The red emergency lights pulsed like a bleeding heart. Around us, the elite of the city were being ushered out by security, their hushed whispers sounding like the buzzing of locusts.
I pulled out of Lucian's grip, my skin crawling. The diamond on my finger, which felt like a symbol of protection moments ago, now felt like a shackle.
"You knew," I whispered, my voice trembling with a mix of rage and betrayal. "You knew my mother was alive. You knew she was connected to your father."
Lucian reached for me, his face a mask of tortured stoicism. "Aria, listen to me. It's not what you think. I was protecting you."
"Protecting me?" I let out a sharp, hysterical laugh. "That's what Mark said every time he hid a bank statement! 'Protecting' me is just another word for 'lying' in this family, isn't it?"
Before he could answer, my grandfather stumbled toward us. Silas Vance, the man who had stood like an oak against every corporate storm, looked ancient. His face was gray, his hand shaking as he stared at the silver dagger pinned to the curtain.
"She's back," Silas breathed, the word sounding like a death sentence. "The Shadow of the Vance family... she's come to collect the debt."
"Grandpa, tell me the truth!" I demanded, grabbing his arm. "Who is Elena really? Why did everyone say she was dead?"
Silas looked at Lucian, a silent, heavy exchange passing between the two men. It was the look of two generals hiding a secret from a soldier.
"She wasn't just a Vance, Aria," Silas said, his voice dropping to a ghostly whisper. "She was the lead architect for the Thorne-Vance merger twenty-five years ago. But she discovered that the Thorne family hadn't built their wealth on tech. They built it on... something darker. When she tried to blow the whistle, Lucian's father had her erased. Not killed. Erased."
I turned to Lucian, my heart plummeting. "Your father... he destroyed her?"
"My father is a monster, Aria," Lucian said, his voice cracking for the first time. "I spent my life building my own empire so I wouldn't be like him. I didn't tell you about Elena because I didn't think she was a threat anymore. I thought she was broken. I didn't know she had turned into... this."
Suddenly, the giant LED screens in the ballroom the ones that had been displaying photos of our "happy" engagement flickered to life.
It wasn't a photo. It was a live feed.
The camera was shaky, moving through a dark, industrial space. Then, it focused on a chair. Sitting in it, bound and gagged, was Leo.
"No!" I screamed, lunging toward the screen.
A voice, distorted and cold, echoed through the ballroom speakers. It was feminine, melodic, and terrifyingly similar to my own.
"Hello, Little Bird. Did you enjoy your little party? Did you enjoy playing 'CEO' with the son of the man who tried to bury me?"
The camera panned up. The woman from the balcony stood there, her face still partially hidden. She held a scalpel to Leo's throat.
"You think you won because you put a cockroach like Mark in a cage? Mark was just a distraction. I sent him to you. I wanted to see if you had the Vance spine or if you were soft like your father."
My breath hitched. "You... you sent Mark to me? You planned my marriage?"
"He was a test, Aria. And you failed for five years. But now, you've joined forces with a Thorne. That is a sin I cannot forgive."
The woman leaned into the light. Her eyes were the same shade as mine, but they were devoid of any light. A long, jagged scar ran from her ear to her jawline the mark of a survivor who had crawled out of hell.
"You have one hour, Aria. If you want your little hacker to live, come to the Old Pier. Alone. If I see a single Thorne shadow behind you, I'll send you his head as a wedding gift."
The screen went black.
The silence that followed was deafening. I turned to Lucian, but he was already barking orders into his comms, his "General" mode taking over.
"Secure the perimeter! I want every satellite over the North Pier active! Move!"
"Lucian, stop!" I grabbed his lapel, forcing him to look at me. "She said alone."
"I don't care what she said! It's a suicide mission, Aria! She's a professional."
"She's my mother!" I yelled. "And she's doing this because of your family! If you follow me, Leo dies. Do you understand? I've already lost my husband, my best friend, and my sanity. I am not losing Leo."
I didn't wait for his permission. I turned and ran toward the service exit.
"Aria! Stay back!" Lucian roared, but his own security team accidentally blocked his path in the chaos of the red-lit room.
I reached the parking lot, my heart thundering. I didn't take the Maybach. I took a black motorcycle belonging to one of the security guards, the keys still in the ignition.
As I roared out of the estate, I saw Lucian's silhouette in the rearview mirror, standing under the red lights, looking like a fallen king.
I had spent my life being a pawn in Mark's game. Then I became a partner in Lucian's game.
But as I sped toward the pier, the wind tearing at my silk dress, I realized the truth. I wasn't a player. I was the prize. And the woman waiting for me wasn't just my mother.
She was the person who was going to teach me that in the world of the 1%, love isn't a sanctuary. It's a target.