Her phone was still glowing in her hand, the last message burning into her eyes like a warning she could not erase.
If you knew who he really was… you'd run.
Her breathing was shallow. Every instinct screamed at her to move, to hide the phone, to pretend nothing had happened but fear rooted her to the spot.
Then Jayden's voice came again, closer this time.
"Aria?"
She swallowed hard and slid the phone beneath the pillow just as the door opened.
Jayden stepped inside, his expression tense, eyes scanning her face as though searching for something he couldn't quite name.
"You didn't answer," he said quietly.
"I—" Her voice cracked. She cleared her throat. "I was thinking."
His gaze lingered on her, sharp and perceptive. "Thinking about what?"
The truth pressed against her chest, heavy and suffocating. She wanted to ask him everything. To demand answers. To shove the phone in his face and force him to explain.
But something stopped her.
Fear.
Not of him but of what the answers might do to them.
"About everything," she said instead.
Jayden nodded slowly. "That's fair."
He stepped further into the room, closing the door behind him. The soft click echoed too loudly in the quiet space.
"We need to talk," he said.
Her pulse quickened. "About what?"
"About trust."
That single word made her chest tighten.
Jayden leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "Someone contacted you, didn't they?"
Her heart nearly stopped.
"You can tell?" she asked, barely above a whisper.
"I can feel it," he replied. "The shift. The hesitation."
Aria hesitated, then slowly pulled the phone from beneath the pillow and held it out to him.
Jayden stared at the screen.
His jaw tightened.
"They've crossed a line," he said.
"So it's true?" she asked quickly. "There's more you haven't told me."
"Yes," he admitted.
The honesty stunned her more than a lie would have.
"Why?" she demanded. "Why keep things from me when you say I'm already involved?"
Jayden exhaled slowly, rubbing a hand over his face. For the first time since she'd met him, he looked… tired.
"Because some truths don't just explain danger," he said. "They create it."
Aria shook her head. "You don't get to decide what I can handle."
"I was trying to keep you safe."
She laughed bitterly. "From what? The truth? Or from you?"
The words hung between them, sharp and painful.
Jayden straightened. "Sit down."
Something in his tone told her this was no longer optional.
She sat.
Jayden took the chair opposite her, elbows resting on his knees. His gaze was steady, serious.
"You deserve to know who you're standing beside," he said. "But once I tell you this… there's no turning back."
Aria's heart pounded. "I'm already past turning back."
He studied her for a long moment, then nodded.
"I wasn't always a billionaire," Jayden began. "And I wasn't always on the right side of the law."
Her breath caught.
"When I was younger," he continued, "I was recruited into a private financial syndicate. Not criminals in the traditional sense no guns, no drugs. Just power. Influence. Money moving invisibly."
Aria listened, frozen.
"They taught me how to manipulate markets," he said. "How to destroy companies without ever stepping into a courtroom. How to control people using debt, leverage, and fear."
Her stomach twisted. "You were one of them."
"Yes."
The word landed like a blow.
"I didn't realize what it was at first," he went on. "I thought it was mentorship. Opportunity. By the time I understood the cost… I was already too deep."
"Then why leave?" Aria asked.
Jayden's eyes darkened. "Because they crossed a line I wouldn't."
He stood abruptly and walked to the glass wall, staring through it as if looking into the past.
"They targeted someone innocent," he said. "Used her as leverage. Destroyed her life to send a message."
Aria's throat tightened. "The woman you mentioned."
"Yes."
Silence stretched.
"I exposed them," Jayden continued. "Leaked information. Crippled their operations. Took everything I knew and built something they couldn't control."
"And now they want it back," Aria whispered.
"They want me back," he corrected. "Or destroyed."
Aria hugged herself tightly. "And the message… about me choosing you?"
Jayden turned back to her. "They believe I'll make the same mistake twice."
Her chest ached. "And will you?"
"No," he said instantly. "I won't sacrifice you."
"But staying with you puts me in danger."
"Yes."
She laughed softly, tears stinging her eyes. "You see the problem."
Jayden crossed the room and knelt in front of her, lowering his voice.
"Aria, look at me."
She did.
"I won't lie to you again," he said. "Not about this. Not about us."
The word us sent a shiver through her.
"But you need to understand," he continued, "that if you stay, they will test you. Threaten you. Manipulate you."
Her hands trembled. "What if they already are?"
Jayden's eyes sharpened. "Have they contacted you again?"
"No," she lied.
The silence that followed told her he didn't believe her.
That night, Aria couldn't sleep.
Every sound felt louder. Every shadow darker.
She replayed Jayden's words again and again.
I won't lie to you again.
But lies weren't always spoken.
Sometimes they were withheld.
Her phone buzzed softly.
She froze.
Another message.
UNKNOWN: You think he told you the worst part?
Her fingers shook as she typed.
ARIA: Who are you?
The reply came instantly.
UNKNOWN: Someone who survived him.
Her heart pounded violently.
UNKNOWN: Meet me tomorrow. Come alone. Or you'll never know the truth.
A location pin appeared.
Aria stared at it, pulse roaring in her ears.
Across the room, Jayden slept lightly, unaware.
She looked at him, conflict tearing her apart.
Trust him… or uncover the truth.
By morning, she had made her choice.
As Aria quietly slipped out of the safe house, her phone buzzed one last time.
UNKNOWN: If Jayden follows you… you die
Aria had never felt fear like this before.
