Chapter 40

Liam’s POV

I paced back and forth in my office, unable to shake the thoughts running through my head. The missing divorce papers haunted me, each unanswered question gnawing at my mind.

I hated the idea of suspecting Aria, but as the days passed, the suspicion only grew. Why hadn’t she said anything? Was she trying to control the narrative again?

I wanted to believe there was another explanation—something less convoluted, less hurtful—but the more I thought about it, the more convinced I became.

If Aria had taken them, what did that even mean? I hated myself for thinking it, but I couldn’t ignore the possibility any longer.

Needing to clear my head, I glanced at my phone, then at Joe’s drawing still pinned to my desk.

The last time I’d spent real time with him, I hadn’t been able to focus, too distracted by everything going on with Aria. Maybe today I could finally give him the attention he deserved.

We arrived at the track soon enough, the familiar roar of engines filling the air. It

I showed Joe the cars, explaining the details of the engines, the precision required to handle the speed and intensity.

“You know,” I said, watching him carefully navigate the imaginary turns, “you’re a natural.”

He grinned up at me, pride written all over his face. “I like spending time with you, Liam,” he said, almost shyly, as if afraid to say it too loud.

Hearing him say that, something shifted inside me—a protective instinct I didn’t quite know I had.

Joe wasn’t my son, not by blood, but that connection between us was undeniable.

He looked up to me, and that meant something. Something more than I expected.

But then Joe’s innocent curiosity threw me off balance. He looked up at me, big eyes filled with questions he didn’t fully understand. “Are you and mommy friends again?” he asked, as if it were the simplest question in the world.

I froze, his words striking me harder than they should have. How could I explain to him the mess that existed between me and Aria?

“I…” I hesitated, glancing down at him. “We’re trying. It’s... complicated.”

Joe furrowed his brow, but then, as if that made perfect sense to him, he nodded.

“I hope you guys work it out,” he said earnestly before turning his attention back to the track, the moment already forgotten to him.

I wish it was that simple. I wish it were just a matter of “working it out.” But nothing between Aria and me had ever been that easy.

After we left the track, I dropped Joe off and headed back to the office, my mind still racing. I needed answers. Maybe if I could figure out what really happened with those damn papers, I’d finally get some clarity.

When I pushed open the door to my office, though, I found her already there, standing in the middle of the room like she was waiting for something.

“I have something to tell you,” Aria said, her tone firm, though there was a tension in her posture that told me she was bracing herself for whatever came next.

I didn’t respond, my body freezing in place. All the things I’d been holding back, all the suspicions and anger—they flooded to the surface as I waited for her to speak.

“I’m sorry,” she began, her voice wavering slightly. “For how I’ve acted. I crossed a line, and I let my assumptions about you cloud my judgment.”

I stared at her, not sure where this was going but sensing that this was far from the end of it. “Go on,” I said, my voice controlled, but I could feel the tension coiled beneath the surface.

She took a deep breath, and I could see how hard this was for her to admit. “I threw out the divorce papers,” she confessed, her eyes locked on mine. “I was furious when I saw them. I saw that you edited them, and I acted out of anger, and I know I was wrong.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. I blinked, trying to process what she’d just said, but it didn’t make sense. “You what?”

A surge of anger ripped through me. I stepped toward her, my voice rising despite myself. “You threw out my divorce papers? You’ve been playing games with me this entire time, and now you just... what? Decide to tell me like it’s no big deal?”

Her eyes flared with anger, meeting mine without backing down. “It wasn’t a game, Liam. I wasn’t trying to mess with you. I was hurt.”

“Well, congratulations,” I shot back bitterly, “because that’s exactly what you did. You’ve been dragging me along,and when I finally gave in you threw out the very thing you’ve been holding over my head all this time. And for what? Because you were mad?”

“It wasn’t just about being mad,” she said, her voice rising to match mine. “You didn’t even tell me you were signing them– or changing the terms. Why couldn’t you just sign them the way they were?”

“My terms matter too, Aria!” I snapped. “That’s why I was going to file them. I thought we were over, according to you.”

“And we are,” she countered, fire in her voice now. “But I deserved to know. I deserved to be part of that decision.”

The air between us crackled with tension, both of us breathing hard from the force of the argument. There was so much unsaid between us, so much we’d been avoiding for too long.

Just as I was about to respond, a loud, blaring noise cut through the room. The fire alarm. The sound was shrill, overwhelming the heated words that had been on the tip of my tongue.

“What the hell—” I started, looking around in confusion as the alarm continued to blare.

Aria’s POV

I didn’t wait for him to finish. I was already moving toward the door, my instincts kicking in. The evacuation protocols were drilled into us for emergencies like this, and as much as I wanted to keep arguing, the safety of the team came first.

“Let’s go,” I called over my shoulder, rushing into the hallway where employees were already filing out of their offices.

Liam followed, and we both took charge, directing people toward the exits.

The sound of the alarm echoed through the building, and I could feel the adrenaline coursing through me as I made sure everyone was moving quickly but calmly.

But as I reached the exit, a sudden thought hit me, stopping me in my tracks.

The documents. The files on the recent team sabotage were still inside my office—evidence we couldn’t afford to lose.

I glanced at the building, then at Liam, who was shepherding the last of the employees outside. I knew the risk, but the decision was already made.

“I’ll be right back,” I called to Liam, who was too distracted to stop me.

I sprinted back into the building, the alarm blaring even louder now. The smoke wasn’t too thick yet, but I could feel the heat rising as I raced down the hallway toward my office.

I grabbed the files, clutching them to my chest as I turned to leave. But just as I reached the exit, the smoke became heavier, and the realization of my own recklessness hit me like a brick.

I’d put myself in danger—again. For documents.

I stumbled, coughing as the smoke filled my lungs. The hallway stretched out before me, endless and suffocating.

My vision blurred, and the pounding of my heartbeat echoed in my ears. But I couldn’t stop. Not yet.

The files—I needed to get them out. If we lost these, everything we’d worked for would be in jeopardy. Sabotage, evidence—it was all in my arms.

Just a few more steps, I told myself, pushing through the dizziness. But as I reached the end of the hallway, the ceiling groaned above me, a sickening crack echoing through the air.

Before I could react, the world around me seemed to collapse. A burning ceiling tile broke loose, falling fast and heavy.

I didn’t even have time to scream before it crashed onto my back.

The impact knocked the wind out of me, forcing me to the ground.

Pain shot through my body, sharp and immediate.

My knees hit the floor first, then my elbows, and I collapsed forward, instinctively curling around the files, protecting them beneath me.

The weight of the burning debris pressed down on my back, heat searing through my clothes, my skin. I couldn’t breathe—couldn’t think—couldn’t even move.

The smoke burned my throat, filling my lungs with every gasping breath.

I couldn’t feel anything anymore.

The smoke became thicker, darker, suffocating every last bit of air. I blinked, trying to stay conscious, but it was no use. The world around me faded into black.

I was slipping.

And then… nothing.