Aria stood by the window, watching the city lights blur beneath the rain drops slid down the glass like silent tears, but her face stayed still behind her, the soft ping of her phone echoed again.
Liam Chen:
"I want to talk in person name the time."
She didn't reply not yet.
Instead, her eyes fell on the envelope she had dropped on Ethan's lap hours ago. It was a warning — the first piece in a larger plan. One that would crumble the foundation of the people who once buried her but Liam…he wasn't her target,he wasn't innocent either.
---
Two years ago, when the scandal broke, Aria had waited outside his office. In the pouring rain for seven hours she had just been kicked out of the Lin mansion. The media was ripping her apart and Liam — her last hope — had walked past her like a stranger that memory still burned.
She had believed he didn't care. But deep down, something told her… it wasn't so simple.
---
Later that night, her phone buzzed again.
This time, it wasn't a message it was a call she hesitated — then answered.
Aria, Liam's voice was calm, but there was something tight beneath it you're not the same.
You noticed,she replied dryly, stepping away from the window took you long enough.
I saw what you did to Ethan that wasn't just a threat it was strategic.
Observation skills still sharp, she said are we done?i need answers,you don't deserve them silence.
Then he said,you think I abandoned you,you are wrong
She scoffed you think I care about being wronged?
But her fingers gripped the phone tighter,I didn't speak up back then… because if I had, you would've been buried worse.
Aria froze What?
There were people behind that scandal, Aria bigger than the Lin family you were just the scapegoat I tried to handle it quietly.
She sat down slowly, her breath caught between disbelief and rage and you thought letting me rot alone in the public eye was the quiet way?she whispered.
I thought you'd be safer if I stayed away well she said, her voice cold,congratulations I died alone and safely
He said nothing then, softly let's meet
---
The next morning, Aria stood in the lobby of Chen Group Headquarters.
She didn't wear fear or doubt just her beige suit, heels, and the phoenix pendant that gleamed like fire under the light.
As the elevator doors opened, she stepped in, heart steady.
This meeting wouldn't be about romance.
It wouldn't be about closure.
It would be about truth and maybe, control.
Because if Liam was hiding something…
She was ready to tear the truth out of him herself.