LOGAN'S POV
The sound of my phone buzzing wakes me at 5 AM. My neck screams in pain from sleeping in the chair all night. Worth it, though. The girl—Aria—is still asleep on my bed, safe.
I grab my phone. Fifteen missed calls from Marcus. Twenty emails marked urgent. And one text that makes my blood freeze:
"Emergency. Robert Crane just bought 30% of Chen Enterprises. He's moving against us. Get to the office NOW."
No. No, no, no.
Robert Crane is the snake who destroyed my father's company fifteen years ago. The man who taught me that in business, kindness gets you killed. And now he's somehow bought a third of the company I'm supposed to acquire?
I look at Aria sleeping peacefully. Her face is relaxed now, no longer twisted in fear. Part of me wants to stay, make sure she's okay when she wakes up. But if Crane has moved this fast, I'm already behind.
I pull out hotel stationery and write quickly:
"You were drugged. I made sure you were safe. Call hotel security if you need anything. - L.P."
I leave cash on the nightstand—enough for a cab, food, whatever she needs. Then I take one last look at her and leave.
The elevator ride down feels like falling.
Marcus is pacing in my office when I arrive. His tie is loose, his hair messy. He never looks messy.
"Tell me everything," I say, dropping into my chair.
"Crane bought Chen shares through shell companies. We didn't see it coming." Marcus throws a folder on my desk. "But that's not the worst part."
"What's worse than Crane stealing my deal?"
"Someone helped him." Marcus points to a document. "Someone inside Chen Enterprises gave him confidential information about our acquisition. Financial records. Meeting notes. Everything."
My hands curl into fists. "Who?"
"We don't know yet. But Logan..." Marcus hesitates. "There's something else. The party last night? Three women reported their drinks being drugged. Hotel security is investigating."
Aria's terrified face flashes in my mind. Three women. She wasn't the only target.
"Did they catch who did it?" I ask.
"No. But here's the strange part—all three women are connected to Chen Enterprises somehow. Employees, family members, business partners."
The pieces click together in my head like a puzzle made of poison.
"Someone drugged multiple women at a business party where Chen Enterprises was trying to save their company," I say slowly. "Then Crane magically buys into Chen the next morning with insider information."
Marcus nods grimly. "It's not a coincidence."
"No, it's a setup." I stand up, my mind racing. "Someone at that party wanted chaos. They drugged women, caused a scene, made Chen Enterprises look weak and distracted. Then while everyone was dealing with the fallout, Crane swooped in."
"But who would sabotage their own company like that?"
The woman in the red dress. The one who smiled when Aria fell. Maya Chen.
"I need everything on Maya Chen," I tell Marcus. "Not tomorrow. Not in an hour. Right now."
He pulls out his laptop and starts typing. Two minutes later, his face goes pale.
"Logan... Maya Chen met with Robert Crane three days ago. At his private club."
The fury that fills me is cold and sharp. Maya drugged her own sister. She probably drugged those other women too. All to create the perfect distraction for Crane to make his move.
"She sold out her own family," I say quietly. "Her own blood."
"There's more." Marcus turns his laptop toward me. "Maya just posted on social media twenty minutes ago. She's announcing her relationship with someone."
I look at the screen. My heart stops.
The photo shows Maya Chen wrapped around Robert Crane, both of them smiling. The caption reads: "To new beginnings and powerful partnerships. #Blessed #PowerCouple"
"She's with Crane," I whisper. "She's actually with him."
Marcus closes his laptop carefully. "Logan, if Maya and Crane are working together, this isn't just about buying Chen Enterprises anymore. This is personal. Crane knows you'll come after him for this."
"Good." I grab my jacket. "Let him know I'm coming."
"Where are you going?"
"To find Aria Chen and tell her the truth about her sister." I head for the door. "She deserves to know who really tried to destroy her last night."
But when I call the hotel, the front desk tells me something that makes my blood run cold:
"Miss Chen checked out an hour ago, sir. She left with a woman in a red dress who said she was her sister."
No.
"Did she look like she wanted to leave?" I demand.
The clerk hesitates. "Well... now that you mention it, Miss Chen seemed upset. But her sister was very insistent that she needed to come home."
I hang up and dial hotel security. "This is Logan Pierce. I need you to check the security footage from the penthouse floor immediately. A woman may be in danger."
While I wait, Marcus says quietly, "Logan, you barely know this girl. Why are you—"
"Because I've seen this before." The words come out harder than I mean them to. "I watched someone drug my friend Sophie at a party just like last night. Everyone ignored her. She died alone in a hospital three days later."
Marcus goes silent.
My phone rings. Security. "Mr. Pierce, we reviewed the footage. Miss Chen left with her sister at 7:15 AM. She looked distressed, but she went willingly."
"Where did they go?"
"A car was waiting. We got the license plate."
"Send it to me. Now."
The plate number appears on my phone. Marcus is already tracing it before I can ask.
"Logan..." His voice is strange. "That car is registered to Robert Crane."
Everything stops.
Maya drugged Aria. Then she took her to Crane.
The same Crane who destroys people for fun. Who ruined my father. Who's now buying Chen Enterprises with Maya's help.
"What does Crane want with Aria?" Marcus asks.
But I already know. My stomach turns with the horrible truth.
"Leverage," I say. "If Aria's father cares about her at all, Crane now has the perfect hostage to force Chen to sell to him instead of me."
I'm running for the elevator before I finish speaking.
"Logan, wait!" Marcus calls. "You can't just—"
The elevator doors close on his protests.
My hands shake as I text my driver: "Crane's estate. Now. Break every traffic law."
Then I text Marcus one more thing: "Call the police. Tell them Robert Crane kidnapped someone. I don't care if you have to lie."
The city blurs past my window. I keep seeing Aria's face. Her terrified blue eyes. The way she whispered "help me" like she'd given up hoping anyone would.
I helped her once. I won't fail her twice.
My phone buzzes with a message from an unknown number:
"Looking for something, Pierce? Come to my estate. Alone. Or the Chen girl pays for your interference. You have one hour. - R.C."
Below the message is a photo.
Aria, tied to a chair in what looks like a basement. Her eyes are wide with fear. There's a bruise forming on her cheek.
Rage fills every cell in my body.
"Drive faster," I tell my driver.
Sixty minutes. I have sixty minutes to save the girl who trusted me to keep her safe.
And this time, I won't be too late.