Aria stared at the photo for what felt like hours.
The room around her slipped away.
The soft light of the bedside lamp.
The sound of the rain falling on the windows.
Even the gentle hum of the air-conditioner.
None of it was important.
All her attention was fixed on the picture in her hands.
There was a young Damien beside him and a woman who looked strangely familiar.
She’d seen that face somewhere.
Not lately.
Not on the news.
But somewhere deep in the memories of her childhood.
Aria flipped the picture over again.
It still carried the same message in the handwriting.
Aria, the truth always returns.
She tightened her fingers on the paper.
This was from whom?
And why was it hidden among her wedding papers?
There was a sudden knock.
She put the photograph back into the envelope quickly.” Come in.
”
The door swung open.
It was Harold.
Mrs.
Laurent?”
She forced herself to look normal.
“Yes?
The driver told me you haven’t eaten your dinner.” “I don’t want any.”
Harold looked her up and down.
Those are the very words you said yesterday.”
Despite it all, Aria almost smiled.
You remember?
“I remember everything in this house.”
It was easy.
It made her remember something, though.
Harold had been here prior to her.
He knew the Laurents better than anyone else.
Perhaps…Harold.” “Yes?
You know anything about Damien’s childhood?
The question caught him off guard.
He dropped into a strange silence.
Why do you ask?
Aria saw the hesitation.
That was answer enough.
Because I found something.”
She pulled out the photograph.
The instant Harold saw it, his face lost a little of its color.
Just one second.
But Aria saw it.
You know her.
Harold waved away.
Mrs.
Laurent …’”Who is she?
The old butler said nothing.
Harold.
Her voice became softer.
“Please.
He had been good to her for years.
He was the closest thing she had to family in the Laurent household.
But now he seemed a man caught between honesty and loyalty.
Her name was Elena.
Aria waited.
“She was something to Mr.
Damien.
Important how?
Harold looked again at the photo.
“She was his mother.
The room was silent.
Aria frowned.” His mother?” Yes.
Damien’s mother died when he was a boy.
Harold nodded, slowly.
“That’s what everybody was told.”
A cold feeling passed through Aria.
What does that mean?
Harold sighed.
“I shouldn’t be telling you this.
”But you are.”
He looked at her.
“Because you should know.”
Damien sat alone in his office at Laurent Holdings.
Below him the city spread out.
Looking up at the skyline usually gave him a sense of accomplishment.
It only served to remind him how little he knew, tonight.
His father had concealed things for years.
Why?
That was the question.
The door to the office opened.
Noah walked in.
““I found something.”
Damien looked up.
What?
“The account that posted the photos, anonymously.
Did you follow it?
“”Not entirely.”
Damien’s expression fell.
“But?
Noah laid a file on the desk.
We identified a connection.
Damien opened it.
Transactions list.
A string of companies.
A few names.
Then one name jumped out at him.
He narrowed his eyes.
“”Impossible.”
Noah looked at him closely.
“”That’s what I thought.”
Damien looked again.
No.” He shook his head.
“This man died several years ago.
No answer came from Noah.
Because the evidence leaned the other way.
Somebody who was supposed to be gone…
Moving pieces in the shadows.
Still.
Damien slowly leaned back.
““Who else knows of this?
Nobody.
Leave it like that.”
Noah hesitated.
“No.
Sir.
What?” “There is something more.
Damien looked up at him.
The leaker of the photos did not just follow Mrs Laurent’s account.
A beat.
“Weeks before the gala they had looked her up.
Damien’s expression changed.
“‘Weeks?
Yes.
”So this wasn’t overnight planned.
“No.” Noah lowered his voice.
“”Somebody’s been watching Mrs.
Laurent.
For the first time that evening…
Damien looked *frightened*.
Not for himself.
For her.
At the mansion, Harold finally told Aria the truth he had carried for decades.
Mr.
Damien is the first to think that this family could be led by Mrs.
