Aria's POV
We're in the elevator when Dominic's phone rings again.
"Rivera," he answers, putting it on speaker. "Tell me you have something."
A man's voice comes through, calm and professional. "The access attempt came from inside the gallery's system. Whoever tried to pull the file knew the old security protocols."
"Someone who worked there three years ago," I whisper.
Dominic's eyes cut to me. "Or someone who still does. Rivera, I'm bringing her up. Be ready."
The elevator doors open on the fortieth floor and a man is waiting. He's muscular, shorter than Dominic, with dark skin and observant eyes that miss nothing. When he looks at me, I feel stripped down to my bones.
"You must be Aria Quinn," he says, extending his hand. "Gabe Rivera. Head of security."
I shake his hand cautiously. His grip is firm but not aggressive.
"Is it true?" he asks Dominic. "Someone's actively hunting her file?"
"Still trying. Maya's blocking them, but they're persistent." Dominic's jaw tightens. "Which means we're running out of time."
"Time for what?" I demand.
Both men look at me like they've forgotten I'm here.
"For you to remember," Dominic says. "Everything you saw that night. Every detail."
My stomach twists. "I've tried to forget that night for three years."
"Well, now you need to remember it." He starts walking and I have no choice but to follow. "Because whatever you witnessed got you framed for murder and destroyed. That means it was worth protecting at any cost."
Gabe walks beside me, and his presence is oddly comforting. He seems more human than Dominic, less cold.
"Don't worry," he says quietly. "Dominic's intense, but he's good at what he does. If anyone can keep you safe, it's him."
"And what exactly does he do?"
Gabe's smile is knowing. "Whatever it takes."
We reach a massive office with windows overlooking the entire city. The space is intimidating—huge desk, expensive furniture, everything perfectly organized. It feels more like a throne room than an office.
Dominic is already on the phone, speaking in rapid-fire commands. He waves me toward a chair without looking up.
I sit, my hands clasped tight in my lap. From here, I can see everything—the way Dominic moves with absolute control, never wasting a gesture. The expensive watch on his wrist that probably costs more than my old car. The way his eyes track movement outside his office windows, always watching.
He's a predator dressed in a suit.
When he finally hangs up, the silence is heavy. Dominic leans against his desk and studies me with those cold gray eyes.
"You clean up well," he says.
It's not a compliment. It's an observation.
"Thank you?" I manage.
"I wasn't sure you would. Some people wear poverty even after they're out of it. But you..." He tilts his head. "You look like you belong here."
"I don't belong anywhere."
"Not yet. But you will." He opens a drawer and pulls out a thick document. "This is your employment contract. Read it carefully."
My hands shake as I take the papers. The first page is standard stuff—job title, salary, benefits. But then I get to the conditions and my blood runs cold.
The employee agrees to complete obedience to all reasonable requests from the employer.
The employee will maintain absolute discretion regarding all business matters.
The employee will not question the employer's decisions or methods.
The employee will not engage in relationships without prior approval.
The employee will not contact family, friends, or associates from their previous life.
The employee will not leave designated safe zones without authorization.
I read it twice, then look up at Dominic.
"This is slavery," I say quietly.
"This is survival," he corrects without hesitation. "Sign it or go back to the streets. Those are your options."
"You said I had a choice—"
"You do. Sign or leave." His voice is ice. "But if you leave, you're on your own. No protection. No resources. And Marcus Vaughn knows you're alive."
The threat hangs in the air between us.
Gabe shifts uncomfortably. "Dominic—"
"Stay out of this, Rivera."
I stare at the contract, my vision blurring. Five years. Five years of being owned by this man who saved me and trapped me in the same breath.
"What if I refuse?" I whisper.
Dominic's expression doesn't change. "Then I'll have James drive you wherever you want to go. You'll walk away with the clothes on your back and the phone in your purse. And I'll forget I ever found you."
"You'd really let me go?"
"I don't want a slave, Aria. I want someone who chooses this." He leans forward. "But make no mistake—if you walk out that door, you're dead within a week. Vaughn will find you. And this time, there won't be anyone coming to save you."
My hands tremble as I pick up the pen.
"Why me?" I ask one more time. "There must be a hundred people who could do this job."
"There's only one person who witnessed what you witnessed. Only one person Vaughn wants dead badly enough to risk exposure." Dominic's eyes bore into mine. "You're not just an assistant, Aria. You're bait. The moment you sign that contract, you become the lure that draws Vaughn into the open."
The pen slips from my fingers.
"You're using me as bait?"
"I'm using you as justice," Dominic corrects. "Vaughn killed my mother. He killed his own wife. He destroyed your life. And he's done it all while hiding behind money and power." His voice drops, becoming almost gentle. "Help me expose him. Help me destroy him. And when it's over, you'll be free. Really free."
I stare at the contract, then at him.
"And if he kills me first?"
"He won't. Because I'll be watching you every second of every day." Dominic straightens. "Sign the contract, Aria. Choose survival. Choose revenge. Choose to fight back."
My hand finds the pen again.
I think about Marcus Vaughn's face the night I saw him standing over his wife's body. The cold calculation in his eyes. The way he smiled when the police arrested me instead of him.
I think about Sienna, my best friend, who helped frame me.
I think about everyone who abandoned me, who believed the lies, who let me rot.
And I sign my name.
Dominic takes the contract immediately, witnessing it with his own signature. Then he locks it in the safe behind his desk.
When he turns back to me, there's satisfaction in his eyes.
"Welcome to your new life, Aria Quinn," he says.
Before I can respond, the office door bursts open.
A young Asian woman rushes in, her face pale. "We've got a problem. The person accessing Aria's file? They just succeeded. They downloaded everything."
Dominic's whole body goes rigid. "How?"
"They had override codes. Top level access." The woman's eyes dart to me. "And that's not the worst part."
"What's the worst part?" I ask, dread pooling in my stomach.
She pulls up something on her tablet and shows us. It's a document—my old personnel file from the gallery. But someone's highlighted one section in red.
My emergency contact from three years ago.
My fiancé David.
"Someone just sent this file to David Mitchell's current address," the woman says. "Along with a message: 'She's back. And she remembers everything.'"
The room spins.
"David?" I breathe. "Why would anyone contact David?"
Dominic and Gabe exchange a look that makes my skin crawl.
"Because," Dominic says slowly, "according to our background check, David Mitchell currently works as Marcus Vaughn's personal attorney."
The words hit me like a physical blow.
David. My David. The man I was going to marry.
Works for the man who destroyed me.
"No," I whisper. "That's impossible. David left LA. He moved to New York. He—"
"He came back six months ago," Gabe says gently. "Took a position at Vaughn's firm. We flagged it during our investigation but didn't think it was relevant."
My mind is spinning. David works for Vaughn. Has worked for him for six months.
Which means...
"He knew," I breathe. "David knew what Vaughn did. Maybe he knew all along."
Dominic's expression is grim. "Or someone just told him you're alive and employed by me. Either way, Vaughn will know within the hour."
He pulls out his phone and starts making calls. Gabe moves to the windows, checking something outside.
And I sit frozen in my chair, my whole world shattering again.
I signed a contract to hunt Marcus Vaughn.
But I never imagined the hunt would lead back to the man I loved.
The man who abandoned me.
The man who might have been working for my destroyer all along.