The black sedan glided through the city streets in complete silence. Aaron kept his eyes on the road while Vivian stared out the passenger window, her mind racing with questions that demanded answers. The events at the hotel had shattered every assumption she'd made about the man sitting beside her.
When they arrived at her modest three-bedroom house, Aaron pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine. The silence stretched between them like a taut wire. Vivian made no move to get out of the car, her hand resting on the door handle but not opening it.
Finally, she turned to face him.
"Who exactly are you?" she asked, her voice quiet but determined.
Aaron kept his gaze focused straight ahead. "What do you mean?"
"Don't." Vivian's voice carried a warning. "When you offered me a high-ranking position at a major media company, I was shocked and confused. But I chose not to ask too many questions because I was afraid if I pushed, you might change your mind about the opportunity."
She shifted in her seat to face him fully. "After what I witnessed today, I know you're much more than you pretend to be."
"I made a few phone calls," Aaron said simply.
Vivian laughed, but there was no humor in it. "A few phone calls can't do what you did. Carter had wealth and influence that spanned throughout Europe and beyond. His family has ties to different governments, connections to the most powerful people on the continent. He was practically untouchable—or he was untouchable until you."
Aaron remained silent, his hands still gripping the steering wheel.
"Please," Vivian continued, her voice taking on a pleading tone. "Tell me your true identity. I need to understand what happened tonight."
"I'm the same person I've always been," Aaron replied. "I'm Aaron Turner, Sarah's husband."
Vivian shook her head. "That hasn't been true for a while now. You're not the same broke house husband you were six months ago. Are you an heir from some wealthy family? Did you inherit money? What changed?"
Aaron finally turned to look at her, his expression serious. "There are things I can't tell you, Vivian. And it should remain that way for your own good."
"For my own good?" she repeated. "Aaron, you just destroyed one of the most powerful men in Europe with apparent ease. I think I have a right to know who I'm working for."
Aaron was quiet for a long moment, weighing his words carefully. "The less you know, the safer you are. Some secrets are dangerous to keep, and even more dangerous to share."
Vivian studied his face in the dim light from the streetlamp. "If you won't tell me about your true identity, then answer me this—why do you stay married to Sarah? Why don't you reveal your wealth to the Prescotts? They would stop mistreating you and Sarah. Better yet, why don't you just destroy them?"
Aaron's expression darkened. "If I showed my wealth to those vultures, they would try to get their hands on it. They would use Sarah to manipulate me, and they would probably succeed because Sarah is loyal to her family even when they do the worst things to her."
He paused, his knuckles whitening as he gripped the steering wheel tighter. "As for destroying them—there's nothing I want more. But that would affect Sarah too. She would blame herself for their downfall, even if they deserved it."
"So what's your plan?" Vivian asked.
"I want to make my wife completely independent of the Prescotts," Aaron said. "I want her to realize her own worth, to see that she doesn't need their approval or acceptance. When that day comes, she'll walk away from them on her own terms."
Vivian nodded slowly, finally understanding. "You're protecting her from herself as much as from them."
"Something like that."
Vivian reached for the door handle, then paused. "Aaron, thank you. For saving me from Carter's hands. For giving me a chance to prove myself. For everything."
"You don't need to thank me. You earned that position through your own skills."
After Vivian disappeared into her house, Aaron drove home through the quiet city streets. The weight of maintaining his double life was becoming heavier each day, and tonight's events had only complicated things further. But seeing the relief in Vivian's eyes, knowing she was safe from her tormentor, made the complications worthwhile.
When he walked through the front doors of The King's Castle, the smell of cooking food filled the air. He found Sarah in the kitchen, standing over the stove with an apron tied around her waist, stirring something that smelled delicious.
"Where have you been?" she asked without looking up. "Mom was complaining about dinner for the past hour."
Aaron felt a stab of guilt. He'd completely forgotten about his domestic responsibilities while dealing with Carter's threat. "I'm sorry. I got caught up with something at work."
"Work?" Sarah glanced at him with surprise. "I thought Vivian was giving you flexible hours."
"She is. It was just an emergency situation that needed handling."
Sarah nodded, accepting the explanation. "Well, I figured you were busy, so I started cooking. It's not as good as what you usually make, but it's edible."
Aaron moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, breathing in the familiar scent of her perfume. "Thank you. You shouldn't have to cook after working all day."
"It's fine. Though speaking of household responsibilities..." Sarah leaned back against him. "I think we should hire some help. With me constantly working on the Crimson Valley project, your job that Vivian arranged, and Mom being completely useless around the house, we could use an extra pair of hands."
Aaron was surprised by the suggestion. He'd been thinking the same thing but hadn't expected Sarah to bring it up.
"That sounds reasonable," he agreed. "We could look for someone this weekend."
"Good. I'll start making some calls tomorrow."
As they ate dinner together, Amanda complained about everything from the seasoning to the temperature of the food, but Aaron barely listened. His mind was occupied with thoughts of Carter, the Eternal Bank, and the increasingly complex web of secrets he was weaving.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in a grand château in the French countryside, an elderly man was awakened by urgent knocking on his bedroom door. Philippe Dubois had built his fortune and influence over five decades, and very few things could disturb his sleep.
His butler, a thin man in his sixties, entered with obvious distress written across his features.
"Monsieur Dubois, forgive the intrusion, but there's been a development concerning your son."
Philippe sat up in bed, immediately alert. "What kind of development?"
"Adrian has been arrested, sir. The authorities raided his offices and froze all his assets. The charges appear to be extensive—fraud, tax evasion, conspiracy, money laundering. His companies have been shut down pending investigation."
Philippe stared at his butler in stunned silence. Adrian had always been reckless, but he'd never imagined something like this could happen. The family's lawyers were the best money could buy, and their political connections reached into the highest levels of government.
"How is this possible?" Philippe asked, getting out of bed and reaching for his robe. "Our people should have been warned of any investigation."
"That's just it, sir. There were no warnings. No one in our network saw this coming. It appears to have been orchestrated by someone with significant influence—someone operating outside our usual channels."
Philippe walked to the window and stared out at the manicured gardens of his estate. In fifty years of business, he'd made many enemies, but none who had ever posed a serious threat to his family.
"Call our contacts in the government," he instructed. "Find out everything they know about this investigation. And get me a complete report on what Adrian has been doing for the past month."
"Yes, sir."
As the butler turned to leave, Philippe stopped him. "One more thing. Either my son made a catastrophic mistake, or he offended someone with more power than we anticipated. Find out which one it is."
After the butler left, Philippe remained at the window, his mind racing. The Dubois family had survived two world wars, economic collapses, and political upheavals. They had built their empire through careful planning and strategic alliances.
But if someone could destroy Adrian so completely, so quickly, without any warning... Philippe realized he might be facing an enemy unlike any he'd encountered before.
Back at The King's Castle, Aaron finished reviewing the last of the evening's documents and prepared for bed. Tomorrow would bring new challenges, new secrets to maintain, and new threats to navigate.
But for tonight, he was content knowing that Vivian was safe, Sarah was making progress toward independence, and one more predator had been removed from the world.
As he turned off the lights, Aaron allowed himself a moment of satisfaction. The game was complex, the stakes were high, but he was learning to play by the rules of power that governed his new world.
And he was winning.