The massive, silent doors of the Thorne family mansion closed behind Victoria Thorne and Chloe Thorne. The air inside, usually heavy with expensive perfume and an inherited coldness, now felt thick with pure, unadulterated terror.
Victoria, Aria's stepmother, tore off her glittering diamond necklace and threw it onto a nearby marble table. The crashing sound echoed loudly in the large, echoing foyer. Her face, usually set with a look of permanent, harsh disapproval, was now pale and twitching with genuine fear beneath her flawless makeup.
"That woman," Victoria hissed, her voice raw and venomous. She should be gone! She should be buried! How can she be back like this, a perfect, elegant creature?
Chloe, the stepsister, looked equally undone. She clutched her arms, unable to stop shaking. Mom, I saw her eyes. She looked right at me, and there was nothing there—no weakness. She looked like a soldier. She didn't look like the scared girl we used to bully. She looked deadly.
Victoria sank onto a silk-covered settee, tears of sheer fury and desperation gathering in her eyes. Elias Vance is protecting her. He called her Aria Vance, distancing her from the Thorne name, making her look like a completely untouchable new partner. He is a powerful man, that CEO. He is using her to destroy our influence.
"But the kidnapping," Chloe whispered, her eyes wide. We paid that man to take her far away. We thought she was gone forever. How did she come back like this, so beautiful and strong?
"Quiet, Chloe!" Victoria snapped, clutching her daughter's arm painfully. That is a secret that stays buried forever! Do you hear me? No one must ever know we planned it. Especially not your father. If he finds out, we lose everything.
As the women whispered urgently in the dark foyer, a deeper voice cut through the silence.
"Find out what, Victoria?"
Charles Thorne, Aria's father, stood at the entrance to the living room. He was a distinguished older man, dressed in an expensive velvet smoking jacket. He had been quietly reading on the sofa, waiting for them to return from the corporate dinner. He looked at his wife and stepdaughter, instantly noticing their extreme distress, a distress they never showed.
"What happened at the dinner?" Mr. Thorne asked, moving closer. His brow furrowed with concern. You look like you saw a ghost. Did the Zenith acquisition fail?
Victoria and Chloe immediately composed themselves, forcing thin, practiced smiles onto their faces.
"No, dear," Victoria said, her voice strained. The Zenith deal is moving forward. It was just a shock, a profound shock. You see… Aria is alive.
Mr. Thorne froze completely. The air went out of his lungs. He felt a sudden, massive rush of pure, visceral memory, a memory he had buried for nearly three decades. His strong corporate shell cracked instantly.
"Aria?" he repeated, his voice barely audible. My daughter. She is… here? In the city?
Victoria quickly moved to him, taking his arm and offering a practiced, comforting touch. Yes, dear. Elias Vance brought her. She has been living abroad privately for years, under an assumed name, due to the trauma of the kidnapping. Elias presented her as the shareholder Aria Vance. She is clearly very fragile and formal. You can see why we are upset. It was cruel of Elias to bring her back without warning.
Victoria's words were a calculated lie, designed to redirect his focus and guilt toward Elias's perceived bad manners, rather than on the horrifying fact of Aria's return.
Mr. Thorne pulled his arm away, his eyes distant and filled with profound anguish. He barely heard Victoria. The image of the beautiful, elegant woman in red, confirmed to be his lost daughter, sent him crashing back into the past. He stood there, trembling, as the forgotten, devastating truth flooded his mind.
He remembered the woman who owned his heart: Elara. She was an artist, incredibly beautiful and warm, with a spirit brighter than any society woman he had ever met.
They were young and deeply in love. He was twenty-three, groomed to take over the massive Thorne Company. His mother and father, ruthless and obsessed with their family name and influence, were waiting. They had already arranged a suitable bride: Victoria, the daughter of a powerful senator, a match that would secure the company's future and inheritance.
"If you marry that girl, Charles," his father had warned him, his voice cold. You will inherit nothing. The company, the wealth, the name it all goes to your cousin. You will live on the street.
The pressure was immense. He was forced to choose between his love and the corporate empire. He chose the empire.
