The crash reverberated through the estate like a thunderclap.
Aria froze in the hallway, her pulse thundering in her ears. The sound wasn't a simple disturbance—it was a deliberate strike, the kind of impact that carried intent. She clutched the banister for support, her knuckles white.
Damien was already moving. His stride was purposeful, lethal. "Stay with Noah," he barked over his shoulder, his voice sharp enough to slice through her panic.
Aria stumbled after him. "Damien, what—"
"Now, Aria!" he snapped, not unkindly but with the kind of authority that brooked no argument. His hand caught hers for the briefest second, a squeeze filled with promise. Trust me. Then he was gone, sweeping down the grand staircase two steps at a time.
Aria's heart stuttered. For a moment, she stood torn between instinct and fear. Noah. She had to get to Noah. She turned and bolted up the stairs, her skirts tangling around her legs as she ran.
Damien reached the front doors just as a second crash rattled the walls. Security radios crackled frantically, the men at the entrance bracing themselves. Through the leaded glass panels, headlights slashed across the driveway, illuminating the outlines of two black SUVs rammed up against the gates. Figures moved around them—half a dozen, maybe more.
"Sir, they forced the outer barrier," one guard reported, sweat beading at his temple. "Backup is on the way, but—"
"But they're already here," Damien finished grimly.
The air was charged, electric. Damien adjusted the cuffs of his shirt with deliberate calm. He wasn't armed—not yet—but he didn't need a weapon to radiate menace. His presence alone was steel and fire, a warning to anyone foolish enough to breach his home.
"Secure the family," Damien ordered. "Noah doesn't leave Aria's side. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
The men scattered, some racing upstairs, others bracing the entry. Damien moved forward, his gaze locked on the dark shapes beyond the glass. The wolves had come to his door.
And Victor Hayes was leading them.
Upstairs, Aria burst into Noah's room, breathless. Her son was sitting up in bed, bleary-eyed and frightened by the noise.
"Mommy?" he whispered, clutching his dinosaur. "What's happening?"
Aria forced a trembling smile as she swept him into her arms. "It's okay, sweetheart. Just stay with me."
He buried his face against her neck, small and warm and so heartbreakingly fragile. Aria held him tighter, her pulse drumming with the knowledge that downstairs, Damien was facing the storm she feared most.
The thud of heavy boots echoed faintly up the stairs. She flinched, clutching Noah closer. Please, Damien. Please be safe.
The front doors of the estate burst open.
Glass shattered, splinters flying as the reinforced panels gave way under the assault. Black-clad men surged inside—Hayes's hired muscle, not professionals but dangerous enough in numbers.
Damien was waiting.
He met the first intruder with a brutal precision, his fist connecting with the man's jaw in a crack that sent him sprawling. The second rushed forward, only to be slammed into the marble floor with a move that was half businesslike efficiency, half raw fury.
The study of leverage and control had served Damien well in boardrooms. Tonight, it served him in combat.
"Find her!" Hayes's voice bellowed from outside. "Bring me Aria Lancaster!"
The sound of that hated name on Hayes's lips made Damien's blood boil. He turned toward the doorway just as Victor himself stepped into the foyer, his suit immaculate despite the chaos. His smile was wolfish, his eyes glinting with malice.
"Well, well," Hayes drawled. "The great Damien Blackwood. Guard dog of the Lancaster heiress. How far you've fallen, reduced to playing house with a liar."
Damien's jaw clenched. "You made a mistake, coming here."
Hayes spread his hands, mock-innocent. "On the contrary. This is exactly where I meant to be. You can't hide her anymore. The world knows who she is, and soon enough, they'll know what she's done."
"You'll never touch her," Damien said, his voice like iron.
Hayes laughed softly. "Oh, Damien. You still don't get it. She isn't yours to protect. She belongs to a past she can't escape."
Damien moved then—not with words, but with force.
Upstairs, Aria heard the clash below—the shouts, the thuds of fists, the crash of furniture. Noah whimpered, and she pressed a hand over his ear, rocking him gently. Her heart ached with every sound, torn between the desperate urge to protect her child and the equally fierce urge to run to Damien's side.
Then the door creaked.
Aria's breath caught. She spun, clutching Noah close. But it was Marcus, breathless, his shirt disheveled. "Mrs. Blackwood—Aria—we need to move. Now!"
"No!" Aria whispered fiercely. "If we leave, we're exposed. Damien—"
"Damien ordered me to get you out," Marcus said firmly. "The security wing has a reinforced panic room. It's the only place safe if they breach the second floor."
