Aria did not sleep a single wink. She sat perfectly still on the edge of the massive mattress, her fingers tightly clutching the glossy photograph inside the deep pocket of her coat. Her father was alive. The realization was a massive tidal wave of pure adrenaline that completely washed away her paralyzing grief. He had faked his violent death. And if he was alive, he had a concrete plan. She just needed to survive long enough to find him.
The heavy steel door clicked loudly. The mechanical locks disengaged one by one.
Aria stood up immediately, sliding her empty hand out of her pocket.
A tall woman strode confidently into the luxurious room. She wore a tailored black tactical uniform. Her dark hair was pulled back into a severe braid, and a large silver serpent tattoo crawled up the side of her pale neck. Two heavily armed guards stepped in right behind her, their faces entirely blank.
"Get on your feet," the woman commanded, her voice dripping with absolute venom. "You have slept long enough."
"I am already standing," Aria pointed out calmly. "Who are you?"
"My name is Elena," the woman replied, stepping directly into Aria's personal space and looking her up and down with deep disgust. "I am the chief enforcer of the Cross estate. And while Mr. Cross is away dealing with the massive mess you created, you belong exclusively to me."
"Where did he go?" Aria asked, keeping her voice incredibly steady.
"He is attending an emergency Syndicate tribunal," Elena sneered, pacing slowly around Aria like a circling predator. "Hector Vargas formally challenged your purchase. Half the ruling council wants you handed over to the cartel, and the other half wants to dissect you to find the hidden vault your father built. Kieran is risking his entire empire to keep a filthy stray dog like you breathing."
"Then I suggest you take very good care of me," Aria said softly. "If I am truly worth an entire empire, damaging me would be a very poor career choice."
Elena stopped pacing immediately. Her dark eyes flared with raw, unadulterated anger.
"You think your bloodline makes you special," Elena whispered maliciously. "You think because your father was a brilliant thief, you deserve respect. But in this specific world, women are either deadly predators or they are simply prey. You are nothing but bait. Now move. We are going down to the courtyard."
"Why?" Aria questioned, not taking a single step forward.
"Because Mr. Cross does not harbor useless parasites," Elena snapped, gesturing sharply to her armed guards. "If you are going to live under this roof, you will earn your absolute keep. Walk, or my men will gladly drag you down the stairs by your hair."
Aria evaluated her options quickly. Fighting two armed guards in a locked room was certain suicide. She needed to see the physical layout of the estate. She needed to find the exterior exits. She nodded slowly and walked toward the open doorway.
They escorted her down the grand marble staircase and out through the heavy rear doors.
The morning sun was absolutely blinding. The estate courtyard was incredibly vast, paved with rough gray cobblestones and surrounded by high concrete walls topped with electrified wire. Dozens of Syndicate soldiers trained in the open air. The rhythmic sound of heavy boots hitting the gravel and fists striking thick leather bags echoed loudly.
Every single pair of eyes locked onto Aria as she walked out into the sunlight.
"Over here," Elena ordered, pointing toward a long row of outdoor kennels housing massive guard dogs. A rusted metal bucket filled with soapy water and a stiff scrub brush sat on the wet stones. "Start scrubbing the concrete. Do not stop until I can see my reflection in the stone."
Aria looked down at the dirty bucket and then back up at the chief enforcer.
"Kieran did not pay fifty million dollars for a maid," Aria stated clearly, her voice carrying across the quiet courtyard. Several guards stopped their training completely to watch the brewing confrontation.
"Mr. Cross is not here," Elena reminded her with a cruel, mocking smile. "He left you under my direct command. Pick up the brush, little bird."
Aria stood completely still. She analyzed Elena very carefully. The chief enforcer was incredibly tense, shifting her weight slightly onto her back foot. She desperately wanted an excuse to cause physical pain. She was burning with jealousy.
"You are in love with him," Aria observed out loud, her tone laced with absolute pity. "That is what this is actually about. You are the chief enforcer, yet he brought a strange woman into his personal sanctuary last night. You are feeling incredibly threatened by my presence."
Loud gasps rippled through the gathered crowd of soldiers.
Elena turned completely pale, and then her face flushed bright red with pure fury.
"Pick up the brush right now," Elena hissed, taking a highly threatening step forward.
"No," Aria replied simply.
Elena did not hesitate for a fraction of a second. She lunged forward with terrifying speed, throwing a devastating closed fist strike directly toward Aria's jaw. It was a professional punch, designed to shatter bone and immediately knock the victim completely unconscious.
But Aria was not the helpless civilian they all naturally assumed she was.
The paralyzing grief was gone entirely. Her father was alive. She had a real reason to fight.
Time seemed to slow down entirely. Aria shifted her weight seamlessly, stepping precisely inside the arc of the incoming strike. She brought her left arm up, brutally deflecting Elena's forearm away from her face. In the exact same fluid motion, Aria grabbed Elena's extended wrist with both hands.
It was a highly specialized close combat maneuver. Her father had forced her to practice it thousands of times in their concealed basement.
Aria planted her feet firmly on the wet cobblestones, twisted her entire torso, and applied maximum punishing leverage against Elena's locked elbow joint.
A loud, sickening crack echoed through the totally silent courtyard.
Elena unleashed a bloodcurdling scream of pure agony as her wrist completely fractured.
Aria did not stop there. Using the enforcer's own forward momentum against her, Aria swept Elena's legs out from under her with a vicious kick to the back of the knee. The chief enforcer slammed face first into the hard cobblestones with a heavy thud.
Aria instantly dropped her body weight, pinning Elena rigidly to the dirt. She twisted the broken wrist securely behind the enforcer's back, pressing her knee aggressively into Elena's spine to keep her entirely immobilized.
The entire courtyard erupted into immediate chaos. A dozen assault rifles were simultaneously leveled directly at Aria's head. The metallic clicking of mechanical safeties being switched off echoed like small firecrackers.
Aria did not flinch. She kept her knee firmly planted on the weeping enforcer, breathing heavily but feeling an incredibly deep, intoxicating surge of absolute satisfaction.
"Stand down!" a booming, thunderous voice roared from high above them.
Aria snapped her head up quickly.
Standing on the expansive master balcony, looking directly down at the violent scene, was Kieran Cross. He was not at the Syndicate tribunal. He was wearing a dark, unbuttoned dress shirt, holding a steaming cup of coffee in his right hand.
He stared intently down at Aria pinning his chief enforcer to the dirt. He did not order his men to shoot.
Instead, a slow, incredibly dark smile spread across his handsome face. He raised his coffee cup slightly toward her, offering a silent, deeply impressed toast.