The alarm continued to blare, red lights flashing across the underground garage like a warning heartbeat.
Aria's fingers tightened around Jayden's arm as the message burned on the screen.
FINAL WARNING: GIVE HER TO US.
The words felt unreal, like something pulled from a nightmare she couldn't wake up from.
Jayden didn't look away from the screen. His expression hardened into something cold, something dangerous.
"They're bluffing," he said.
Aria swallowed. "Are you sure?"
"No," he admitted. "But I'm not handing you over."
He reached into the car's console and pulled out a sleek black handgun. Aria's breath caught as he checked the magazine with practiced ease.
This wasn't the Jayden she'd met weeks ago the composed billionaire, the controlled strategist.
This was a man who had lived this life before.
"Jayden," she whispered. "If this turns violent"
"It already is," he interrupted quietly.
He stepped out of the car and scanned the garage, eyes sharp, posture alert. Aria followed him reluctantly, every instinct screaming that this place was no longer safe.
The garage was massive, stretching deeper underground than she could see. Pillars cast long shadows, and the echo of the alarm bounced off concrete walls, making it impossible to tell where danger might come from.
Jayden guided her toward a reinforced door at the far end.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"Control room," he said. "If we shut down their access, we buy time."
"Buy time for what?"
He didn't answer.
That scared her more than anything else.
As they moved, Aria's mind raced. The woman at the café. The messages. The way Jayden had reacted not surprised, not confused, but… resigned.
Like this had always been inevitable.
"Jayden," she said as they reached the door. "You need to tell me something."
He keyed in a code and pushed the door open. "Now isn't the time."
"There may not be another time," she shot back.
He paused, his back to her. For a moment, she thought he might ignore her.
Then he spoke.
"They're not just after leverage," he said quietly. "They're after a decision I've been avoiding."
Aria stepped inside the control room with him. Screens flickered to life, showing security feeds from multiple locations.
"What decision?" she asked.
Jayden turned to face her fully. His eyes were dark, conflicted.
"Whether to burn them down completely," he said, "or walk away and let them keep what remains."
Her heart skipped. "And I'm part of that choice."
"Yes."
The truth hit her like a blow.
"So this is all a test," she whispered. "They're seeing what you'll sacrifice."
"They already know what I won't sacrifice," he replied, voice steady but strained.
Aria shook her head. "You don't know that. You don't even know what I want."
Silence fell between them, thick and charged.
"What do you want?" Jayden asked quietly.
She opened her mouth, then stopped.
What did she want?
Safety? Truth? Distance?
Or him?
"I want honesty," she said finally. "Even if it's ugly."
Jayden looked away, jaw tight. "Then you need to understand something."
He tapped a screen, bringing up a list of names executives, financiers, political figures.
"These people," he said, "once controlled everything I am now. I didn't just learn from them. I helped them."
Aria felt her chest tighten. "Helped how?"
"I built systems," he admitted. "Financial weapons. Tools designed to bankrupt rivals, silence dissent, erase reputations."
Her stomach churned.
"And when you left?" she asked.
"They kept using what I built," he said. "And blamed me when it started turning on them."
"So you're dangerous to them," Aria murmured.
"Yes," he said. "But so are they."
A sharp sound echoed through the garage.
Footsteps.
Jayden tensed instantly. He pulled Aria behind him as voices drifted closer.
"They're inside," Aria whispered.
Jayden's eyes flicked to the security feed. "Three of them. Maybe four."
Her heart pounded. "What's the plan?"
Jayden hesitated just for a second.
Then he said, "You trust me?"
She laughed softly, tears stinging her eyes. "I don't even know if I should."
His gaze softened. "I won't let them take you."
"That's not what I asked."
He took a step closer. "If you stay with me, this doesn't end today. Or tomorrow. Or even next year."
"I know."
"They will threaten everyone you care about."
"I know."
"You may lose everything you had before me."
Her voice trembled. "I already have."
The footsteps were closer now.
Jayden closed his eyes briefly, then nodded. "Then we do this together."
Gunfire erupted outside the control room.
Jayden shoved Aria behind a reinforced console as bullets struck metal. He returned fire with controlled precision, movements smooth and practiced.
Aria covered her ears, heart racing, fighting panic.
This was real.
This was happening.
The shooting stopped as suddenly as it began.
"Stay down," Jayden ordered.
He moved cautiously toward the door, gun raised.
Suddenly, a voice echoed through the speakers.
"Jayden," the voice said calmly. "You know this is pointless."
Aria froze.
The voice continued. "We don't want blood. We want balance."
Jayden's jaw clenched. "You broke into my property."
"And you broke our system," the voice replied. "We're even."
Aria whispered, "Who is that?"
Jayden didn't answer.
"Bring the girl," the voice said. "And this ends peacefully."
Jayden laughed coldly. "You don't get to negotiate."
"Then she pays the price," the voice replied smoothly.
Aria stood suddenly. "Stop."
Jayden spun around. "Aria, don't—"
She stepped forward, heart pounding. "I'm tired of being spoken about like an object."
The voice paused.
Then chuckled. "She's braver than you described."
Jayden's face darkened. "Don't talk to her."
Aria looked at Jayden. "You said I'm part of the plan."
He hesitated.
"Then let me choose," she said softly.
The control room fell silent.
Jayden searched her face, conflict tearing through his eyes.
Finally, he shook his head. "I won't trade your life for peace."
"And what if this is the only way to stop them?" she asked.
His voice broke. "Then I burn everything."
The intensity in his words stole her breath.
She reached for his hand. "Jayden… look at me."
He did.
"I'm not asking you to sacrifice me," she said. "I'm asking you to trust me."
Before he could respond, another message appeared on the screen.
