The ledger sat heavy between them, a beast waiting to be unleashed. Aria traced the scarred leather with her fingertips, her breath uneven. Darius leaned against the desk, arms crossed, watching her like a man waiting for judgment.
She opened it.
The first page was covered in names — neatly written columns, some struck through, others annotated with symbols she didn't recognize. The ink bled sharp against the yellowed paper, the kind of handwriting carved with purpose, not ease.
Her pulse quickened. She turned another page.
Dates. Locations. Transactions. Not ordinary business — these were movements, deals, debts collected in whispers. A map of power stitched together in ink and blood. She recognized one name, faint but unmistakable — a politician who had shaken her hand at the gala just days ago. Next to his name: a red mark, circled twice.
"What does this mean?" she whispered.
"It means," Darius said quietly, "that you've just touched the web. And webs are dangerous things to disturb."
She flipped to the next page—
BANG.
The door slammed open.
One of Darius's men stumbled inside, his face pale, a bead of sweat running down his temple. "Boss. We've got a problem."
Darius's head snapped up. "What kind of problem?"
The man swallowed. "The shipment. It didn't arrive. Someone intercepted it."
The shift in the room was immediate — tension hardened into steel. Darius straightened, his calm veneer cracking into sharp, cold fury. "Who?"
"We don't know yet. But… they left a message." He handed over a small black envelope, edges scorched as though kissed by fire.
Darius tore it open, scanning the single line inside. His jaw clenched, veins in his hand tightening around the paper.
Aria couldn't help herself. "What does it say?"
His eyes met hers, storm-dark and merciless.
"It says," he murmured, voice low, "that they know exactly where to hurt me."
The ledger lay open, half-revealed, but Aria's eyes weren't on it anymore. They were on Darius — and for the first time, she realized the lions weren't just outside the den. They were circling, closer than ever.