?Chapter 27: Smoke and Silk

                                        

                                              
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Aria's POV
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She hadn't slept.
Not really.
She'd dozed, curled into Dominic's chest, lulled only by the rhythm of his breathing, the steady warmth of his hand on her stomach, but the moment her eyes closed, her brain lit up like a minefield.
That final page in Juliette's journal burned behind her eyelids.
"If you're reading this, it may already be too late."
— L.
L for Luca?
Or... a lie?
She didn't know. And the not-knowing was killing her.
⸻
Aria stood in the nursery the next morning, holding a soft baby onesie against her chest. It was pale blue, covered in tiny stitched stars. Dominic had bought it weeks ago, slipping it into a drawer without saying a word.
Hope, in silence.
But now, everything felt different.
She could feel it in the air, like something was watching, pressing, breathing down her neck.
She turned quickly. No one was there.
She opened the journal again, flipping through pages. She wrote the phrase from the final page again and again in her notebook: It may already be too late.
What was Juliette playing at?
Why leave a warning at the end of a journal filled with cold justification and manipulative apologies?
Aria took a breath and made a decision.
She needed answers. Quietly.
⸻
She started with the basics.
Luca. Charming. Clean-cut. Funny, even. Dominic's right-hand man... and Nina's boyfriend. A man who always seemed to show up when things started spiraling.
And he was at the party, the one where Nina had reappeared like a ghost acting too interested in her.
Aria remembered his eyes. Curious. Calculating.
She started digging.
Her first stop: Dominic's digital archives — the security hub he thought she didn't know how to access.
She did.
He'd taught her more than he realized, watching him work late nights, memorizing his password when he thought she wasn't looking.
She navigated into the database and pulled footage from the penthouse cameras. Luca had visited once while Dominic was out, claimed he was dropping off sensitive intel. But he'd lingered too long in Dominic's study.
Then she found something stranger.
One camera was missing footage.
Deleted.
Only one person had access to that level of clearance.
Luca.
Aria's heart thundered.
She sent the file to a USB drive and tucked it into the back of her makeup drawer.
Just in case.
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Nina's Text
As if summoned by suspicion, Nina texted her later that morning.
"Hey babe. Can we talk? Somewhere quiet. Girl to girl."
"Come alone."
Aria stared at the message. Her instincts screamed no.
But the part of her that needed to know what the hell was happening overruled fear.
She didn't tell Dominic. She left a note:
"Running a quick errand. Be back soon. — A."  She was curious to know why Nina wanted to meet up. 
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The Café
Nina chose a little French café two blocks from the water. Public. Civilized. Safe enough.
When Aria arrived, Nina was already there sleek, confident, and sipping something pink through a gold straw.
"Aria," she purred. "You look pale, You okay?"
Aria sat across from her. "I don't have much time."
Nina's smile never wavered. "You're always so guarded. Dominic keeping you locked away like a pretty little secret?"
Aria clenched her jaw. "What do you want?"
Nina leaned in. "To help."
Aria frowned. "Help who?"
"You," Nina said. "And Dominic. But mostly you, You think you know what's going on, but you don't." She paused then continued "Juliette's playing a deeper game than any of us thought. She's not after Dominic's empire, She wants you out of the picture."
Aria froze. "What?"
"She told Ivan she could make you disappear without leaving a trace. Said 'it's not personal' just business. Clean removal."
The words hit like ice water.
"Why tell me this now?" Aria whispered.
Nina's smile slipped. "Because I didn't sign up for that. I came for power, not blood. I don't want to see you or that baby get hurt."
Aria's hands trembled. "Why should I believe you?"
Nina sipped again. "You shouldn't. But check the locks on the penthouse. They've been changed, Not by Dominic. Juliette has a backup code. She's been in and out at night."
Aria's stomach flipped, how is that possible she thought.
"She doesn't want you safe, Aria. She wants you erased."
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Back at the Penthouse
Aria returned just as the sun began to dip, tension simmering in her blood.
She checked the digital lock.
It had been reset, three days ago. Dominic didn't say anything. He would've told her.
She double-checked the backup code in the panel settings.
Access code: JV-1960.
Juliette Voss. Birth year: 1960.
Nina hadn't lied.
Aria sat down on the edge of the couch and suddenly, she was shaking.
Every instinct screamed run.
But where?
Dominic was unraveling.
Juliette was circling.
Luca was lying.
And she was pregnant, vulnerable, and in the middle of a storm she didn't know how to navigate.
Her vision blurred. She curled her arms around her belly and whispered, "I won't let them hurt you. I swear."
⸻
That night, Dominic came to her, pulled her into bed without a word.
He held her like she was the only thing left that tethered him to earth.
She didn't tell him what she knew. Not yet, Not until she had more proof, Not until she could be sure who to trust.
But she watched him while he slept, studying his face like it was the last map to safety she'd ever have.
Because if Juliette was right. 
If love was a weakness, Then Aria was about to become the most dangerous woman in their world.