Not the sharp, sudden kind that came with danger you could see. This was quieter. Heavier. A fear that wrapped itself around her chest and squeezed tighter with every step she took away from the safe house.
If Jayden follows you… you die.
The message echoed in her mind as she moved through the narrow underground corridor, each step measured, careful. Her heart hammered so loudly she was sure it would betray her, echoing off the concrete walls.
She didn't look back.
If she did, she might stop.
And if she stopped, she would never know the truth.
The exit she used was one Jayden had shown her only hours earlier a secondary route meant for emergencies. It led to a service elevator disguised behind a maintenance panel. Her hands shook as she pressed the sequence Jayden had taught her.
The elevator descended silently before rising again, bringing her up far from the main estate.
When the doors slid open, cool night air brushed against her skin.
She stepped out into an unfamiliar part of the city.
The location pin on her phone led her to an abandoned café tucked between two closed-down buildings. The sign above it flickered weakly, the letters barely visible.
Aria hesitated across the street, scanning her surroundings.
Empty sidewalks. Broken streetlights. A single car parked too far down the road.
This was a mistake.
Her instincts screamed at her to turn back.
But then she thought of Jayden's face when he spoke of the past. Of the way his jaw tightened. Of the things he hadn't said.
Someone who survived him.
Her feet moved before her mind could argue.
The café door creaked as she pushed it open.
Inside, the smell of dust and old coffee lingered. Chairs were stacked upside down on tables. Moonlight filtered through grimy windows.
"You're late," a woman's voice said.
Aria spun around.
A woman stepped out from behind the counter, tall and sharp-featured, her dark coat pulled tight around her frame. Her eyes were cold not cruel, but wary, like someone who had learned never to relax.
"You came alone," the woman continued. "Good."
"Who are you?" Aria demanded, forcing her voice steady.
The woman studied her. "My name doesn't matter. What matters is what you don't know."
Aria's heart pounded. "You said you survived him. What does that mean?"
The woman let out a humorless laugh. "It means I walked away before he destroyed me."
"That's not true," Aria snapped. "Jayden isn't"
"Careful," the woman interrupted. "That's how it starts. Defending him."
Aria clenched her fists. "Then tell me. What did he do?"
The woman leaned against the counter, eyes never leaving Aria's face. "He doesn't hurt people with his hands. He hurts them with choices. With silence. With power."
Aria shook her head. "You're lying."
"Am I?" the woman asked softly. "Did he tell you how many lives were ruined before he turned against them? How many people paid the price for his rise?"
Aria swallowed. "He told me he exposed them."
"Yes," the woman said. "After learning from them. After benefiting from them."
The words cut deep.
"Why are you telling me this?" Aria asked. "What do you want?"
The woman straightened. "I want you to walk away before you become collateral damage."
"I won't," Aria said immediately.
The woman's eyes hardened. "Then you're already lost."
Before Aria could respond, a sudden noise echoed outside.
Footsteps.
Fast. Heavy.
The woman's expression changed instantly. "We've been followed."
Aria's blood ran cold. "You said"
"I didn't follow you," the woman snapped. "They did."
The café door burst open.
Two men stepped inside, dressed casually but moving with lethal precision. Their eyes locked onto Aria immediately.
"Aria Lawson," one of them said calmly. "You're coming with us."
The woman cursed under her breath. "Run. Now."
Gunfire shattered the silence.
The woman shoved Aria toward the back door just as glass exploded behind them. Aria stumbled forward, heart in her throat, adrenaline surging.
They burst into the alley, sprinting through darkness and debris.
"Why are they after me?" Aria cried.
"Because you matter to him," the woman shouted back. "And that makes you valuable."
A car screeched into the alley ahead, blocking their path.
Aria's breath hitched. They were trapped.
Suddenly, another engine roared from behind.
A black car slammed into the alley, clipping one of the armed men and sending him sprawling.
The driver's door flew open.
Jayden.
"Get in!" he shouted.
Aria didn't hesitate.
She dove into the passenger seat as bullets struck metal. Jayden slammed the door and floored the accelerator, the car fishtailing before shooting onto the main road.
Her heart pounded so hard she felt dizzy.
"You followed me," she gasped.
Jayden's jaw was rigid. "You left without telling me."
"They said if you followed, I'd die," she whispered.
He glanced at her sharply. "They lied."
She laughed hysterically, tears streaming down her face. "They almost didn't."
Silence filled the car as they sped through the city.
Finally, Jayden spoke. "Did you meet her?"
"Yes," Aria said quietly. "She says she survived you."
His grip tightened on the steering wheel.
"And do you believe her?" he asked.
Aria hesitated.
"I don't know," she admitted. "But I believe she's afraid. And I believe you're not telling me everything."
Jayden exhaled slowly. "I was trying to protect you."
"That excuse is getting old," she replied.
He pulled the car into a hidden garage beneath another property and cut the engine.
The silence that followed was heavy.
"Aria," Jayden said softly, turning to face her. "You were never supposed to be used against me."
"But I am," she said. "And you still won't tell me everything."
His eyes darkened. "Because the last thing I did for power nearly destroyed someone I loved."
Her breath caught. "Loved?"
"Yes."
She searched his face. "Was it her?"
"No," he said quietly. "It was someone else."
Before she could ask more, alarms began blaring throughout the garage.
Jayden's eyes snapped to the security feed.
"They've found us again," he said.
Aria's stomach dropped. "What do we do?"
Jayden met her gaze, something fierce burning in his eyes.
"Now," he said, "we stop running."