Aria Vale wasn't surprised when the storm came.
She'd invited it.
---
The headlines about Vale Corporation's financial scandal were still fresh when the whispers began at school.
"She's trying to make her dad go bankrupt."
"She's dangerous."
"She probably leaked it herself just for attention."
In reality, Aria didn't care about the rumors.
What mattered was that her father was now hemorrhaging money.
Her mother's company—Vale Luxe—was beginning to crumble under the weight of its own stolen foundations. And that was just the first crack.
The next would be Brielle.
---
Brielle's plan arrived wrapped in pink gloss and fake sweetness.
It started with a text message sent anonymously to the entire senior class.
"Aria Vale has been sleeping with her family's lawyer to manipulate court documents."
Attached was a blurry photo of Aria sitting across from her mother's old lawyer in a dim café.
Taken just two days ago.
By noon, the school was ablaze with whispers.
"Did you see it?"
"Her stepdad's lawyer?"
"God, she's actually sick."
Aria found the photo amusing.
So Brielle wants to play dirty? Good.
She hadn't even started fighting yet.
---
When Aria walked into homeroom, the conversations died. Eyes followed her like she was a ghost.
She moved to her seat in silence, her heels clicking against the tile.
Nova Ainsley sat beside her, chewing on a pen. "Well, someone's trying hard to ruin your reputation."
"Let them try," Aria said calmly, opening her notebook.
Nova raised a brow. "You're planning something."
"Always."
---
That afternoon, Aria uploaded a short, sharp video to the school's anonymous confession forum.
It was a 20-second clip—no commentary—just surveillance footage of Brielle, two nights prior, sneaking into her father's home office and taking photos of Aria's meeting at the café from the window.
The post read:
"Who's the stalker now?"
The school flipped.
"She took the photo herself?"
"That's so creepy."
"Wait, is she obsessed with Aria or Lucien?"
It worked like wildfire.
Brielle spent most of the day crying in the girl's bathroom while Aria smiled quietly in the library.
---
Meanwhile, Lucien Blackthorn was getting impatient.
He leaned against his desk in the Blackthorn Enterprises private office, watching his assistant, Rina, drop a folder on his desk.
"Everything we could find on Aria Vale," she said. "Legally, she's clean. But that's what worries me."
He flipped through the pages.
Clean academic records. No criminal background. No close friends. No social media trail beyond the surface.
"She's hiding something," Lucien muttered.
"She's hiding everything," Rina said. "But here's the interesting part—her mother's company wasn't just absorbed by her father. It was annihilated."
Lucien looked up. "Go on."
"Her mother was pushed out illegally. There was a rushed vote, signatures that don't line up, and a hospital visit the next day. Nothing ever got pursued legally."
Lucien closed the folder slowly.
"Find out what hospital her mother was admitted to," he said. "And track down the original shareholders."
"What should I tell them?"
Lucien looked out the window, his jaw clenched. "Tell them someone's digging up a buried body."
---
At school, things got worse.
Or better, depending on perspective.
Ethan cornered Aria again near the lockers after last period.
"Why are you doing this?" he demanded.
"Doing what?" she asked coolly.
"Humiliating Brielle. Pushing your father's company into scandal. Pretending like you're some… vengeful ghost."
"I'm not pretending," she said simply. "And you should walk away before I decide to haunt you next."
Ethan grabbed her wrist—not hard, but enough to make her freeze.
"You're trying to make me jealous, aren't you?" His eyes burned. "Still obsessed with me."
Aria's voice dropped to a deadly whisper.
"You were never worth obsession. You were a distraction—one I've outgrown."
Ethan's grip faltered.
Then someone grabbed him from behind and shoved him against the lockers.
Lucien.
His hand on Ethan's collar, his voice low and lethal.
"Touch her again, and you'll need surgery."
The hallway went dead silent.
Aria stared at Lucien as he released Ethan like garbage, then turned to her.
"You're reckless," he muttered.
"And you're… interfering."
He took a step closer, gaze locked with hers. "Who are you really, Aria Vale?"
She smiled up at him.
"Someone you'll never quite understand."
