Sloane’s message came through the encrypted channel at 3:17 a.m.

He knows. Pull her out. Now.

Dominic read it twice, jaw tightening with each second. The gala had been a setup—for Hale and for Aria. But someone tipped the scales.

Cal.

That smug bastard hadn’t shown up just to stir the pot. He’d walked in carrying a match—and now the whole room was doused in gasoline.

Dominic didn’t hesitate. He called Aria.

No answer.

He called again. Still nothing.

He grabbed his coat and headed for her apartment. On the way, his phone buzzed again. This time from Sloane.

Hale just pulled a move on Vale Interiors. Media will break the story by morning:

“Insider Trading Suspicion: Vale CEO Under Investigation.”

The breath left his chest.

He called Sloane. “Tell me you can kill it.”

“No. It’s already in distribution. Local outlets, then nationals. It’s not real—but it’s good enough to cause panic.”

“Who gave him the leak?”

“Probably someone inside Aria’s staff. I’m trying to trace it now.”

Dominic didn’t wait for more. He was already in the elevator, punching the button to Aria’s floor.

When she opened the door, barefoot in one of his old shirts, her eyes told him she already knew.

“It’s out there,” she said flatly.

“I’m going to fix it.”

She shook her head. “No. You’re going to let me fix it.”

Dominic hesitated.

“I built that company from nothing,” she said. “I bled for it. I won’t let Marcus Hale take it from me, and I won’t let you play my savior. Not this time.”

He searched her face—angry, proud, radiant in the wreckage.

“What do you want to do?” he asked quietly.

Aria turned, grabbed her laptop, and pulled up her press contacts.

“I’m calling a live interview tomorrow morning. We get ahead of this. I show them I’m not hiding.”

Dominic stepped forward. “Then we do it together. On camera.”

She glanced up. “You sure?”

“If I’m going to be your husband in public, might as well be your shield while I’m at it.”

She nodded.

Then added, “And after this is done… we talk. No more running. No more secrets.”

Dominic met her gaze. “Agreed.”

But deep down, he knew—there was one secret left.

And when it came out, it wouldn’t just risk the company.

It would destroy everything between them.