"You won't believe what I discovered."
Claire's urgent tone pulled me back into the room as I paused in my tracks. Her face was pale with a mix of terror and excitement as she stood close to the hearth, holding an old leather-bound notebook.
"What is it?" My chest suddenly tightened, but I asked in a steady voice.
Claire pointed at the journal and said, "It's Aria's."
The worn leather was velvety under my hands when I took it after staring at it for a while. It seemed menacingly heavy, as if it held all the secrets I had been yearning to learn.
Claire paused, staring at the entrance as though she thought someone might suddenly enter. "I should not have discovered it." Victor's office was where it was concealed. All this time, he has kept it.
My breath caught. "Winner? What would make him possess it?
She gave a headshake. "You have to figure that out. But there's more, Ava. Something needs to be seen in there.
With my hands shaking a little, I opened the journal after waiting until I was alone myself in my room. Aria's immaculate handwriting described ordinary events, such as lunches with friends, her favorite books, and brief references to Rogan, on the first few pages. The tone, however, altered as I flipped further.
The entries became hurried and disjointed. Unfinished sentences and scratched-out words.
"I'm not sure who else I can trust. "This doesn't feel right, but I have no choice," he says. Rogan, I can't tell. If he learned the truth, he would never be able to forgive me.
As I read the lines, my heart was pounding. Similar cryptic confessions covered the next pages, but it wasn't until I came to an entry dated only a few weeks prior to her disappearance that things started to make sense.
Victor is becoming more and more dangerous. If I don't follow his plan, he threatens to ruin Rogan. However, how can I get out? How can I act like I made this decision?
Victor. Like a brand, the name was ingrained in my memory. Desperate for more, I turned the page.
He claims that I am a liability. that Rogan will never reach his full potential while I'm here. It's a lie, though. I'm positive it is. Like a piece in his game, he is controlling and exploiting me.
With my chest heaving, I slammed the journal closed. Langston, Victor. He was dangerous in addition to being cunning. By threatening and lying to Aria, he had forced her to leave the life she had created. from Rogan.
However, why? What did Victor stand to gain by ruining their romance?
The following morning, with the journal firmly grasped in my hand, I faced Claire in the kitchen.
"Why didn't you inform me of this earlier?" I insisted.
Claire's voice was little more than a whisper as she looked around anxiously. "Because I felt afraid." Ava, you shouldn't cross Victor. He's—
I angrily said, "I don't care who he is." "You expect me to remain silent when Rogan pushed Aria out of his life?"
Claire's eyes became more sympathetic. "Do you really believe Rogan is prepared to hear this? I know you care about him. He had been grieving for years. He might be destroyed to learn that she didn't go voluntarily.
"Or it might release him," I countered. "He is entitled to the truth."
She didn't answer, so I decided to walk away.
It wasn't as easy as I had anticipated to tell Rogan. I went into his study and found him poring over papers. Since our altercation in the garden, our relationship had been tense, but this was too crucial to let fester.
"We need to talk, Rogan."
His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked up. "How about?"
The leather creaked when I set the journal down on his desk. Concerning Aria. Victor as well.
His face changed to one of bewilderment and caution. "How about them?"
I pushed the journal in his direction and said, "Read it." "You'll get it."
After a moment of hesitation, he opened it and skimmed the pages, his brow furrowed. His hands gripped the journal's borders as if he could crush it, and his jaw grew tighter with every letter.
His voice was low and menacing as he said, "This can't be real."
"It is," I muttered. Rogan, Victor tricked her. He was scared of what you two could accomplish together, so he urged her to leave and give up everything. He has always been the one pulling the strings.
Rogan slammed the journal shut as his hand sprang out. "Why are you displaying this to me now?"
"Because you are entitled to the truth." Additionally, I believe Victor's ambitions continued after Aria. Rogan, he's still attempting to manipulate you. to maintain you under his control.
His eyes were turbulent with emotion as he looked at me for a long time. "I've been mourning a lie if what you're saying is accurate. Everything I believed to be true about her, the reasons behind her departure—
"It wasn't her choice," I softly interrupted. Rogan, she adored you. Enough to give up all in order to keep you safe.
I noticed the fissures in his armor for the first time as his breath caught. He was now carrying a dangerous rage along with the pain he had been bearing for years.
I had trouble falling asleep later that night. I found myself exploring the home in the hopes that the silence would provide some insight because of the overwhelming weight of all I had discovered.
I saw that Victor's office door was ajar as I walked by. The dim glimmer of a computer screen illuminated the room as I peered inside, my heart racing.
My curiosity overcame me, and I entered, looking around the desk for any evidence that would support Aria's writing.
At that moment, I noticed a pile of letters written in Aria's handwriting and addressed to Victor.
With shaking hands, I picked up the top letter and unfolded it. The words were begging and urgent.
"Please don't do this, Victor. If you want me to leave, I will, but please don't harm him. Please don't let me ruin his life. You must swear to leave him alone before I vanish.
I heard footsteps coming before I could continue reading. With my heart pounding, I hastily folded the letter and tucked it back into the stack.
I turned to see Rogan standing there with an enigmatic expression as the door cracked open.
His voice was calm but authoritative as he inquired, "What are you doing in here?"
I pointed at the letters and said, "I found something." More evidence of Victor's treatment of Aria. Rogan, she pleaded with him to spare you. She gave her life for you.
His gaze was fixed on the pile of letters as he took a step closer. "And he didn't stop yet, did he?"
As the truth began to weigh on us, I shook my head. "No. And he never will, in my opinion.
Rogan glanced through the letters, his mouth clenched as he reached for them. "Then we should quit playing his game."
Just as I opened my mouth to reply, a door slammed and then there was the distinct sound of footsteps everywhere.
Rogan and I exchanged a wordless understanding as our eyes locked.
He walked over to the door and said, "Stay here."
However, he heard a chilly, piercing voice as soon as he entered the hallway.
With his shadow extending over the floor, Victor spoke the words, "Well, well." "It appears that you two have been quite busy."
I realized then that nothing would ever be the same as the tension crackled like lightning.