Chapter 5: The Second Name in the Shadows
That evening, Victor finally noticed something was wrong.
“You went through my study,” he said calmly.
Aria didn’t deny it.
“Tell me the truth,” she demanded. “Was my family chosen?”
Victor didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he poured himself a glass of whiskey, staring at it like it held memories.
Then he said:
“You weren’t chosen randomly, Aria.”
Her stomach dropped.
“There was another name before yours,” he continued. “A woman who looked even more like Elena than you do.”
Aria froze.
“But she disappeared before the contract was finalized,” Victor said.
“Disappeared?” Aria repeated.
Victor nodded slowly.
“And after that… your father’s debt suddenly increased. As if someone wanted to push you into the same position.”
Aria felt the room spin.
“So this wasn’t about saving my family,” she said quietly. “It was about replacing someone who escaped you.”
Victor’s expression tightened.
“No,” he said. “It was about controlling a chain of choices that started long before you were born.”
Then he added something that made her blood run cold:
“Your father didn’t just borrow money, Aria. He signed something he didn’t understand… years ago.”
A contract tied to her identity.
May you like
Not her money.
Her existence.
