Semua Bab My One-Night Mistake Is My Billionaire Boss: Bab 11 - Bab 20

Sleep did not visit her that night.Aria lay awake in her dark apartment, watching shadows crawl across the ceiling. Every creak of the building made her flinch. Every passing car headlight made her reach for a phone she had turned off hours ago. Marcus Webb's face lived behind her closed eyelids like a stain she could not wash away.She had seen him yesterday in the lobby. Smiling. Nodding. Holding the door like a gentleman. The same hands that pushed her down those stairs had probably waved at her from across the street. The same eyes that watched her fall had probably watched her stand back up. She wondered if he was disappointed she survived.At six fifteen, she gave up on rest. She showered, drank coffee she barely tasted, and dressed without looking at what she chose. The key card to the east wing sat on her counter. She left it there. She would not need it anymore. The truth had already found her.---Blackwood Tower looked different in the morning light. Not gleaming. Not powe

Dr. Helena Vance practiced medicine from a building that did not advertise.Aria found the address buried in a medical journal from three years ago, the page marked with a coffee stain and a torn corner. The structure stood apart from its neighbors – clean white stone, black shutters, no sign announcing what happened inside. Only a small brass plaque beside the door: Vance Neurology. By appointment only.She arrived at nine forty-five. Fifteen minutes early. Enough time to study the entrance, calm her nerves, and pretend she knew what she was doing. Her reflection stared back from the dark glass – pale face, tired eyes, hair pulled into a knot that had already started slipping.The door buzzed before she knocked.---The lobby smelled like lavender and old paper.A reception desk sat empty, a single computer screen glowing blue in the dim light. Three chairs lined the wall, upholstered in grey fabric that had seen better decades. A water fountain bubbled in the corner, its sound too l

Sleep refused to visit Aria. She sat on her bedroom floor, back pressed against the mattress, knees drawn to her chest. The clock on her nightstand blinked at 2:17 AM. Then 2:43. Then 3:08. Each minute stretched longer than the last, thick as molasses, heavy as dread. Her phone lay facedown on the carpet. She had checked it seventeen times since midnight. No new messages. No calls. No explanation for the text that had vanished from her inbox. Monday will be too late. Sleep with one eye open. She had not imagined it. She could still feel the words pressed against her retina, each letter burned into memory. --- At 3:15, a knock sounded at her door. Aria froze. Three soft raps. Pause. Three more. Not urgent. Not the police. Someone who wanted her to answer but did not want to wake the neighbors. She rose on silent feet. Crossed the living room without turning on the lights. Pressed her eye to the peephole. Marcus Webb stood in the hallway. His uniform was rumpled, tie loosened,

Damien stared at the message for thirty seconds.Then he took Aria's phone, photographed the screen, and handed the device back. "I know someone who can trace the number. Give me twenty-four hours.""You believe there was another person on that beach?""I believe Victor never lies without purpose." He pocketed his own phone. His hand trembled slightly. "If he says someone else watched us, someone else watched us. The question is who."Aria leaned against her car. The morning sun had burned through the grey, but she felt no warmth. "Your father died before the proposal.""Yes.""Marcus was working security at Blackwood Tower.""Yes.""So not them." She pressed her palms against her temples. The headache Dr. Vance warned about had arrived – dull, persistent, located somewhere behind her eyes. "Who else would Victor bring to witness my humiliation?"Damien opened his mouth. I closed it. His jaw tightened.Then his fist slammed against the car roof."I don't know." His voice cracked. "I d

Aria spent Wednesday morning preparing for war.Not with weapons – with silence. She ate breakfast standing at the kitchen counter, staring at her phone, replaying Marcus's final words. Now she'll lead us to her mother. Victor wanted her to remember. He wanted her to run. He wanted her to lead him somewhere only she could find.Damien arrived at eight, dark circles carved beneath his eyes. He had not slept either. "Dr. Vance called. She cleared another session. Nine o'clock.""Does she know about the recording? Marcus's confession?""No. I thought we should keep that between us." He handed her a cup of coffee, black, no sugar. "The federal contact is reviewing the file. No updates yet."Aria drank half the coffee in one swallow. The heat burned her throat. She welcomed the pain.---Dr. Vance's office looked different in the morning rain.Water streaked the windows, distorting the white stone into something softer, almost forgiving. The fountain in the lobby had been turned back on, i