Chapter 291

BRANDON'S POV

After Amelia left, Aria lingered by my side for a moment, her fingers lingering in mine. She looked down at her phone, tapping the screen before looking up at me with a thoughtful expression.

"I need to make a quick call to Chloe," Aria said softly, holding up her device. "She was reviewing those corporate clearance filings for the company this morning, and I want to make sure everything went through before the guests start arriving."

"Don't work too hard on your daughter's birthday," I murmured, leaning down to press a soft kiss to her temple. "Go make your call. I'll be with you soon."

"I won't be long," she promised, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze before turning toward the main hallway.

The second Aria walked around the corner, my smile vanished completely. I turned to Dominic, who was standing near the foot of the stairs, his dark eyes scanning the foyer.

"Dominic," I called out, my voice dropping into a hard, low command.

"Boss?" Dominic stepped forward immediately.

"Keep a close eye on Amelia," I ordered, staring directly into his eyes. "Do not let her out of your sight for a single second. I don't care if she's playing the bouncy castle, eating cake, or riding the pony, you stay within three arm's lengths of her."

"Understood, boss," Dominic said with a sharp, firm nod. "I'll post myself right by the patio doors."

"Good," I said.

Once Dominic headed toward the garden, I walked up the grand staircase to find Aria. I headed straight down the residential wing toward our master bedroom, expecting to find her sitting on the edge of the bed finishing her phone call with Chloe.

I pushed the heavy bedroom door open. "Aria?"

The room was completely quiet. The lace curtains fluttered gently in the breeze from an open window, but the plush king-sized bed was empty. I checked the adjoining dressing room and the master bath, but she wasn't there.

A sudden, sharp tightening gripped my chest.

I turned on my heel, stepping back out into the wide corridor and walking briskly down the hallway toward the private office wing. I stopped outside the heavy mahogany doors of her father's old study, seeing a faint sliver of warm light streaming through the slightly open entrance.

I pushed the heavy doors open softly, my footsteps silent against the thick oriental rug.

Aria was standing by the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, bathed in the soft morning light. She held an old, leather-bound book in her hands, her delicate fingers gently tracing the golden letters stamped along its worn spine, one of her late father’s prized legal volumes.

The knot in my chest loosened. She looked small against the massive backdrop of dark wood and endless books, but there was a quiet, breathtaking dignity about her that always stopped me in my tracks.

"You should be downstairs," I said softly, closing the heavy door behind me with a quiet, solid click to shut out the noise from the hallway. "The caterers just finished setting up the dessert tables, and Amelia is currently trying to convince Dominic to let her ride the white pony before the other children arrive."

Aria started slightly at the sound of my voice, looking up from the pages. A faint, gentle smile touched her lips, but it didn't quite reach her dark, intelligent eyes.

"Dominic is far too soft on her," she murmured, carefully sliding the heavy volume back into its exact slot on the shelf. "He pretends to be this tough, hardened security chief, but two seconds with Amelia looking up at him and he's holding her pink plastic purse like it's his most important mission."

"He knows who really runs this house," I replied, a light chuckle escaping my chest as I stepped across the room toward her.

I reached out, wrapping my arms around her waist from behind and pulling her flush against my chest. She let out a long, soft sigh of relief, resting her head back against my shoulder and letting her hands cover mine where they rested against her stomach.

"Are you okay?" I asked gently, resting my chin against her hair and breathing in the familiar, comforting scent of sweet vanilla. "Did you reach Chloe?"

"Yes, she confirmed the filings are cleared," Aria confessed quietly, her eyes wandering around the warm, wood-paneled room. "I just needed a minute to breathe in here afterward. My father spent so much of his life in this study. When my uncle took over the company and locked us out, I honestly thought I'd never stand in this room again. I thought everything my parents built was gone forever."

She turned around in my arms, resting her hands against my chest and looking up into my face. Her brown eyes were deep, warm, and filled with a raw emotion that hit me straight in the heart.

"And now we're here," she whispered, raising one hand to gently touch my jawline with her soft fingertips. "Amelia is upstairs laughing and trying on party crowns, you're building your whole corporate empire right down the road in this city, and my father's home is filled with balloons and music again. It almost feels too good to be true, Brandon."

"It's not a dream, Aria," I said, my voice dropping into a low, unshakable tone. "You fought for this home. You took back your father's legacy. Everything here belongs to you and Amelia, and I swear to you, no one is ever going to take it away from you again."

"I saw the extra guards Dominic posted near the stairwell," she said quietly, her eyes searching mine. "I know you're trying to keep me from worrying, Brandon. But I'm not stupid. Is there news about Julian? Did someone spot him?"

I kept my expression completely smooth, refusing to let even a flicker of the cold tension in my gut show on my face.

"Julian is broke, discredited, and running out of options," I told her, holding her gaze with steady confidence. "My team is tracking every single road leading into this district. Marcus has eyes on the entire city grid, and Dominic and Antonio have the estate grounds locked down tighter than a vault. You don't need to look over your shoulder today, Aria. That's my job."

Aria looked at me for a long, tender moment, the tiny line of worry between her eyebrows slowly smoothing out. She leaned up on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing her lips gently against mine in a lingering, sweet kiss.

"I trust you," she whispered against my lips. "I know you'll protect us."

"With my life," I swore against her skin.

Before she could say another word, my encrypted cell phone vibrated violently inside my inner jacket pocket, three sharp, consecutive pulses against my chest that signaled an immediate, high-priority security alert from the command center downstairs.

I didn't break eye contact with Aria, but the muscles in my arms tightened just a fraction.

"Is that Marcus?" she asked, the sharp edge of worry instantly creeping back into her voice as she felt me stiffen.

"Just a routine check on the main guest gate," I lied smoothly, giving her a calm, reassuring smile as I gently stepped back. "Go join Amelia on the lawn, sweetheart. Let her show you the white pony before the rest of the kids get here. I'll be right out to join you."

Aria hesitated for two long seconds, her eyes searching my face, but then she nodded softly. She kissed my cheek once more before turning and walking past me toward the heavy double doors.

The exact second the oak doors clicked shut behind her, my smile vanished into nothing. I pulled the phone out of my pocket, sliding the encrypted screen open to reveal Marcus's urgent text message:

PERIMETER BREACH — NORTH FENCE LINE. SIGNAL JAMMER DETECTED. AUTOMATED THERMAL ALARM TRIGGERED. ALL UNITS DISPATCHING TO WOODS.

I stared at the glowing red text on the screen, my blood turning to absolute ice.

It had begun.