WE ARE DONE ASKING.
The lights went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Aria's breath hitched as cold metal pressed more firmly against her back. Her heart slammed so violently she was sure whoever stood behind her could feel it.
"Wrong choice," the voice whispered again.
Jayden moved instantly.
Before the figure could tighten their grip, Jayden spun, slamming his shoulder into the attacker. The gun clattered to the floor, skidding across concrete as the emergency lights flickered back on in a dull red glow.
"Get down!" Jayden shouted.
Aria dropped behind the console just as another gunshot rang out. Sparks flew from the metal wall as Jayden returned fire, his movements sharp and precise, like muscle memory taking over where thought ended.
The control room erupted into chaos.
Alarms blared again, overlapping warnings flashing across the screens—SECURITY BREACH, MULTIPLE ENTRY POINTS, SYSTEM OVERRIDE IN PROGRESS.
"They're everywhere!" Aria shouted.
Jayden ducked behind cover beside her. "Not everywhere," he said grimly. "Exactly where they need to be."
"What does that mean?"
"They're not here to kill me," he said. "They're here to steal."
Her stomach dropped. "Steal what?"
Jayden glanced at the main screen as lines of code began to scroll rapidly. "My servers. My financial backbone. Everything I built to dismantle them."
Aria's mind raced. "So this is a heist."
"Yes," he said. "And you were the distraction."
The words stung, even though she knew he didn't mean them cruelly.
Another explosion rocked the garage above them, dust drifting from the ceiling.
Jayden grabbed her hand. "We need to move. Now."
He led her through a narrow side door just as the control room door burst open behind them. Voices echoed—urgent, controlled, professional.
Not mercenaries.
Experts.
They ran through dim corridors, emergency lights guiding their path. Aria struggled to keep up, fear and adrenaline blurring everything together.
"Jayden!" she gasped. "Where are we going?"
"To the core," he replied. "If they get what they came for, this doesn't end with us alive."
They reached a heavily reinforced door marked RESTRICTED ACCESS. Jayden placed his palm on the scanner, then entered a rapidly changing code.
The door slid open.
Inside was a room unlike any Aria had seen before. A circular chamber filled with towering servers, glowing faintly blue, humming with contained power. Thick cables ran along the walls like veins.
"This is it," Jayden said. "My failsafe."
Aria stared in awe. "This controls everything?"
"Yes," he said. "And once they breach it, they own me."
Gunfire echoed closer.
"They're coming," Aria whispered.
Jayden moved to the central console. "I need three minutes."
"Three minutes?" she echoed. "You don't have three seconds!"
Jayden met her eyes. "I trust you."
Her heart skipped. "With what?"
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small device. "If they break through that door, you use this. It'll lock the system and wipe the access trail."
"And you?" she asked.
"I'll buy you time."
"No," she said sharply. "Absolutely not."
Jayden cupped her face briefly, his touch grounding her amid the chaos. "Aria, listen to me. Whatever happens… you don't let them take this."
Her throat tightened. "You're talking like you won't make it back."
His lips curved faintly. "I always make it back."
Then he turned and moved toward the door just as it shook violently under impact.
Aria pressed herself against the console, hands trembling as she watched Jayden brace himself.
The door exploded inward.
Smoke filled the corridor as armed figures flooded in. Jayden fired with deadly accuracy, forcing them back, but there were too many.
Aria's heart pounded painfully as she watched him fight efficient, relentless, terrifyingly calm.
This was the man behind the billionaire.
The man no one saw.
A loud crack echoed, and Jayden staggered slightly.
"Jayden!" she screamed.
"I'm fine!" he shouted back, though blood darkened his sleeve.
The attackers regrouped, spreading out, trying to flank him.
Aria's mind screamed at her to act.
She looked down at the device in her hand.
Lock the system.
Her fingers hovered over the trigger.
But then she noticed something on the screen.
A new access point.
From inside.
"No…" she whispered.
Someone had already breached the system.
Her breath caught as a familiar name flashed on the monitor.
A name Jayden had mentioned only once.
Her pulse roared in her ears.
"Jayden!" she shouted. "They're already inside the system!"
He glanced back, eyes widening. "That's impossible."
"It's not," she said, voice shaking. "They had help."
Another gunshot rang out, forcing Jayden to retreat behind cover.
"Who?" he demanded.
Aria swallowed hard. "Someone you trusted."
The realization hit him like a physical blow.
"No," he muttered. "Not him."
The attackers surged forward again.
Aria made her choice.
She slammed the device against the console.
The room shook as the servers began to power down, lights flickering wildly. Alarms screamed louder, systems collapsing in cascading failures.
"What did you do?" Jayden shouted.
"I locked it," she cried. "And wiped everything."
The attackers froze.
"NO!" one of them shouted. "You idiot do you know what you've done?"
Jayden stared at the screens, disbelief slowly giving way to something else.
Relief.
"They can't control it anymore," he said.
"But" Aria's voice trembled. "What about you?"
Jayden moved back to her just as the remaining attackers retreated, realizing the mission had failed.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Aria's legs gave out, and Jayden caught her before she hit the floor.
She buried her face against his chest, shaking. "I thought I lost you."
His arms wrapped tightly around her. "You didn't."
For a long moment, they just stayed there, surrounded by the hum of dying servers and the weight of what had almost happened.
Finally, Jayden spoke softly. "You chose me."
She pulled back, eyes shining. "I chose us."
His gaze softened in a way she'd never seen before.
But the moment shattered when one final screen flickered back to life.
A single message appeared:
THIS IS NOT OVER.
Jayden's expression hardened.
"Whoever helped them," Aria whispered, "they're still out there."
"Yes," he said. "And now… they know how far you're willing to go."