---
The next day, a package arrived in Aria's locker.
Unmarked.
Inside was a slim black folder with a single line written across the top:
"For when you're ready to burn the house down." —K.R.
It was from Kai Renley.
She opened it.
Inside were documents—real ones. Financial records, board meeting notes, witness accounts.
Proof that her father had framed her mother for corporate fraud years ago, then used that scandal to take over Vale Luxe completely.
There was enough here to start a full criminal investigation.
Aria closed the folder, her fingers trembling.
This is it.
The key to revenge.
But also, a nuclear bomb.
---
Later that night, Aria stood on the rooftop of the school, the cold wind tugging at her hair.
Lucien found her there.
He didn't say anything at first—just stood beside her, hands in his coat pockets.
"You don't flinch easily," he said.
"Should I?"
"I threatened someone for you."
"I didn't ask for protection."
"I didn't do it for you."
She turned to him. "Then why?"
Lucien met her eyes. "Because he touched you without permission. And because I don't like him."
Aria studied him for a long moment. "You don't like anyone."
"Correct."
"So why are you here?"
Lucien hesitated.
Then: "Because you scare me."
Aria blinked. "What?"
"Not in the way you think," he said. "You remind me of someone I couldn't save."
She went still.
A memory flickered behind her eyes—him, bleeding, dying for her in her past life. Still trying to protect her even as she screamed his name.
"You didn't fail them," she whispered.
Lucien frowned. "What?"
Aria shook her head. "Nothing."
Silence stretched between them.
Then Lucien stepped closer.
"You're not like them," he said. "But you're not like me, either."
"Then what am I?"
"A puzzle I can't put down."
---
At the Renley estate, Kai watched the video feed of Aria on the rooftop from a security drone.
He turned to his assistant.
"She's almost there."
The assistant nodded. "Should we prepare the next phase?"
Kai smiled. "Let her think she's in control a little longer."
---
The final blow came the next morning.
Aria dropped the folder from Kai onto the desk of an old business reporter at The Times with an anonymous tip.
Within hours, the media exploded.
"Former CEO Implicated in Decade-Old Fraud Scheme"
"Vale Corporation to Face Government Probe"
"Whistleblower Evidence Surfaces in Corporate Takeover Scandal"
Her father's empire cracked.
Her stepmother vanished from the company website.
And at home that night, Aria received a call from her father.
She didn't answer.
She let it ring and ring.
Until it stopped.
Then deleted the voicemail.
---
At breakfast, the Vale mansion was empty.
No stepmother pouring overpriced tea. No father reading headlines at the table. No Brielle preening in front of mirrors like the world belonged to her.
Aria sat alone, slicing into her poached eggs with delicate precision. The silence was delicious.
They're scared.
Her phone buzzed.
Nova Ainsley:
Girl. The news! It's everywhere. You're a damn legend.
Aria smirked.
That was one thing about Nova—she never asked questions she didn't want real answers to. And Aria appreciated that.
What she didn't appreciate was the next headline.
> "Lucien Blackthorn linked to Vale Luxe probe—anonymous whistleblower suspected to have connections with Blackthorn Enterprises."
Her jaw tensed.
They think it was Lucien.
She hadn't meant for the fallout to hit him.
And if he was dragged into the mess she'd created... it would only make him dig deeper into her.
That could be dangerous—for both of them.
---
At Blackthorn Enterprises, Lucien watched the news with unreadable eyes.
"Should we release a statement, sir?" Rina asked.
Lucien shook his head slowly.
"Let them speculate."
Rina hesitated. "This could hurt your standing."
Lucien didn't look away from the screen.
"I'm used to enemies."
But privately, his thoughts were spinning.
Aria. Again.
She had struck at her father like a knife through silk—and done it so cleanly that no one saw her hand move.
She wasn't reckless. She was calculating.
And yet, she'd looked at him on that rooftop with something raw in her eyes.
Something real.
He needed to know which part of her was the truth—and which was the mask.
---
Back at school, Aria walked through the courtyard like a queen returning to her kingdom.
But her kingdom had changed.
Everyone stared at her—but not with pity or laughter anymore.
