Aria's POV
Damien's body covers mine as bullets rip through the SUV. Glass rains down on us. I can't breathe. Can't think. Can't do anything except shake.
"Stay down!" Damien shouts, pulling a gun from inside his jacket. When did he get a gun? How is he so calm?
More gunshots. Then silence.
Damien's team returns fire from outside. I hear men shouting, orders being given, the sound of running feet. It feels like hours but probably only lasts seconds.
Finally, Damien lifts his head. "Clear. They're retreating."
He pulls me up carefully, checking me for injuries. His hands are gentle despite the violence in his eyes. "Are you hurt?"
I shake my head. I can't find words. The driver is dead. Someone just tried to kill us. This is real. This is actually happening.
"Get her inside now!" Damien barks at his team. "Full lockdown. No one in or out until I find out who leaked our location."
Strong hands help me out of the destroyed SUV. My legs don't want to work. I stumble and someone catches me—a security guard whose name I don't know.
They rush me through the compound entrance into a massive entrance hall. Everything is a blur. Marble floors. High ceilings. Armed men everywhere. This doesn't look like a home. It looks like a fortress.
"Take her to the east wing," Damien orders. "Medical team standing by. I want a full sweep of the grounds. Find me those shooters."
"Sir, we have a visitor at the main gate," one of the guards interrupts. "Xavier Vandermere. He's demanding to see his sister."
Damien's jaw clenches. "How does he know she's here already?"
Good question. We just arrived. The attack happened minutes ago. Unless...
"Let him in," I say before Damien can refuse. Everyone turns to stare at me. "If he's my brother, I should meet him."
"Absolutely not," Damien snaps. "You were just shot at—"
"Which means someone knew we'd be here. Someone told them." I force my voice steady even though I'm still shaking. "Maybe Xavier knows who."
Damien studies me for a long moment. I can see him calculating, weighing options. Finally he nods. "Fine. But I'm staying in the room. And if he does anything suspicious, anything at all, my team removes him. Understood?"
"Understood."
They take me to a sitting room—leather chairs, a fireplace, walls lined with books. It's beautiful and cold at the same time. Like everything about Damien.
He positions himself by the door, arms crossed, looking like death itself. "Remember—don't tell him about the twin. Don't tell him anything we discussed in the car. Trust no one."
Before I can respond, the door opens.
The man who walks in looks like he stepped out of a magazine. Golden hair perfectly styled. Bright blue eyes. A smile that could sell toothpaste. He's wearing an expensive suit but makes it look casual, comfortable.
Everything about him screams "perfect."
And that's exactly what makes my skin crawl.
"Anastasia!" He crosses the room quickly, arms open like he's going to hug me.
I step back. "It's Aria."
His smile doesn't falter. "Of course. Aria. I'm sorry—it's just such a miracle having you home. We've searched for you for so long." He stops, keeping a respectful distance now. "I'm Xavier. Your brother. Half-brother, technically. We share the same father."
"Marcus Vandermere."
"Yes." Something flickers in his eyes at the name. Pain? Anger? It's gone too fast to read. "He died six months ago. Heart attack. He never stopped looking for you. Every year on your birthday, he'd..." Xavier's voice catches. "He'd leave your room exactly as it was. Waiting for you to come home."
The emotion seems real. His grief looks genuine. But something about it feels rehearsed. Like he's performed this speech before.
"I'm sorry I never got to meet him," I say carefully.
"He would have loved you." Xavier's smile returns, brighter than before. "Mother is desperate to see you. She's been crying for days, barely eating. The moment she heard we found you—"
"How did you hear?" Damien interrupts from the doorway. "We arrived ten minutes ago. The compound location is classified."
Xavier's expression cools as he looks at Damien. "Mother has her sources. She hired you, remember? She knows where you take your... clients."
"This isn't a client. This is her daughter. And someone just tried to kill her."
"What?" Xavier spins back to me, his face shocked. "You were attacked? Here?"
"At the gate." I watch his reaction carefully. "Armed men. They knew exactly when we'd arrive."
"That's impossible. Only family knew—" Xavier stops, understanding dawning. "You think someone in the family told them."
"Someone did," Damien says coldly. "Question is who."
Xavier's jaw tightens. "It wasn't me. I would never hurt my sister."
The way he says "sister" makes something uncomfortable twist in my stomach. His tone is off. Too intense. Too possessive.
"Aria needs rest," Damien says, moving to end the visit. "You can see her tomorrow—"
"Actually, I came to invite her to dinner." Xavier focuses on me again, ignoring Damien completely. "Mother's hosting a small family gathering tonight. Just immediate family. She wants to welcome you home properly."
