Chapter 255

ARIA'S POV

I stared blindly at the structural financial reports on my desk, but the columns of numbers refused to form coherent thoughts in my mind. Instead, my brain kept looping back to the phone call from last night.

I didn't know why I had swiped the screen to answer it. For minutes, I had just held the phone to my ear in absolute, rigid corporate silence, refusing to give him a single word.

But Brandon hadn't cared. He had used that silence to lay his heart bare. His texts from earlier that night had already confirmed his arrival in his main city for the mandatory board meeting, followed by a brief message just a short while ago letting me know he was back here.

“I love you, Aria... One day, I pray that you will understand.”

His deep, gravelly voice echoed in my head. I hated that his promises still had power over me. I hated that the tight, suffocating knot of panic in my chest had completely unwound the moment he said we were safe.

But more than anything, my heart had melted just a little because of Amelia. She had been so broken after Julian’s toxic manipulation, and yet Brandon had somehow found a way to reach her, to mend her fragile little heart, and send her back to me whole.

I cleared my throat, forcing myself to blink away the sting of unshed tears, and locked my fingers together on the desk. A sharp, firm knock cut through the silence of my office.

"Come in," I called out, pulling my professional mask back into place. The heavy wooden door swung open, and Anthony walked in.

Instead of his usual hands-on-holster posture, he was carrying a steaming ceramic cup of coffee. He walked over with his characteristically measured, heavy strides and set it down on the edge of my desk.

I looked at the cup, then up at him, a faint, exhausted smile tugging at my lips. "Anthony, we've discussed this. It's not your job to get me coffee."

"I know, ma'am," Anthony replied, his face an unreadable block of stone. "But to be honest, I don't trust anyone else handling anything that comes into this office right now. I'm under strict, absolute orders to ensure your protection. If that means playing barista for a day, I'll play barista."

A wave of genuine gratitude washed over me. "Thank you, Anthony." He gave a respectful nod, stepping back to turn and head toward his post by the door.

"Anthony," I called out before he could take three steps.

He paused, turning his large frame back toward me. "Yes, boss?"

"Could you... do you mind sitting with me for a minute?"

Anthony looked at me, his sharp eyes evaluating the tension in my shoulders and the dark circles under my eyes. "Is something wrong, Miss Aria?"

"No," I sighed, gesturing to the chair across from my desk. "I just... I have some questions. Please."

He hesitated for a fraction of a second before pulling out the leather chair and sitting down, leaning his forearms on his knees, completely attentive.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat, staring at my hands. "Did you all know? Five years ago, when Brandon first brought me to his city... did you, Dominic, and the rest of the security detail know my real identity?"

Anthony didn't flinch. He simply nodded. "Yes, ma'am. We knew."

"Then why didn't anyone say anything?" I asked, my voice cracking slightly. "How could you look at me every day knowing who my parents were?"

Anthony exhaled slowly, his expression softening into something heavy with history. "Because we watched what happened before you got there, Aria. When Mr. Brandon's wife died in that crash, we watched him hollow out completely. He became a ghost. A machine fueled entirely by a dark, relentless urge for vengeance. When he discovered who caused the accident, Dominic and I fully expected a bloodbath. We wondered why the hell he just took you in instead of tearing everything down."

"Why did he?" I whispered, leaning forward. "Why take me in if my family was the cause of his misery?"

"We didn't know back then," Anthony confessed, shaking his head. "All we knew was that the exact day you entered his life, he calmed down. The dark aura around him just... shifted. He pushed his plans for revenge further and further into the background until, eventually, he just stopped pursuing it entirely. You changed the air he breathed."

Anthony leaned in a bit closer, his voice dropping to a low, reverent tone. "And then, when Amelia was born... man, Mr. Brandon became the softest version of a man we’d ever seen. Amelia became like his own flesh and blood. She is his joy, Miss Aria. But you? You are his control. You are the only thing keeping the monster inside him locked away."

My heart hammered against my ribs, the sheer weight of his words making it hard to breathe.

"You don't know how he felt, Miss Aria," Anthony continued, his eyes drilling into mine.

"You don't know what happened to him when you got into that horrific car accident five years ago, and Amelia had to be delivered prematurely. You don't know the terror he lived through."

My breath hitched. The memory of waking up in that hospital bed, broken and terrified with a tiny baby in the incubator, flashed in my mind. "I... I don't remember much of what happened right after the crash."

Anthony stood up, smoothing down his tactical jacket. "Those aren't my stories to tell, ma'am. Those are for Mr. Brandon to tell you when the time is right. But if I can say one thing as someone who has stood by his side through the darkest years of his life... you should consider the fact that he is hurting terribly right now, too."

I looked up at him, stunned into absolute silence.

"Yes, he lied to you. He deceived you about his past and what he does in the shadows," Anthony said with brutal honesty.

“But he has been there for you and Amelia through every single storm, no matter the cost to himself. Don't forget that."

I couldn't speak. The words lodged in my throat as Anthony turned to head back to the door. He was right. Brandon’s lies were massive, but his protection, his love, his absolute devotion to keeping us alive—it was the only real thing I had left to cling to.

Just as Anthony reached for the handle, the office door abruptly swung open. Chloe stepped inside, her face pale, holding a tablet tightly to her chest.

"Miss Aria, I'm sorry to interrupt," Chloe said quickly, looking between me and Anthony. "But Julian's father, older Mr. Vance is outside. He is demanding to speak with you immediately."

I frowned, the sudden shift in atmosphere setting off alarm bells. "Mr. Vance? Why is he here?"

Chloe swallowed hard, glancing down at her tablet. "I’m not entirely sure, but the financial wires are going crazy right now. There are massive rumors circulating that Vance Holdings is experiencing a catastrophic internal collapse. Their stock is completely freefalling."

A sudden wave of clarity washed over me. I didn't need to check the wires to know exactly what was happening. Brandon.

I looked over at Anthony. He didn't look surprised at all. I knew immediately that Anthony wouldn't have kept what happened in my office yesterday a secret from him.

The moment Anthony told Brandon that Julian had put his hands on me, Brandon had pulled the trigger on the Vance family legacy.

"I'll send the man away, Aria," Anthony said coldly, his hand already moving toward his earpiece to alert the lobby security. "He has no right to be here, and he's a security risk."

For a second, I wanted to let Anthony do it. I wanted to hide away from the wreckage. But looking at the sheer panic on Chloe’s face and remembering the smug, untouchable look Julian always carried, a cold spark of defiance ignited in my chest. If the Vances were burning, I wanted to see the smoke.

"No," I said, my voice cutting through the tension, remarkably steady. I shook my head at Anthony, then looked directly at my assistant. "Chloe, tell security to let him through. Escort Julian's father in.”