It was something else now.
Fear.
Brielle's voice cut through the tension.
"Why are you even here?" she snapped, marching up to Aria in front of half the senior class. "Trying to find your next victim?"
Aria looked her over, calm and perfectly poised. "You seem nervous."
"I'm angry," Brielle hissed.
"You're scared. And desperate. I can smell it on you."
Brielle's face twisted. "Lucien won't want you after this. You think destroying your own family makes you impressive? It makes you disgusting."
"Let's test that theory, shall we?"
Before Brielle could respond, Lucien's shadow fell over them both.
He had just arrived. Everyone went quiet.
Lucien's eyes flicked from Brielle to Aria.
"Walk with me," he said to Aria.
She didn't hesitate.
Brielle stood frozen, humiliated in front of the entire school.
---
They walked in silence toward the edge of the gardens, out of earshot from the others.
"You're making waves," Lucien said.
"I like the ocean."
He stopped, facing her. "You dragged me into your war."
"No. I shielded you from the blast. The media connected dots that weren't yours to hold."
He tilted his head. "So I'm innocent?"
Aria gave him a small smile. "No one's innocent, Lucien. Especially not us."
There was something dangerous in the way she said us.
Lucien stepped closer. "What exactly do you want from me?"
"Everything," she whispered. "But not yet."
He blinked. "That's... honest."
"I told you," she said, brushing past him. "I don't lie anymore."
---
Later that afternoon, Brielle made her move.
She cornered Lucien in the art wing, wearing a tight, white sundress and a fake smile.
"I just wanted to check on you," she said sweetly. "With all the... drama lately."
Lucien barely glanced up. "Did you need something?"
"I just thought maybe we could talk. Somewhere private."
Lucien finally looked at her.
Flat. Cold.
"I don't talk to liars."
Brielle's smile faltered.
"I saw you, Brielle," he said evenly. "And I know what you tried to do to Aria."
Brielle's voice shook. "She's manipulating you."
"No. But you are. Poorly."
And with that, he walked away.
Brielle's hands clenched at her sides.
---
Aria watched it all from the third floor.
She'd known Brielle would try to seduce Lucien. That was expected.
But Lucien rejecting her so completely... that was new.
And it made something twist in her chest.
Because Lucien wasn't just choosing her now.
He was protecting her. Again.
And she wasn't sure how long she could keep her own walls up.
---
That evening, Kai Renley called.
"I take it you used the folder," he said.
"I did," Aria replied. "Why did you give it to me?"
"Because you're more interesting alive than dead."
Aria paused. "What do you want from me, Kai?"
"Information. Chaos. You. Not necessarily in that order."
She laughed softly. "You're dangerous."
"So are you. That's why I like you."
His voice lowered. "Be careful with Lucien. If he finds out everything, he might not protect you anymore."
"Let him try to uncover it," she said coldly. "He'll fall in love before he finds the truth."
Kai chuckled. "Then I'll keep watching. Let me know when you're ready to burn more bridges."
---
At school the next day, Ethan snapped.
He showed up to Aria's homeroom early, dragging her out by the arm before she could react.
"Let go," she hissed.
He didn't.
"What's going on between you and Lucien?" he demanded.
"None of your business."
"I see the way he looks at you."
"You mean like someone who actually sees me?"
Ethan's face twisted. "You used to love me."
"No," Aria said, voice like ice. "I used to need you. I mistook that for love."
Ethan's eyes narrowed. "You think he'll stay with you after what you've done?"
Aria didn't answer.
She didn't have to.
Because Lucien was there again—at the end of the hallway. Watching. Waiting.
Ethan saw him. Let go. And walked away.
Lucien approached slowly.
"He keeps touching you," he said.
"I can handle him."
"Doesn't mean I won't break him for it."
Aria studied him. "Why do you care?"
Lucien's jaw tightened.
"I don't know," he admitted.
And that terrified her more than anything.
---
That night, Aria received a call from a blocked number.
When she answered, a low voice said only one word:
"Run."
Then the line went dead.
Aria stared at the phone.
The war wasn't over.
It was only just beginning.