"She's not going anywhere tonight," Damien snaps.
"I wasn't asking you." Xavier's smile sharpens. "Aria's an adult. She can make her own decisions. Can't you, sister?"
There it is again. That word. "Sister." But the way he looks at me isn't brotherly at all. His eyes linger too long. His smile is too intimate.
"I appreciate the invitation," I say slowly, "but I think I need time to process everything—"
"Of course. Understandable." Xavier reaches into his pocket and pulls out a phone—brand new, still in the box. "For you. Pre-programmed with all the family numbers. Mother's, mine, even Damien's, though I'm sure he's already given you his." He holds it out. "So we can stay in touch."
I hesitate. Damien warned me not to trust anyone. But Xavier is supposedly my brother. My family.
I take the phone. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Xavier's fingers brush mine as he releases it. The touch lingers a second too long. "I'm so glad you're home, Aria. You have no idea how much this means to all of us. Especially to me."
The intensity in his voice makes me want to back away.
"Xavier." Damien's voice is a warning. "Time to go."
"Right. Of course." Xavier heads for the door but pauses, looking back at me one more time. "Tomorrow then. I'll show you the estate. Introduce you to everyone. Help you settle into your new life." His smile widens. "We have so much time to make up for. Twenty-three years of being siblings. I plan to make every second count."
Then he's gone, leaving behind expensive cologne and an uncomfortable feeling I can't quite name.
Damien immediately takes the phone from my hand and pulls out the battery. "Never use a device someone gives you without having it checked first."
"You think it's bugged?"
"I think Xavier Vandermere is dangerous." He meets my eyes. "Did you notice how he looked at you?"
"Like I was his sister?"
"No." Damien's expression darkens. "Like you were prey. And he's a very patient hunter."
A chill runs down my spine. "You're being paranoid—"
"Am I?" He pulls up something on his tablet and shows me. It's a file. Police reports. Incident records. All involving Xavier Vandermere.
Three women over the past five years. All described as having "uncomfortable encounters" with him. All dropped their complaints after the Vandermere family lawyers got involved.
One woman disappeared entirely.
"He's been accused of stalking," Damien says quietly. "Of harassment. Of violence against women he becomes obsessed with. The family pays them off. Makes the problems disappear."
"But he's my brother—"
"He's a sociopath who shares your father's DNA. That doesn't make him safe." Damien puts the tablet away. "You asked me earlier who to trust. I'm telling you now—don't trust Xavier. Don't be alone with him. Don't believe anything he says."
"Then who do I trust? You've been stalking me for three years. He has a history of stalking women. My mother apparently paid to have me kidnapped. Everyone in this family is dangerous!"
"Yes." Damien doesn't argue. "They are. Which is why you need me. I might be dangerous, Aria, but at least I'm honest about it."
He's right. I hate that he's right.
My new phone—the one Damien disabled—suddenly lights up anyway. A message flashes across the locked screen despite the battery being removed.
How is that possible?
The message reads: Did Xavier mention that his mother isn't your mother? Vivienne is his mom. Your real mother—Marcus's first wife—died in a "car accident" when you were two months old. Vivienne married your father three months later. Then you were stolen. Convenient timing, don't you think? Ask Damien who benefits most from you being dead. Then ask yourself why he's really keeping you alive.
The screen goes dark.
Damien stares at the phone, his face pale. "That's impossible. The battery is out. There's no power source—"
"Who was my real mother?" I demand. "Who died?"
He doesn't answer. Won't meet my eyes.
"DAMIEN!"
"Her name was Catherine." His voice is barely a whisper. "Catherine Vandermere. Marcus's first wife. She died when you were eight weeks old. Car went off a bridge. They never found her body."
"And Vivienne?"
"Married your father ten weeks later. Had Xavier nine months after that." Damien looks at me finally, and I see fear in his eyes. Real fear. "If what that message says is true, if Vivienne orchestrated your mother's death, then she's been planning this for twenty-three years."
"Planning what?"
"To steal everything." He grabs my shoulders. "Think about it. She kills your real mother. Marries your father. Has a son. But you're still the legitimate heir. So she has you kidnapped. Then she waits. Lets everyone think you're dead or gone forever. Until your father dies and the will surfaces—"
"Requiring me to be found within one year or the inheritance goes to Xavier," I finish, understanding flooding through me. "She brings me back now to control the narrative. To make sure I'm grateful. Dependent. Easy to manipulate."
"Or easy to kill once you've signed everything over." Damien's grip tightens. "You're not safe here. You're not safe anywhere. We need to—"
The lights go out.
Emergency lighting kicks in, bathing everything in red.
And from somewhere in the compound, someone starts screaming.