Aria hadn't slept properly for some days, anonymous letters kept coming.
Each one arrived through different channels: slipped under her office door, delivered by street urchins, even one tied to an arrow that had embedded itself in her window frame.
All of them told the same story, all of them named the same perpetrator 'Zach'.
She sat at her desk in the Blue Phoenix Guild headquarters, the latest letter spread before her alongside the previous ones.
[Guild Leader Aria,
You've received multiple warnings now. Perhaps you thought the first letters were lies, slander from outsiders or haters, but can you truly dismiss them all?
Seventeen names, seventeen young women, all dead or missing. Some families received payments ranging from 300 to 800 gold coins as hush money, documented in Zach's private financial records.
You claim to value honor and justice. Prove it by Investigating, or become complicit in his crimes. ]
Aria's hands clenched into fists, she'd spent the past seventy-two hours doing exactly that. Investigating quietly, discreetly, hoping to prove the allegations false.
Instead, she'd confirmed them.
Three families in the outer district had admitted, after much hesitation and fear, that they'd received payments after their daughters "disappeared."
The amounts matched the letters exactly. One father had wept as he confessed: "They said if we spoke up, we'd lose everything. We're just refugees, who would believe us over a noble's son?"
Another family had shown her a receipt bearing Zach's signature, payment for "services rendered." When pressed, the mother had finally broken down: "My daughter came home bruised and bleeding.
She wouldn't tell us what happened. A week later, she was gone. Then Zach's people came with money and... suggestions that we take it and stay quiet."
Aria had checked guild financial records and found irregularities, funds labeled as "miscellaneous expenses" or "community outreach" that corresponded with the dates in the anonymous letters.
Everything pointed to the same horrifying conclusion: Zach had been systematically assaulting and silencing young women for at least two years, using guild and sometimes personal resources to cover his tracks.
And Aria had worked beside him the entire time, completely oblivious or perhaps she knew but decided to turn a blind eye towards it.
A knock at her door interrupted her spiraling thoughts.
"Enter," she called, quickly gathering the letters and hiding them in a drawer.
One of the guild's senior members stepped inside, Marcus, a B-rank warrior who'd been with the Blue Phoenix since its founding, his expression was troubled.
"Aria, we need to talk about the guild's finances. Several members are asking questions about recent expenditures. There are... discrepancies that don't make sense."
"What kind of discrepancies?"
"Large sums labeled as equipment purchases, but no corresponding inventory. Payments to vendors that don't appear in any legitimate registry. And..." He hesitated. "Some members are saying Zach has been diverting funds for personal use."
Aria's stomach dropped. "Do you have proof?"
"Not concrete proof, but enough circumstantial evidence to warrant an audit. The problem is, Zach controls most of the financial records. If we demand an investigation, he'll know we suspect something."
"Let him know," Aria said, her voice hardening. "I'll confront him myself."
Marcus looked surprised. "Are you sure? Zach's connection to the Viscount—"
"I don't care about his connections. If he's stealing from the guild, he needs to answer for it." And if he's doing far worse than stealing, she thought, he needs to face justice.
After Marcus left, Aria sat in silence for several minutes, gathering her courage.
Confronting Zach meant potentially destroying the guild she'd helped build. But allowing his crimes to continue was unthinkable.
---
Zach was hunched over his desk, surrounded by stacks of documents and ledgers.
Dark circles shadowed his eyes, and his expensive robes were wrinkled from days of continuous wear.
The stress of managing the guild during this crisis period was clearly taking its toll.
He looked up as Aria entered without knocking. "Aria. What is it? I'm extremely busy…"
"We need to talk. Now." She closed the door firmly behind her and activated a privacy ward, a simple spell that prevented sound from escaping the room.
Zach's eyes narrowed. "That's hardly necessary for a normal conversation."
"This isn't a normal conversation." Aria moved to stand directly in front of his desk, her posture rigid with controlled fury. "I know what you've been doing, Zach."
For just a moment, something flickered across his face, fear, perhaps, or guilt. But it vanished quickly, replaced by irritated confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"The girls. Seventeen of them, according to my count. Young women from the outer district who you assaulted, paid off, or made disappear entirely."
The color drained from Zach's face. "That's... that's a serious accusation. Do you have any idea what you're saying?"
