The message came just after midnight.
Ariella was alone in the guest suite, curled under a blanket, sleep just barely creeping in when her phone lit up.
Unknown Number. One audio file.
She stared at it for a long time.
Lucien was downstairs, on another call with his security team. She should tell him. She would tell him. But first… she had to hear it.
Her thumb hovered over the play button.
Then — click.
"Ariella… If you're hearing this, it means Lucien Kane has told you I'm alive. I know how it sounds. I know what he's made you believe. But everything he said — the lies, the embezzlement, the betrayal — it was never what it seemed. I didn't run from you. I ran to protect you."
Ariella's heart thudded.
"Lucien's mother was dying, yes. But the foundation funds? They weren't stolen. They were redirected. She wanted the money sent to families in Latin America — undocumented, untraceable aid. But Lucien's father didn't agree. He made it look like I forged the papers. He needed a scapegoat. And I was the perfect one."
The air in the room felt thinner.
"Lucien never knew. He was just a boy. But when he grew up and inherited the company… he dug up the files. And by then, the truth was buried too deep. I didn't tell you because I couldn't risk it. I disappeared to keep you off their radar. But now… now they know you're involved. And if Lucien truly cares for you, he'll stop digging. Because the people behind this—"
Static crackled.
"—they don't want justice. They want silence. And they kill for it."
The message cut off.
Ariella stared at the screen, her breath caught somewhere between a scream and a sob.
Her father wasn't innocent. But he wasn't the monster either.
And if what he said was true…
Then Lucien's revenge had been aimed at the wrong person all along.
She clutched the phone tight and rose from the couch, storming down the stairs.
Lucien looked up as she entered, his shirt half-buttoned, expression tense.
"What is it?" he asked.
She threw the phone on the table.
"You want the truth, Lucien? Then listen to it yourself."