Elena Laurent.
Aria listened carefully.
And then what happened?
Harold looked to the window.
“Following the accident…Everyone thought she was dead.
But ?”
His silence spoke more than his words.
But some folks thought the accident was no accident.”
Aria’s heart contracted.
Who?
I don’t know.” Or don’t you want to tell me?
Harold gazed at her with a sad face.
“Both.”
She stood.
“”My husband is divorcing me, someone is leaking information about my marriage, and now I find out there are secrets about his family that no one will explain.”
Her voice was a bit broken.
I want the truth.
The old man lowered his head.
Got it.
He went to the door.
Then he stopped.
There is something I want you to know.”
Aria waited.
“…”your marriage to Mr Damien…”
He stopped.
“…was more than a business deal.”
She frowned.
What does that stand for?
Harold looked at her.
“”Ask Mr.
Laurent why your families were acquainted long before you knew each other.”
And then he left.
Aria was paralyzed.
Her mind was spinning.
Her husband.
Her family.
Damien’s mom.
The unknown assailant.
It was all joined.
But how?
Her phone buzzed suddenly.
Message received.
Number unknown.
Again.
This time, no text.
Just a photo.
Aria unlatch it.
Her blood turned cold.
It was a picture of her.
Taken this morning.
Standing before the reporters outside the Laurent mansion.
Someone’d been watching.
The caption under the photo was only one sentence long.
“You were never Damien’s first choice, Aria.”
Another message appeared.
““Because of who you are you were selected.”
Aria glanced at the screen.
Then a second message came through.
“”Ask your father why he sold your future to the Laurents.
She ceased breathing.
There was one thing that she was positive of.
Her father had never told her the whole truth about her marriage.
And now….
Someone wanted to tell her.
Aria stood frozen in the middle of the room.
With every second the phone grew heavier in my hand.
She read the message again.
Again.
Ask your father why he sold you, your future, to the Laurents.
Her initial feeling was anger.
No scare.
Not confused.
Aggravation.
Because whoever sent this knew how to hurt her.
They weren’t just attacking Damien.
They were pulling her family into it.
Her dad.
Her story.
Her marriage.
All right.
Sold my future?
The words fell quietly out of her mouth.
It sounded like an impossibility.
Her father had always been tough.
Demanding.
Sometimes way out.
Never in his life had he made her feel like a possession.
At least…
She never wanted to believe that.
The phone vibrated again.
She almost didn’t want to see this time.
Another message.
You think Damien left you.
The fact is, he had to pick you.”
Aria’s eyebrows knitted together.
Coercion?
The word stuck in her mind.
Damien had never looked like a man who was being forced to do anything.
Damien Laurent was his name.
The man who managed the boardrooms.
The guy who would negotiate billion dollar deals without a blink.
No one had forced Damien Laurent into anything.
Unless…
There was something far greater happening.
She immediately answered.
Who are you?
The message got through.
No reply.
She waited.”
10 seconds.
Half a minute.
One minute.
Nope.
A familiar frustration welled up inside her.
This person, whoever they were, wanted to spill secrets.
But only on their terms.
This only increased her suspicions.
The next morning Damien was home earlier than expected.
Aria saw it immediately.
He was seldom at home during the day unless something important happened.
She found him in the living room, softly talking with Noah.
Conversation stopped as soon as he saw her.
That, in itself, told her something.
“”What was it?”
Damien glanced at Noah.
“I’ll take this.”
Noah nodded, and went away.
Aria watched him leave.
What are you keeping from me?
Damien was looking worn out.
Not face to face.
Emotionally.
“There are some things you should know about my family.
Her heart went in.
She crossed her arms.
Funny.
“What?” “We were signing divorce papers yesterday.”
She gazed at him.
“Today, suddenly I need to know family secrets.”
Damien didn’t get defensive.
He was gearing up for an argument and said simply, “I know how this looks.
You do?
She laughed softly.