His mother, cruel and efficient, had demanded he end things with Elara. She went to meet Elara one final time. His mother had offered Elara a large sum of money to leave the city and never contact him again. Elara, standing tall and proud, refused the cash.
But when his mother returned, she lied to her son.
"She took the money, Charles," his mother had said, her face severe. She confessed she never loved you. She only wanted the money.
He had believed the lie because the alternative that he was selling his soul and betraying a good woman was too painful to accept. He hardened his heart, married Victoria, and took over the company, never knowing Elara was carrying his child, Aria. His parents had carefully hidden the pregnancy from him.
A few months later, his parents used their influence to get Elara thrown out of her meager home. She was left to struggle alone, working hard to make a living for herself and her daughter, Aria. She developed a severe sickness from the stress and hard work. By the time Aria was ten, Elara had died, and the young girl was placed in an orphanage.
Charles had only found out the true story and the existence of his daughter sixteen years later, after his mother was gone and the truth was accidentally revealed by a family lawyer. He found Aria in the orphanage and, driven by unbearable guilt, brought her home.
But the guilt was so deep that he was distant and quiet around Aria, unable to bridge the gap of the life he had stolen from her. This distance allowed Victoria and Chloe to treat Aria cruelly, eventually resulting in the kidnapping that nearly ended her life.
Mr. Thorne finally raised his head, his eyes burning with an unbearable guilt that was now mixed with a desperate hope.
"Aria is back," he murmured, the name tasting like a profound regret. My daughter. She survived the darkness I put her in.
Victoria watched him, her fear turning to cold calculation. Yes, Charles. But she is changed. She is a formal stranger. She looks just like that woman, Elara, but she is cold and very intimidating. Please, you must be careful. The memory is too painful for her, and she is clearly here on corporate business.
"She is my daughter," Mr. Thorne said, his voice suddenly firm, laced with regret. He walked away from Victoria, up the grand staircase, leaving his wife and stepdaughter alone in their fearful silence. He would find a way to make amends. He knew he had failed her once; he would not fail her again.
The next morning, across the city in her sleek penthouse, Aria was preparing for the meeting with Jax Ryland.
Elias Vance, who was incredibly handsome with sharp, defined features and an athletic build honed by his own intense training, watched her as she dressed. He chose a tailored black pantsuit that was professional, elegant, and severe—a corporate version of her military uniform. Her long, dark hair was pulled into a high, flawless ponytail, emphasizing the sharp angles of her striking face. She looked like the CEO of her own fashion company, not just a traumatized shareholder.
"Remember the plan, Elias," Aria said, adjusting the lapel of her jacket. I am formal, polite, and deeply concerned about the stability of the acquisition. I know nothing about music and nothing about hacking. I am just here to ensure my corporate interests, which align with yours, are protected.
Elias, who wore a perfect dark grey suit and projected his own powerful CEO aura, nodded. He was gentle and quiet only with her. The fact that the Thorne family respected him only for his power as a CEO was exactly what he and Aria had leveraged for their corporate moves.
"I know, Commander," Elias said, using her old military title in private. I will run the corporate strategy. I will handle the money talk. You just need to be beautiful, intimidating, and silent. Let Jax Ryland see the mask, not the soldier.
Aria looked at her reflection. She was indeed beautiful, possessing a fierce, untouchable elegance. Her body, however, was hardened by years of training, every movement precise and efficient. She was not fragile. She was a weapon.
"He already suspects," Aria replied, her voice low. His intuition is too sharp. He is a predator, Elias, and I recognize a fellow fighter. He will not stop just because I am beautiful and polite. He sees my corporate presence as a lie. That is why we must play our roles perfectly. We cannot give him any proof.
"And Jax?" Elias asked, a hint of his deep-seated jealousy entering his voice. He did not like that Jax Ryland was the only person who saw through Aria's mask. He feared that Jax, the confident, handsome leader of Aether, would understand the soldier side of her, the side Elias fought to protect.
"Jax is the target," Aria dismissed, her focus returning to business. He is trying to trap me on his territory. We are going onto their territory. Let's see what game they are planning at Zenith Records.
Aria picked up her slim briefcase. She walked out of the penthouse, ready to face the man who saw right through her perfect, elegant mask. The war was moving to the enemy's conference room.