me, when I realized I could either help destroy you again or finally do something right—I chose right. For once, I chose right p>
I wanted to forgive her. Some part of me wanted to reach out, to hug her, to rebuild what we’d lost.
But the wounds were too deep.
“Thank you for the warning,” I said finally. “About Sophia. But that doesn’t change what you did. It doesn’t make us okay p>
“I know.” She nodded, accepting it. “But maybe someday”
“Maybe.” I cut her off. “But not today, not for a long time p>
“I understand.” She started backing away. “For what it’s worth—he’s good with you. Damien. I can see it in the way he looks at you. Like you’re his whole world p>
“He looks at me with guilt,” I corrected.
“No.” She smiled sadly. “He looks at you with love. Real love. The kind I was too selfish to recognize when I tried to steal him.” She paused. “Don’t let my mistakes cost you a second chance, Aria. You deserve happiness, even if it’s with him p>
She left before I could respond.
Damien returned, his face grim. “Security’s doing a full audit. Everyone who’s had access to our systems, our schedules, our locations. If Sophia planted someone inside p>
“We’ll find them,” I finished.
“Are you okay?” He touched my face. “That couldn’t have been easy p>
“It wasn’t.” I leaned into him, suddenly exhausted. “She apologized. Said she missed me, then admitted Mother sent her p>
“Do you believe her? About being sorry p>
“I don’t know.” I closed my eyes. “Part of me wants to. Part of me thinks it’s just another manipulation p>
“Then trust your instincts.” He pulled me close. “You’ve survived this long by being smart and careful. Don’t second-guess yourself now p>
I nodded against his chest, trying not to think about how right this felt. How safe. How dangerous it was to let myself feel safe with him again.
“My instincts say to run. To take Noah and disappear p>
“But you won’t.” He said it with certainty.
“No.” I pulled back to look at him. “I won’t. Because running means they win. Marcus, Vivian, my parents—they all win if I run p>
“So we stay and fight p>
“We stay and fight,” I agreed.
His phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and his expression darkened.
“What?” I asked.
“Security found something.” He showed me the message. “A bug in Noah’s room. Planted yesterday during the ’security upgrades p>
My stomach dropped. “Sophia p>
“Or whoever she sent.” He was already moving toward the elevator. “We need to check everything. Every room, every device, every p>
A scream echoed through the lobby.
We spun around to see Vivian backing away from a man in a delivery uniform. He held a package and was trying to hand it to her.
“It’s for Aria Monroe,” he kept saying. “I need to deliver it to Aria Monroe p>
Security guards rushed over, surrounding him.
“I’m Aria Monroe,” I called out. “What is that p>
“Delivery, ma’am.” He held up the package. “Needs your signature p>
Something felt wrong. Very wrong.
“Don’t touch it,” Damien ordered the guards. “Clear the lobby. Now p>
“Sir, it’s just a”
“I said clear the lobby!” Damien’s voice echoed through the space. “Everyone out! Move p>
People started scrambling for the exits, the delivery man looked confused.
“Sir, I don’t understand”
“Put the package down slowly,” Damien instructed. “And step away p>
“It’s just flowers”
“Put it down!” I shouted.
He finally set it on the floor and backed away, hands up.
Damien pulled me toward the elevator, but I stopped, looking at Vivian who stood frozen by the entrance.
“Vivian, move!” I yelled. “Get out p>
She snapped out of her shock and ran for the doors.
The package beeped.
“Bomb!” Someone screamed.