The corridors of Sapphire Reef were unusually quiet as Aria made her way toward the executive wing, her heels echoing like a war drum on polished marble floors.
Truth.
The word pulsed in her chest, louder than the sea crashing against the cliffs outside. Killian had returned like a wave she wasn't ready for—unstoppable, unpredictable, and dragging memories she'd spent five years trying to bury.
But now, it wasn't just about him.
Something darker had followed.
And it had started with a stranger's warning.
Zurich. Fire. Owed.
She didn't know what it meant yet.
But she would.
Even if it burned.
Tanya met her near the operations room with a raised brow and two coffees in hand.
"Rough night?" she asked, handing one over.
Aria took it gratefully. "Rougher than usual."
"Thought so. Killian requested you in the west wing conference room. Again. Said it was urgent."
Aria tilted her head. "Did he look urgent?"
Tanya scoffed. "He looked like a man who hasn't blinked in hours. Also, pretty sure he scared the new PR manager into quitting."
Of course he did.
"Thanks," Aria said, squaring her shoulders.
She turned and walked toward whatever fire Killian had set this time.
The door to the west wing opened without a knock.
Killian was already standing at the head of the long conference table, arms folded, eyes locked on a projection screen showing what looked like a property map—an expansion blueprint.
Rome.
"Close the door," he said without turning.
Aria did.
Then silence.
She waited. He didn't speak.
So she did.
"What is it now? Another surprise ownership memo? Another power play dressed up as professionalism?"
He finally turned.
"No," he said calmly. "This one's personal."
She blinked. "You're admitting that now?"
"I'm not here to pretend anymore, Aria."
He stepped forward and handed her a folder. Inside: resort layouts, staffing projections, and a contract draft labeled:
Sapphire Zurich Division – Confidential
"You're building another resort?" she asked, skimming the pages. "In Zurich?"
"No," he replied, eyes narrowing. "I'm rebuilding one."
Her fingers froze. "The same Zurich they warned me about?"
He didn't answer right away.
Instead, he turned to the window where the horizon burned gold against the sea. "There was a resort there—once. Quiet. Elegant. It was meant to be the future."
"What happened?"
"A fire," he said flatly. "And a betrayal that cost more than money."
Aria waited, watching him like a hawk.
Killian spoke again, lower this time.
"I invested everything into that place. But I trusted the wrong people. The fire… it wasn't accidental."
Her heart skipped. "So you were targeted?"
He nodded once. "And someone died for it."
A chill swept down her spine.
"Who?"
"My mentor," he said, voice sharp with old grief. "He built the foundation of Sapphire's brand. Zurich was going to be his final masterpiece."
Aria gripped the folder. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"Because once you lose control of the narrative, you lose control of everything."
She stepped closer, her voice firm. "Is that why you disappeared before our wedding?"
Killian met her gaze.
"Yes."
That single word cut deeper than all his silence combined.
"I had to vanish. There were investigations. Threats. I couldn't drag you into that storm."
"You dragged me anyway," she said. "Only this time, you didn't give me a life raft."
His jaw clenched.
"I know."
The air thickened between them.
Then Killian reached into his inner jacket pocket and handed her a sealed envelope.
"What's this?" she asked.
"Zurich's forensic audit. Internal memos. A list of names connected to the fire."
"Why give this to me now?"
"Because someone approached you," he said flatly. "And if they're speaking again, it means the past isn't done with either of us."
Aria stared at the envelope.
"You trust me with this?"
"No," he said simply. "But I trust your obsession with answers."
She almost laughed. "You've always known how to compliment and insult at the same time."
"Some talents never fade."
She narrowed her eyes. "You're using me."
"Maybe. But I'm also protecting you. Whether you want it or not."
She hated that part of her still wanted his protection—despite everything. Despite the silence, the betrayal, the grief she'd carried like glass shards in her chest.
"You should've told me," she said quietly.
"I know," he replied.
Hours later, Aria sat poolside with the envelope in her lap. The sea beyond shimmered, indifferent to secrets or sorrow.
She hadn't opened it yet.
Not because she was afraid of the contents.
But because part of her still hoped none of this was real—that Zurich, the fire, the stranger… were just distractions. Fiction.
But deep down, she knew better.
She flipped the envelope open, heart racing.
The documents inside were dense. Names redacted. Transactions buried. But one signature stood out on a transfer slip near the back:
Julian Roth.
Her fingers stilled.
The same last name as the man from the café.
The same gold pendant he wore—stamped with the old Sapphire logo.
He hadn't just been a warning.
He had been part of the fire.
Part of the history Killian had buried.
And maybe, part of the next chapter in this unfolding war.
She flipped to the last page. A timestamped email sent one day before the fire:
Subject: "Pull the plug. Zurich's about to go down, and so is he."
No sender name. No IP trace.
Just one closing line:
"We warned him. He refused. Now burn it all."
Aria closed the file slowly, a pit settling in her stomach.
This wasn't just about love lost.
It was about power seized.
Trust broken.
And truths long overdue.
Killian Laurent didn't just return to reclaim what was his.
He came to finish what Zurich started.
And Aria?
She wasn't just the girl he left behind.
She was the woman now standing between legacy and exposure.
Whatever happened next…
She wouldn't burn quietly.
But she wouldn't wait to be lit on fire, either.
Aria closed the file again and slipped it back into the envelope. Her reflection shimmered in the glass of the infinity pool beside her—an outline of a woman far different from the one who had arrived at Sapphire Reef just days ago.
She was done reacting.
It was time to act.
She picked up her phone and dialed a number she hadn't called in over a year.
A raspy voice answered after two rings. "Aria Blake. Never thought I'd hear from you again."
"I need intel," she said without preamble. "On a name. Julian Roth."
A pause. Then a low chuckle. "You always did know how to stir ghosts."
"This ghost left scorch marks," she replied. "Can you help or not?"
"I'll need a few hours," the voice replied. "But yeah… I can dig. Zurich, right?"
She stilled. "How did you—"
"Let's just say the embers of that fire never fully went cold."
The call ended, but the chill in her spine lingered.
⸻
Back inside the resort, Aria moved like a woman possessed—calm on the outside, calculating within. She passed vendors, interns, staff—all blurry noise in her periphery. All she could see was the web stretching around her. Zurich. Killian. Roth. The ledger. The lies.
Something had started long before she ever stepped foot back in this place.
And it was all circling toward one inevitable truth:
She'd never really been out of the game.
She just hadn't known which side she was on.
Not until now.
⸻
In her suite, she laid the Zurich documents out on the bed like puzzle pieces. Cross-referenced names. Matched dates. Highlighted time stamps. Two patterns began to emerge—one financial, one personal.
And both… pointed toward someone still inside Sapphire Reef.
Someone feeding the flames.
She picked up her pen. Circled a name.
And smiled—sharp, dangerous.
It was time to burn the truth into the open.
On her own terms.