“Because from where I’m standing, it looks like the minute our marriage is over, I finally start to find out who you really are.”
It hurt him.
She saw it.
A little reaction.
An imperfection in the flawless control he always wore.
I should have told you.Yes.
The response was immediate.
You ought to have.”
Nothing.
Then Damien walked to the sofa.
““Sit down.”
Aria paused.
But she took a chair.
Not for any faith she had in him.
Because she needed answers.
Damien stayed on his feet.
My mother was not what everyone thought she was.”
Aria waited on.Her name was Elena Laurent.
”I know.
His eyes narrowed a fraction.
“You know?” “”I found a photograph.”
That got his attention.
Which picture?’
She took the envelope off the table and gave it to him.
Damien’s face was a picture when he saw that.
Surprise.
No.
Pain.
True pain.
Saw Aria.
You know this picture.
He glanced at the photograph.
“I haven’t seen this in 20 years.
”Who gave me this?”
His eyes lifted.
Got this?
You got this.
She nodded.
“In my marriage papers.”
Damien looked really confused.
“That shouldn’t be possible.
“Why?” “Because this had been spoiled.”
Aria frowned.
Destroyed?” “Yes.
Damien looked at the picture once more.
My father had every copy of this photograph destroyed.
She was cold all over.
“Why?”
Damien’s phone rang before he had a chance to answer.
He glanced at the screen.
Instantly his face went rigid.
Victor.
He answered.
What?
Aria could hear the anger even from a distance in his father’s loud voice.
“Where did she get the photo?”
Damien looked at Aria.
She found it.
Pause.
“Then Victor said something that changed Damien’s expression.
“What do you mean she’s in on it?”
Damien narrowed his eyes.
“Who is she talking about?”
Silence.
Father.
Another silence.
Then Damien’s voice turned colder.
““Don’t get Aria caught up in whatever mistake this family made.”
He put the phone down.
Aria studied him closely.
Your dad knows who I am.
Damien didn’t deny it.
“Yeah.
Why?”
He gave no reply.
Damien.
When she said his full name he looked at her.
How do I fit in with your family?
He said nothing for some seconds.
Then gently, “I don’t know the whole answer.
The frankness.
To her surprise.
But I know my father wished me to marry you.
The room was silent.
Aria looked at him.
“What?
“”When I first saw you…”
He glanced sideways.
“My father knew who you were.
Her pulse thundered.
“You’re telling me our marriage was not for business?” No.
“Why then?”
Damien’s voice dipped lower.
“”Because of what happened twenty years ago.”
Aria got up.
“Something about our families?” Yes.
“And you knew?” “No,” came the quick answer.
I didn’t know the details.
“But you knew that there was something?”
Damien didn’t reply.
That was sufficient.
Aria felt betrayed, all over again.
How long?
What’s that?
How long have you known about the secrets?”
He looked at her.
Aria– “”How long?”
A pause “Since before we got married.”
The admission was heavy in the air.
She took a step back.
“So you knew.
I knew questions remained unanswered.
And you still got married to me?” I didn’t know you were included.
“But you thought.”
Damien said not a word.
Aria laughed lightly.
Not because she thought it was funny.
There was nothing else to do.“For seven years I thought I was the only one who didn’t get our marriage.”
She looked at him.
“As it turns out…
Her voice dropped lower.
“”…and neither did you.”
Before Damien could reply, Noah stormed into the room.
““Mr.
Laurent.
Both turned around.
Noah looked from one to other.
He had a serious look on his face.
“We figured out who was behind the anonymous account.”
Damien moved forward.
“Who?
”
Noah paused.
Then said, “The account was created with information from inside the Laurent family.”
The room was quiet.
Damien’s face altered.
“Who?”
Noah swallowed.
The account belongs to a user named….
He glanced at the tablet….Elena Laurent.
Aria came to a full stop.
Damien ceased to breathe.
That name was a woman’s.
She was supposed to be dead.