The auction was everything Aria hated: glitz without soul, champagne without substance, and vultures in tailored suits pretending to care about world hunger for PR points.

She made sure she looked like one of them.

Her dress was crimson silk, cut sharp and clean. Her heels stabbed with every step. Her lips matched the gown—bold, unapologetic.

Dominic stood beside her in black-on-black, silent and imposing. They didn’t speak on the way in. They didn’t need to.

The moment she walked through the ballroom doors, all eyes turned.

Aria Vale. Not hiding. Not ashamed. Owned. Untouchable.

At least, that’s what they needed the room to think.

Sloane, already mingling with her inside contact, gave a subtle nod from across the room. Step one complete. Aria and Dominic’s appearance would now trigger the first data ping in Hale’s surveillance network.

Let the trap begin.

“I need a drink,” Aria muttered under her breath.

Dominic guided her to the bar. “One glass. No disappearing acts.”

“Don’t babysit me.”

“Don’t walk into a trap like it’s a red carpet.”

She smirked and turned to the bartender. “Champagne. The real stuff.”

A familiar voice spoke behind her.

“Still prefer the vintage labels, huh?”

Aria froze.

Slowly, she turned—and nearly dropped her glass.

Cal Bennett.

Her ex-fiancé.

Before Dominic. Before Vale Interiors. Before she even knew what the word “power” could do.

Cal was older now. Leaner. Still charming in that oily, too-easy way. The kind of man who called you babe until you got in his way.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, sharp.

“Investor perks,” he said with a grin. “New startup. Hale took interest. I’m here to shake hands.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You’re working with him?”

“I’m working with whoever pays well. You of all people should understand that.”

Dominic stepped in without a word, placing himself subtly between them. One step. Full threat.

Cal looked him over. “Well, well. The husband. Rebound turned remarriage. Can’t say I saw that coming.”

Aria leaned in. “You say one word to Hale about anything that happened between us, I’ll make sure your startup gets blacklisted from every firm in this room.”

Cal raised his glass, amused. “Relax, sweetheart. I don’t hold grudges. Just secrets.”

He walked off.

Dominic turned to her, low voice. “What the hell was that?”

“A mistake from my past,” Aria said, watching Cal disappear into the crowd. “And if he’s talking to Hale… we may have just lost our advantage.”