Chapter 58: FIFTH ROSE

Aria's POV

The door clicked shut behind me, and for a second, I just stood there, leaning back against it, trying to breathe past the weight of the morning.

Caden’s presence still clung to me—his voice, his warning, the way he’d looked at me before walking away with Marcus.

I pushed off the door and turned toward the bed.

And froze.

The rose sat right in the center of the sheets.

White.

Perfect.

Deliberate.

But it wasn’t the flower that made my stomach drop.

It was the ribbon.

Red.

My pulse spiked instantly as I stepped closer, every instinct screaming at me to stop, to run, but I didn’t. I couldn’t.

My hand trembled as I reached for it, fingers brushing the soft petals before closing around the stem. A small card hung from it, tied neatly with the ribbon.

“No…” I whispered under my breath.

I knew what this was.

The fifth one.

My hands shook harder as I pulled the card free and opened it.

The handwriting was elegant. Precise.

Careful.

I read the words once.

Then again.

And the air left my lungs.

“Your father asked too many questions. Now, you’re making the same mistake. —A Friend.”

My knees nearly gave out.

I grabbed the edge of the bed to steady myself, heart pounding so hard it hurt. The room suddenly felt small, quiet, like something was watching me, waiting for me to react.

“They know,” I whispered, my grip tightening around the card. “They know.”

My hand moved to my stomach instinctively. The baby kicked hard, sharp enough to make me wince.

“I know,” I murmured, swallowing hard. “I know.”

There was no time to think.

I turned and rushed out of the room, the rose still clutched in my hand, the note crumpled slightly between my fingers. My steps were quick, uneven, my body protesting the speed but adrenaline pushing me forward anyway.

The hall blurred past me.

I didn’t stop.

Didn’t think.

I headed straight for the one place I knew—

Maya.

I pushed into the clinic without knocking.

“Maya—”

She looked up from the counter immediately, her expression shifting the second she saw my face. “Aria? What—”

I held out the rose.

Her words died instantly.

Her eyes dropped to the ribbon.

And all the color drained from her face.

“No…” she breathed, stepping closer. “Not again.”

“It’s the fifth one,” I said, my voice tight. “There’s a note.”

She didn’t touch it at first, just stared at the red ribbon like it might bite her. “Red ribbon…” she whispered. “That’s not a warning anymore.”

“What does it mean?” I demanded, my chest tightening.

Maya finally took the rose from me carefully, like it was something fragile and dangerous at the same time. “Red ribbon means blood warning,” she said, her voice low and unsteady. “It means the threat is imminent. Violent.”

A chill ran straight down my spine.

“There’s a note,” I repeated, pushing the card into her hand.

She took it, unfolding it slowly. Her eyes moved across the words, and I watched the exact moment it hit her.

Her head snapped up.

“Someone knows,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “They know you’re investigating your parents.”

“I told you,” I said, panic creeping in despite myself. “They know.”

Maya looked back at the note, then at me, her expression tight. “This isn’t random. This is targeted.”

“Could it be Marcus?” I asked quickly. “Or Thorne?”

Maya shook her head slightly, studying the writing again. “Marcus isn’t subtle. If he wanted to threaten you, he’d do it to your face.” Her fingers tightened around the card. “This… this is calculated. Controlled.”

“Thorne?” I pressed.

“Maybe,” she said. “He’s more refined. More careful. But…” She hesitated, glancing at the rose again. “It could be someone else entirely.”

“That’s not helpful,” I snapped, my nerves fraying.

“I know,” she said quickly. “But we can’t assume yet.”

She moved to a cabinet and pulled out a small box, opening it on the counter. Inside were the previous roses, dried but preserved carefully.

“I kept them,” she said. “Just in case.”

She placed the new one beside them, her eyes moving from one to the other, comparing.

She looked up at me.

“This is different.”

“How?”

Her gaze sharpened. “This is escalation. A shift.” She tapped the red ribbon lightly. “This isn’t a warning anymore, Aria. It’s a countdown.”

My stomach dropped.

“A countdown to what?”

She didn’t answer immediately.

“That’s the problem,” she said finally. “We don’t know.”

The baby kicked again, harder this time, and I pressed my hand against my stomach, trying to steady my breathing.

“I can’t stop,” I said, forcing the words out. “I can’t stop investigating.”

Maya’s head snapped up. “Aria—”

“If I do, they still kill me,” I cut in. “This proves it. They’re already watching me, already tracking what I’m doing.” My voice shook, but I pushed through it. “At least if I keep going, I have something. Leverage.”

“Leverage doesn’t matter if you’re dead,” Maya said sharply, stepping closer. “You’re eight and a half months pregnant. You can’t fight them like this.”

“I’m not fighting,” I said. “I’m surviving.”

“By walking straight into danger?”

“By not waiting for it to come to me,” I shot back.

Maya stared at me, frustration and fear clear on her face. “You need protection. Real protection. Not just Caden watching you during the day.”

At his name, something tightened in my chest.

“He’s already doing enough,” I said.

“Is he?” Maya challenged. “Because this—” she held up the rose “—still made it into your room.”

I didn’t have an answer for that.

“Exactly,” she said softly.

Silence stretched between us, thick and uneasy.

Maya inhaled sharply, making a decision. “I’m telling Luca.”

“No,” I said immediately.

“Yes.”

“No,” I repeated, stepping forward. “You can’t.”

“Aria—”

“If Luca starts digging, Marcus and Thorne will know,” I said, my voice rising. “They’ll connect it. They’ll realize I’m onto them.”

“They already realize that,” Maya snapped, holding up the note. “Five roses, Aria. Five. Whatever they’re planning—it’s happening soon.”

I shook my head, panic creeping in. “If we push them, they’ll act faster.”

“They’re already acting!”

“Then we need to be smarter, not louder,” I insisted.

Maya opened her mouth to argue again—

The door opened.

We both turned.

Caden stepped inside.

His presence filled the room instantly, his gaze moving from me to Maya, then landing on the rose in her hand.

He went still.

Completely still.

“What is that?” he asked, his voice low, controlled.

Neither of us answered.

His eyes shifted to the card in Maya’s other hand. “Give it to me.”

Maya hesitated.

“Now,” he added, sharper.