Vivian's hands trembled as she gripped the edge of her desk. The man standing in her office represented every nightmare she'd tried to leave behind in France. His presence filled the room like a toxic cloud, making it hard to breathe.
"What are you doing here?" she managed to ask, her voice barely above a whisper.
The man's smile widened, revealing perfectly white teeth that reminded Vivian of a predator baring its fangs. "I would have thought you'd be happy to see me, Vivian. After all, we have so much history together."
"Why would I ever want to see you?" The words came out stronger than she felt.
He gestured around the elegant office, taking in the mahogany furniture and floor-to-ceiling windows. "This is quite impressive—CEO of a major media company. Tell me, who did you have to sleep with to get this position?"
The casual cruelty of his words hit Vivian like a physical blow. She stood abruptly, her chair rolling back and hitting the wall. "You need to tell me what you want, or I'll have security throw you out."
His laugh was cold and mocking. "You wouldn't dare. I see this position has inflated your ego considerably. Do you have any idea who you're dealing with? I could buy this entire company if I wanted to."
"Then what do you want?" Vivian asked, though she already dreaded the answer.
"I want you." His voice dropped to an intimate whisper that made her skin crawl. "I was hurt when you disappeared from France so suddenly. We had such potential together."
"I told you then, and I'm telling you again—I'm not interested." Vivian forced steel into her voice, channeling every ounce of authority she'd built over the past months.
His expression darkened, the charming facade slipping away to reveal something ugly underneath. "I'm offering you more wealth than this little position could ever provide. Real power, real influence."
"I'm fine where I am."
His frown deepened, and when he spoke again, his voice carried the weight of barely controlled rage. "Then I'll have to resort to harder measures. I'll make sure to destroy this company and you along with it. You seem to have forgotten what I'm capable of."
Fear shot through Vivian's chest like ice water. She knew he wasn't bluffing. She'd seen what he could do, how his influence reached into every corner of the business world.
"If you want me to change my mind," he continued, pulling out an elegant hotel keycard, "you'll come to my hotel room tonight. The Grand Plaza, penthouse suite. Don't keep me waiting too long."
The door to her office suddenly opened, and Aaron walked in, looking confused at the scene before him. "Sorry, I didn't realize you were in a meeting—"
The man turned, sizing up Aaron with obvious disdain. Aaron initially assumed this was a business discussion, but one look at Vivian's pale, terrified face told him something was very wrong.
"Is everything okay?" Aaron asked, his voice taking on a protective edge.
The man smiled again, straightening his tie with deliberate casualness. "Everything's perfect. Vivian and I were just catching up on old times." He walked toward the door, pausing beside Aaron. "Consider my offer carefully, Vivian. You know the consequences of disappointing me."
After he left, Aaron turned to Vivian with concern. "Who was that?"
"No one," Vivian said quickly, but her hands were still shaking as she gathered the scattered papers from her desk.
Aaron could see she was clearly upset, but something in her posture warned him not to push. "If you need anything—"
"I'm fine," she said firmly. "Just... business complications."
That evening, Aaron couldn't shake his concern for Vivian. Something about that man's presence had radiated menace, and Vivian's reaction had been pure fear. He made a mental note to check on her the next day.
When he visited Acadia the following morning, Vivian seemed to have recovered her composure. She was reviewing reports with her usual focused intensity, though Aaron noticed she looked tired.
"Everything going well?" he asked.
"Yes, just the usual challenges of running a media empire," she replied with a forced smile.
Aaron left feeling somewhat reassured, but his peace of mind was short-lived.
Meanwhile, in the penthouse suite of the Grand Plaza Hotel, the man sat in an expensive leather chair, his patience wearing thin. He'd been certain Vivian would cave by now—fear had always been an excellent motivator with her. But as the hours ticked by without a call or visit, his frustration mounted.
He picked up his phone and dialed a number he hadn't used in months.
"It's me," he said when the call connected. "I want Acadia Media Group destroyed. Start immediately."
The next morning, Vivian was reviewing quarterly projections when her assistant burst into the office without knocking.
"Miss Carter, I'm sorry to interrupt, but we have a serious problem. The stock—it's plummeting. We've lost thirty percent of our value in the last two hours."
Vivian felt a knot form in her stomach. She knew exactly what was causing this.
Within minutes, she'd called an emergency meeting with all the senior executives. They crowded into the boardroom, their faces reflecting confusion and growing panic as they watched the stock price continue its devastating fall.
"What's causing this?" demanded the CFO. "Our fundamentals are strong. There's no reason for this kind of sell-off."
Vivian couldn't tell them the truth—that they were under attack by a vindictive predator who wanted to force her into submission. Instead, she watched helplessly as her team scrambled to find explanations and solutions that didn't exist.
They worked for hours, analyzing market conditions, reviewing recent press coverage, calling contacts at major investment firms. Nothing they tried made any difference. The stock eventually stopped falling, but it refused to recover, hovering at devastatingly low levels.
Vivian drove home that evening feeling utterly defeated. Everything she'd worked for was crumbling, and she knew it would only get worse.
