The city's evening lights flickered through the massive glass windows of Liam's office, casting amber and silver streaks across the polished floor. Amelia stood in the elevator, her reflection catching her eye in the mirrored walls. Her heart pounded—not from nerves, but from the decision she had finally made.
No more waiting. No more uncertainty.
She needed the truth. About her father. About Liam. About the silent war that had been unfolding around her since the day she stepped into Blackthorne Enterprises.
Earlier that afternoon, she had met with her old college friend, Daniel Shaw—a data analyst who had once interned with her father's company. They hadn't spoken in years, but when she reached out with vague questions, he agreed to meet her in a quiet corner café on the Upper West Side. What he told her there set her on a new path.
"Amelia," he had said, leaning closer across the table, "your dad and Liam Blackthorne weren't just business rivals. There was a takeover deal gone wrong. Very wrong. But what no one talks about… is what your father did to sabotage Liam's early business ventures. If you dig into acquisition records from about eight years ago, you'll see some unusual patterns. Hidden names. Shadow investors. Start there."
She remembered the weight of his words and the look in his eyes when he added, "Just be careful. People like Blackthorne don't play fair."
Now, as she stepped out of the elevator into the dim hallway leading to the lower archives—where company financials and board reports from previous years were stored—Amelia felt the thrill of rebellion course through her veins.
This was more than curiosity. It was survival.
More than anything, she needed clarity. The truth was the only way to make sense of her loyalties—and her heart.
She swiped her badge to unlock the archive room. The cool, sterile air hit her instantly. Steel filing cabinets stood like silent sentinels in long rows, dim overhead lights humming above.
She walked with purpose. Daniel had mentioned a shell company: Regis Capital—a name that had appeared in multiple takeover deals linked to her father's firm. She opened the cabinet for Year 1 of Blackthorne Enterprises' founding decade and began pulling out reports, contracts, and merger records. Her fingers worked fast, flipping pages, scanning paragraphs.
Then she saw it.
A three-way acquisition. Blackthorne Enterprises was the buyer. Regis Capital had been the middleman. And Hale Global—the company founded by her father—had quietly pulled out days before the public announcement.
But what caught her attention was a signature. On a memo buried within a folder labeled Non-Disclosure Agreement – Addendum B. The signature wasn't just Liam's. It was someone else's.
Her father.
And the date? Two weeks before Liam's first startup crashed mysteriously due to a "sudden financial withdrawal."
Her hands trembled.
So Daniel had been right.
Her father had helped destroy Liam's early progress. But why?
She pulled out her phone and took photos of every relevant document. Names. Bank transfers. Side agreements. If this ever turned into a full-blown war, she needed to understand both sides. And protect herself.
As she zipped up her bag, the door behind her creaked. Amelia froze.
Her heart jumped into her throat as she turned.
It was Liam.
He stood in the doorway, hands in the pockets of his dark slacks, his eyes unreadable in the half-light.
"I didn't expect to find you here," he said, his voice calm, too calm.
She took a breath. "I could say the same about you."
He stepped inside, the door shutting behind him with a soft click. "Most employees don't go poking around the archive room without clearance."
"Most employees don't have their lives turned upside down by secrets no one wants to explain."
Liam's jaw flexed, but he didn't respond right away. Instead, he walked past her and picked up one of the folders she had opened. He glanced through it, then set it down.
"You're digging," he said. "Looking for dirt on me? Or on your father?"
"Both," she replied without hesitation. "I need to understand what's really going on. Why there's so much tension. Why you act like I'm a pawn in something bigger."
His eyes searched hers. "And what have you found?"
She hesitated. "Enough to know that my father isn't innocent. But neither are you."
He smiled faintly, almost bitterly. "That's the problem with the truth. Once you find it, it never fits neatly into any story."
Amelia crossed her arms. "Did you know he'd ruined your first company? That he was behind it?"
"I suspected," Liam said. "But proving it would have taken years. So I did what I do best—I moved forward. I built something bigger. Stronger."
"And then hired his daughter to work for you," she added.
Silence stretched between them.
"You don't believe in coincidences," she continued. "So why me?"
Liam's expression darkened. "At first, it was a test. Then it became something else."
Amelia's chest tightened. "And what is it now?"
He took a step closer, the tension between them palpable. "Now… it's complicated."
"No kidding," she whispered.
For a long moment, neither spoke. The only sound was the faint hum of the lights and the thunder of her own heartbeat.
"I'm not here to destroy anyone," she said. "But I won't be manipulated. Not by my father. Not by you."
He nodded slowly, his gaze never leaving hers. "Then maybe it's time we stop playing games."
"What does that mean?"
"It means," he said, stepping aside, "you're free to decide where your loyalty lies. But just know—whatever you choose, it'll shape your future in ways you can't undo."
With that, he turned and left.
Amelia stood still, the cold air brushing against her skin like a warning.
She had come here looking for answers—and found far more than she expected.
But maybe… just maybe, it also opened a door.
A door toward independence. Toward truth. And perhaps… toward a new version of herself.