Aria hesitated, torn. But Noah's trembling decided it for her. She nodded, swallowing hard. "Alright. Let's go."
They hurried into the corridor, Marcus leading the way. But as they neared the hidden passage to the panic room, a shadow detached from the darkness.
Victor Hayes.
"Going somewhere?"
Aria's blood turned to ice.
Downstairs, Damien had three men pinned or unconscious when he realized Hayes had slipped away. His fury sharpened to a razor's edge.
"Elise!" he barked, spotting her in the chaos with a phone pressed to her ear. "Upstairs! Now!"
Without hesitation, Elise bolted for the staircase. Damien tore himself free of the melee, his only thought Aria—Aria and Noah.
Hayes blocked the hallway, his eyes alight with triumph as he took in Aria clutching Noah.
"There she is," he said softly, like a predator savoring the moment. "Aria Lancaster, in all her fallen glory."
"Stay back," Aria whispered, her voice shaking but fierce. She shifted Noah behind her, her own body the only shield she could offer.
Hayes's smile widened. "Do you really think Blackwood can save you? He doesn't understand what you are. But I do. You're a scandal wrapped in silk. A ruin waiting to happen."
"Get out," Aria spat, her fear giving way to anger. "You have no right—"
"No right?" Hayes stepped closer. "I have every right. You ruined me once, Aria. Your father's games destroyed everything I built. This—" he gestured at the chaos, the estate under siege "—this is balance. You took from me, so I'll take from you."
Noah whimpered, burying his face against Aria's side.
Aria's fury ignited. "You will never touch him."
"Who said I wanted the boy?" Hayes sneered. "No. I only want you. The heiress who thought she could disappear."
"Hayes!"
Damien's voice cracked through the hallway like a gunshot.
Victor turned, annoyance flashing across his face as Damien strode forward, his eyes black with rage.
"Step away from my wife," Damien said, each word deliberate.
Hayes chuckled. "Your wife? Or your contract? Don't make me laugh, Blackwood. She's a Lancaster. That name will drag you down, and when it does, I'll be the one standing on the ruins."
"Try it," Damien said, his voice low and lethal. "And I'll bury you myself."
The two men faced each other, the air crackling with years of rivalry, betrayal, and blood-deep hatred. Behind Damien, Elise appeared with two guards, weapons drawn. Behind Hayes, two of his men lingered, though uncertainty flickered in their eyes.
For a moment, it was stalemate.
Then Noah whimpered again, and something inside Damien snapped.
With a roar, he launched forward.
What followed was chaos: fists, shouts, the sharp crack of blows against flesh. Hayes was quick, fueled by desperation, but Damien was relentless. Every strike was a promise, every blow an oath: You will never threaten my family again.
Hayes stumbled, blood staining his lip, his grin feral even in defeat. "You can't erase me, Blackwood," he spat. "I'll haunt her forever. The Lancasters' sins don't die."
Damien slammed him against the wall, his forearm across Hayes's throat. "Then I'll make sure you do."
Hayes's eyes bulged, his hands scrabbling at Damien's arm. For a moment, it seemed Damien might finish it then and there. But Aria's voice cut through the fury.
"Damien! Stop!"
Her voice was sharp, trembling but commanding. Damien froze, his chest heaving. Hayes sagged against the wall, coughing violently.
"Don't let him make you into what he is," Aria said softly. "We end this the right way."
Damien's gaze flicked to her—Noah trembling in her arms, Elise and the guards watching. Slowly, he stepped back, his fist still clenched but his restraint ironclad.
Hayes collapsed to the floor, gasping. "You… you think this ends me?" he rasped. "The world loves a scandal. And she is the biggest one of all."
Damien's voice was cold, final. "No. The world will learn who you are. And when it does, there won't be a shadow left big enough for you to hide in."
He nodded once to Elise. "Take him."
The guards hauled Hayes to his feet. His laughter, bitter and hollow, echoed down the hall as they dragged him away.
Later, when silence finally returned to the estate, Aria stood with Damien in the dim glow of Noah's nightlight once more. Noah slept fitfully, exhausted by the terror.
Damien brushed his hand over his son's hair, then looked at Aria. His voice was quiet, heavy. "It's not over yet. But it will be."
Aria met his gaze, her eyes shining with both fear and unshakable trust. "As long as we're together," she whispered.
Damien pulled her into his arms, his lips brushing her hair. "Always."
And in that fragile moment, surrounded by shadows and silence, they drew the only line that mattered: family.