Chapter 5 – Ghosts Don't Stay Buried
Aria's POV
The message burned on her screen like a brand.
"Ask Kade what really happened the night Marcus died. Or are you too afraid of the truth?"
Aria's fingers hovered over the keys, trembling slightly. She wanted to reply. To demand answers. But instead, she locked her phone and set it face down on the desk.
She stared at the dim reflection in the laptop screen. Her own face, pale and tired. Someone else's wife. Someone else's life.
And now — someone else's ghost.
She stood, grabbed the silk robe hanging from the chair, and wrapped it around herself. The house was quiet. Too quiet. A silence so thick it felt designed. Engineered.
She stepped into the hallway barefoot, the marble cold under her toes. Somewhere down the corridor, Kade's office door stood half-open, light spilling out onto the floor.
She didn't knock.
She just walked in.
Kade looked up from his laptop, eyes shadowed under the weight of fatigue — or something darker.
"You don't sleep much," she said.
He closed the screen slowly. "Did you need something?"
She crossed her arms. "I got another message."
His posture stiffened. "From her?"
She nodded. "She wants me to ask you what really happened the night Marcus Devereaux died."
For a moment, Kade didn't speak. His eyes dropped to the desk, as if the question wasn't new. As if it had lived inside him for years.
"He took his own life," Kade said flatly. "After the fallout. After everything I uncovered."
Aria stepped closer. "That's not the whole story."
"No," he admitted. "It's not."
He stood and walked to the window, arms crossed, back to her.
"I knew Marcus was hiding fraud. Dozens of people did. But no one had the guts to expose it — not while he was still powerful. I went after him because I believed in the truth. Because I thought I was doing the right thing."
"And?"
"I was. But I didn't stop there."
He turned, and for the first time, Aria saw it — regret. Subtle, but there.
"I pushed harder. Leaked records. Applied pressure. Used the press. The story blew up overnight. His family was dragged into it. Calista... she was eighteen."
"She blames you for his death."
"She blames me for destroying the version of him she loved."
Aria exhaled. "Did you?"
Kade's voice lowered. "I exposed the man he was. But I didn't care who got hurt in the fallout. Not then. That was my mistake."
The silence that followed wasn't empty. It was full of everything he wasn't saying.
"I didn't kill him, Aria," he added. "But I lit the match that burned everything down."
She studied him, her pulse uneven.
"Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"Because knowing makes you a liability," he said. "Now that you do, you'll need to choose."
"Choose what?"
"If you're going to protect this marriage... or run from it."
The line struck her like a slap. Cold. Sharp.
Aria lifted her chin. "I'm not running."
"Good." His tone softened, just slightly. "Because we may not have a choice."
---
The next morning, the penthouse was buzzing.
Security was doubled. A discreet PR team arrived with tailored clothes and a media agenda. And Serena briefed Aria on new protocols — appearances, statements, photo ops. All to keep the Vale-Devereaux story buried beneath designer smiles and headline charity events.
"You'll be attending the gala tonight alone," Serena added. "Mr. Vale has a board emergency."
Aria blinked. "Alone?"
"Publicly, yes. Privately, he'll be nearby."
Security detail, press coverage, calculated angles. Everything was choreographed.
Except Aria's spiraling thoughts.
She spent the day in quiet preparation, her gown chosen, hair styled to perfection. But beneath the glamour, tension simmered like a second skin.
She couldn't stop thinking about Calista. About the threat she posed. About the way Kade had looked when he confessed his role in Marcus's downfall.
Aria knew ambition.
She didn't know if she trusted it.
---
That night, the gala was held in a restored opera house — gold balconies, crimson velvet, chandeliers like stars frozen in glass. Aria arrived alone, cameras flashing, reporters calling her name.
She smiled. Lifted her chin. Played the role.
Mrs. Kade Vale.
The billionaire's bride.
The perfect accessory.
She gave short interviews, complimented the artwork, sipped champagne without tasting it.
And then, mid-sentence, she saw her.
Calista.
Dressed in black this time. Elegant. Understated. Poised.
She stood across the room, flanked by a couple of socialites, blending in — but her eyes were locked on Aria like a wolf studying prey.
Aria turned back to the reporter, finishing the interview with a polite smile, then slipped away into a quieter corridor near the ballroom.
Moments later, footsteps.
A soft voice behind her.
"You wear his name like a crown."
Aria turned.
Calista stood five feet away, calm and chilling. Her eyes gleamed with something colder than hatred — certainty.
"What do you want?" Aria asked, her voice low.
"I want the truth to matter again," Calista said. "I want the world to know what Kade Vale really is."
"You mean the man who exposed a criminal?"
"I mean the man who destroyed my family to make himself a god."
Her words were precise. Cut like razors.
Aria tried to stay calm. "Whatever your history is with him, I'm not part of it."
"But you are." Calista took a step closer. "You chose to marry the monster. That makes you his shield. His weapon."
"I'm not his anything."
"No?" Calista reached into her clutch and pulled out a flash drive. "Then you won't mind watching this."
She placed it gently in Aria's hand.
"Before you delete it — just ask him about the night before Marcus died. About the final call. About the offer."
"What offer?"
But Calista was already walking away.
---
Back at the penthouse, Aria stared at the flash drive for hours.
Kade wasn't home.
The city sprawled beneath her window like a silent witness.
And in her hands was a secret she hadn't chosen — but now couldn't ignore.
She plugged the drive into her laptop.
A video loaded.
Audio. Grainy. Time-stamped.
"You're making a mistake, Marcus."
"Please. Just let my daughter live without this shame."
"You should've thought of that before you started stealing."
A pause.
"I'll walk away quietly. But not if you drag her into this."
Kade's voice.
Cold.
Unyielding.
"Then die quietly."
And then… silence.
Aria's hand flew to her mouth.
The recording ended.