Aaron arrived at her house thirty minutes later, finding her slumped on her couch with a glass of wine, staring blankly at the wall.
"What's going on?" he asked gently, sitting beside her.
For a long moment, Vivian didn't respond. Then, as if a dam had burst, the whole story came pouring out.
"When I was in France for my studies, I got employed at a major media company," she began, her voice hollow. "I worked my way up, eventually becoming a manager. I was so proud—I thought I'd finally made it."
She took a long sip of wine before continuing. "Then the CEO's son took over the company. He seemed decent at first, professional. But he made his intentions clear pretty quickly. He wanted me to sleep with him."
Aaron's jaw clenched, but he remained silent.
"I refused, of course. And in retaliation, he fired me. But that wasn't enough for him. He made sure I was blacklisted from every major media company in France. He used his contacts to freeze my bank accounts. I couldn't work, couldn't even access my own money."
"How did you get out?" Aaron asked quietly.
"A friend helped me buy a ticket out of the country. I had to leave with nothing but the clothes on my back." Vivian's voice cracked slightly. "And now he's here. He has serious power, Aaron. More than you can imagine. He's going to destroy this company if I don't give in to his demands."
Aaron studied her face in the dim light of her living room. "You don't have to worry about him. Just focus on your work. Everything will be fine."
Vivian looked at him with sad eyes. "You don't understand. This isn't something that just goes away. He won't stop until he gets what he wants."
But Aaron's confidence seemed unshakeable. "Trust me, Vivian. Focus on running the company. Don't let him intimidate you."
The next day brought worse news. Suppliers began canceling contracts, advertising partners pulled their campaigns, and several major clients terminated their agreements. Acadia was hemorrhaging money and partnerships at an alarming rate.
By evening, Vivian had reached her breaking point. She couldn't watch everything she'd built crumble because of one man's obsession. With heavy steps, she walked into the Grand Plaza Hotel and took the elevator to the penthouse floor.
She knocked on the door with trembling hands.
He opened it with a triumphant smile. "I knew you'd come to your senses."
Vivian stepped into the opulent suite, her stomach churning with disgust and fear. "Stop what you're doing to the company."
"I will, once you do as I ask." His eyes roamed over her body with obvious hunger. "You've become even more beautiful, Vivian. Success suits you."
She closed her eyes and reached for the zipper of her dress, her hands shaking. "Let's just get this over with."
"Patience," he said, pouring himself a glass of champagne. "I want to savor this moment. You have no idea how long I've—"
A knock at the door interrupted him. He frowned, not expecting visitors.
"Ignore it," he commanded.
The knocking continued, more insistent now.
"Go away!" he shouted toward the door.
The locked door simply swung open, and Aaron walked in as if he owned the place. The man stared in shock—the door had been securely locked, and Aaron had opened it as easily as if it were made of paper.
"Who the hell are you, and how did you unlock that door?" the man demanded, his face flushing with anger.
Aaron looked at Vivian with gentle eyes. "It's time to go."
Vivian looked confused and torn. "Aaron, I can't. If I don't do this, he'll keep ruining my life and everyone I care about. The company will fail, and I can't let that happen. Not after you gave me this chance to show what I could do."
"The company will be fine," Aaron said calmly. "You don't have to do this."
The man stepped between them, his voice rising with indignation. "Who do you think you are? If you don't leave right now, I'll make your life miserable. I'll destroy you just like I'm destroying that pathetic company."
Aaron finally looked directly at him, and something in his expression made the man take an involuntary step backward.
"Today will be your end," Aaron said quietly. "You should check on your companies."
He held up his phone, showing a live feed of stock prices. The man's various business holdings were plummeting at an unprecedented rate, their values evaporating in real-time.
"This is impossible," the man whispered, staring at the screen in disbelief.
His phone began ringing. He answered it with trembling hands.
"Sir, the offices are being raided! Federal agents everywhere! They have warrants for everything!"
Before he could respond, the phone rang again. Then again. Each call brought worse news—raids, investigations, frozen assets, arrested executives.
The man slowly lowered his phone and looked at Aaron with a mixture of rage and dawning fear. "What did you do?"
"I dealt with a nuisance," Aaron replied calmly. "You made a big mistake going after my wife's friend."
The man lunged forward with a snarl of fury, but before he could reach Aaron, a bodyguard materialized from seemingly nowhere, taking him down with professional efficiency.
Aaron turned to Vivian, who stood frozen in shock. "Get your things. We're leaving."
As they walked toward the door, Aaron addressed his bodyguard. "Take him downstairs. The police will be looking for him."
In the elevator, Vivian finally found her voice. "Aaron, who are you?"
Aaron looked at her reflection in the polished doors. "I'm someone who doesn't let bullies hurt people I care about."
"But how did you—the door, the raids, everything?"
"Sometimes the right phone call to the right person can accomplish a lot," Aaron said simply.
Vivian studied his face, sensing there was far more to this story than he was telling her. But as the elevator descended toward the lobby, she decided that some questions could wait. For now, it was enough to know that her tormentor's reign of terror was finally over.