"I know of your dirty behavior in the past, but I didn't know it was that bad. I now have witness testimonies, payment records with your signature, families who confirmed receiving hush money after their daughters were hurt or killed." Aria's blue flames began to manifest around her hands, flickering with barely contained rage. "I have everything I need to destroy you, Zach. The only question is whether you're going to confess or force me to expose you publicly."
Zach stood abruptly, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. "You've been listening to slander from outsiders! Someone is trying to tear us apart, and you're falling for it!"
"I did my investigation, spoke to the families myself, I reviewed the financial records, I've seen the evidence with my own eyes."
"Evidence can be fabricated! Families can be bribed to lie!" His voice rose with desperation. "Think about what you're doing, Aria. If you spread these lies, you'll destroy the Blue Phoenix Guild. Two hundred members depend on us for their livelihoods. Are you willing to ruin all of them based on unverified rumors?"
"They're not rumors and you know it." Aria stepped closer, her flames burning brighter. "Admit what you've done. Step down from your position quietly, face justice, and maybe…maybe….we can salvage the guild's reputation."
Zach's expression shifted from desperate to cold in an instant, the mask of panic fell away,
"You really think it's that simple?" His voice dropped dangerously low . "Do you know who my father is? Who my uncle is? I'm related to the Western King himself, Aria. My family's influence built this guild. Without our money and connections, the Blue Phoenix would be nothing."
"I don't care about your family connections."
"You should." Zach moved around the desk, closing the distance between them. "You think noble courts care about dead peasants from the outer district? You think anyone with real power will believe refugee families over a royal nephew?"
"The evidence…"
"Means nothing without the political will to pursue it and that will doesn't exist." He leaned in closer, his voice turning venomous.
"Even if you go public with these accusations, I'll weather it. My father will pay the right people, make the right threats, and this will disappear like it never happened, but you?" He smiled coldly.
"You'll be the guild leader who tried to destroy her own organization with baseless slander, your reputation will be ruined."
Aria's hands trembled with barely suppressed fury. "So you're admitting it. You did hurt those girls."
"I'm admitting that you have no power here." Zach's smile widened. "You're A-rank, yes. Powerful in combat, but in the real world, the world of politics and influence, you're nothing. A commoner playing at being important because you can throw fire around."
"I could kill you right now," Aria said quietly. "One burst of flame, and you'd be ash before you could scream."
"But you won't, because you're too noble, too righteous." He laughed mockingly. "That's always been your weakness, Aria. You believe in honor and justice like they actually mean something. Meanwhile, I understand how the world really works through power and connections and I have both."
The blue flames around Aria's hands flared violently before she forced them to extinguish.
Killing Zach would make her no better than him, and she doesn't want trouble from the royal family.
"You're right," she said with a clenched fist, her voice shaking with controlled emotion. "I won't kill you, but I will still try to expose you. Even if your family tries to suppress it, enough people will hear the truth that your reputation will be destroyed."
"Try it," Zach challenged. "Go ahead and throw yourself against the wall of noble privilege. See how far you get before you're crushed."
"At least I'll know I tried to do the right thing. Can you say the same?"
Zach's expression turned contemplative, almost pitying. "You know what the sad part is, Aria? You actually believe the world rewards people for doing the right thing. That truth and justice will prevail if you just fight hard enough, but the world doesn't work that way. The strong devour the weak, the connected protect each other and idealists like you get destroyed for their naivety."
He moved back to his desk, settling into his chair with practiced ease. "I'll give you twenty-four hours to reconsider. Go home, think about whether destroying the guild and your own career is really worth pursuing this crusade. If you come to your senses, we'll never speak of this conversation again."
"And if I don't?"
"Then you'll learn a painful lesson about how little justice matters in the face of real power." His eyes hardened. "And Aria? If you do try to expose me, I won't just defend myself. I'll make sure everyone knows about your involvement. How you enabled my behavior by turning a blind eye for years. How you benefited from the guild's success while crimes were committed under your nose. You'll be just as guilty in the public's eyes."
She stood in silence for a long moment, her mind racing through options and consequences.
Every path forward seemed to lead to destruction either of herself, the guild, or justice itself.
Finally, she turned toward the door.
"Twenty-four hours," Zach called after her. "Use them wisely to wake up to reality."
Aria left the office without responding, the privacy ward dissolving behind her.
She walked through the guild hall in a daze, barely acknowledging the members who greeted her.