The silence between Aria and Damien stretched long and heavy.
He stood in front of her, holding the file Marcus had delivered. His hands trembled slightly not with fear, but with restraint.
"Aria," he began carefully, "there's something you need to see."
She looked up from her hospital bed, eyes tired, lips pale. "Please don't say it's another photo."
"No. It's… a name."
He handed her the file.
She took it, slowly flipping it open. Her eyes scanned the page.
Then stopped.
One name glared up at her in bold ink:
Helen Lawrence
Her mother.
Aria's breath caught. "What is this?"
Damien crouched down beside her. "It's a financial statement. Your mother received a transfer of five hundred thousand dollars just two weeks before our contract was signed."
Aria blinked rapidly. "From who?"
"From a Voss Holdings subsidiary. Under a shell company that Kieran once controlled."
Her hands gripped the edge of the bed. "So you're saying… my mother knew?"
"Yes. And she didn't tell you."
Later that day, Aria was discharged from the hospital under strict bed rest orders.
She returned to Voss Manor with tight lips and a storm inside her chest.
She hadn't spoken a word since the revelation.
Not to Damien. Not to the doctor.
Not even to herself.
She didn't know what to say.
Because how do you explain that your own mother may have sold you, piece by piece, into a contract you thought was your idea?
Aria dialed the number from memory.
It rang twice before Helen Lawrence answered, her voice polished and distant.
"Aria? What's wrong? I heard you were in the hospital."
Aria didn't respond right away. "Did you take money from the Voss Corporation?"
A pause.
Then, "Aria, where are you getting this—?"
"Just answer me," she snapped. "Did you?"
Helen sighed. "It wasn't what you think—"
"So you did."
"It was a settlement," Helen said quickly. "Your father left us nothing. We were drowning in debt. I needed to secure our future."
"So you secured it by selling mine?" Aria asked, her voice cracking.
"You were going to sign the contract anyway—"
"I did it for Elena! Not for your bank account!"
Another pause.
Helen's voice cooled. "You were always so naive. You think Elena would've hesitated to do the same for you?"
"Don't you dare bring her into this."
"I did what I had to do," Helen said simply. "And you'll thank me one day, when all this drama passes and you're left with a powerful husband and a trust fund for your child."
Aria whispered, "I thought you were the one person left who loved me unconditionally."
"Love isn't always soft, Aria. Sometimes it's survival."
The line went dead.
That evening, Aria sat alone in the garden behind the manor, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.
Damien walked out, stopping when he saw her sitting in silence under the trees.
He approached slowly. "Did you talk to her?"
Aria nodded. "She didn't even flinch. Like betrayal was just business."
Damien sat beside her. "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to find out this way."
Aria turned to him. "Do you think she ever loved me? Or was I just… a ticket to her redemption?"
"I think people like your mother confuse control with care," he said gently. "But you don't have to carry her decisions."
She gave him a fragile smile. "I think I've spent my whole life trying to fix the things she broke."
"And now?"
"Now…" she exhaled. "I just want to protect what's mine."
She placed a hand on her stomach.
"This baby didn't ask for any of this. So from here on out, I fight—for me. For us."
Back inside the house, Marcus received another anonymous message.
"You've removed Vanessa. But the real enemy still lives in your bloodline."
Attached was a photo of an older man.
Marcus's jaw clenched as he read the name:
Harrison Voss
Damien's estranged father.