Reed International pulsed with invisible tension, the kind that makes every hallway echo louder and every glance carry double meaning. The storm had broken—Jason and Bella could feel it pressing in from all sides. What began as suspicion had evolved into a full-scale investigation, driven by betrayal, desperation, and the looming threat over Lila's safety.
Jason had shed the last remnants of naivety. He was now a man on a mission, and nothing (not corporate loyalty, not family legacy, not even personal fear) would stand in his way. With Ryan by his side, he worked around the clock, dissecting every ledger entry, every budget request, every shady transaction that might implicate Veronica or worse, his own father.
"We have to move fast," Jason told Ryan as he pinned another payment record on the board in his office-turned-war-room. "They're cleaning up. We can't afford mistakes."
Ryan nodded grimly. "Veronica's name appears on at least three requests for offshore transfers. They were funneled through dummy consulting firms set up just days before Bella left New York."
Jason's jaw clenched. "She was paid to disappear."
But it was more than just money. It was control. Erasure. Rewriting the truth.
On her end, Bella was methodically peeling back the digital facade Veronica had constructed over the years. Hidden in old email metadata, buried in access logs, and masked behind multiple layers of redirection, she uncovered a trail of subtle manipulation. It wasn't just slander. It was calculated sabotage.
One night, eyes bleary from hours of poring over backdated emails, Bella froze as she spotted a string of key messages supposedly sent by Jason, altered in barely detectable ways. One memo green lit a confidential merger he never recalled discussing. Another shifted project oversight from Bella to an unnamed external consultant. All traced to an IP address registered to a long-decommissioned server farm in the Hudson Valley.
"This isn't Veronica," Bella said, spinning her laptop toward Jason. "This is something bigger. Professional. Whoever did this knew exactly how to stay invisible."
Jason leaned in, his brows drawing together. "A ghost operation. This level of manipulation had to be contracted. Someone outside the company. Someone with resources."
His phone buzzed. A coded message lit up the screen. It was from Sawyer Blake, the ex-FBI cybersecurity expert he'd hired discreetly.
Surveillance confirmed. Subject: high risk. Internal breach likely orchestrated. Do NOT trust surface-level intel. Proceed with caution.
Jason's blood ran cold. They were being watched. Every move, every call, every investigation they weren't doing it in secret anymore.
Elsewhere in the city, Bella sat across from Dean Carter in a quiet café tucked away from the corporate buzz. The former college sweetheart had shown up unexpectedly, concern etched into every word.
"Bella, you're on every whisper thread in the city," Dean said, his voice low. "My sister's hearing things she shouldn't. There's talk of embezzlement. Leaked emails. Someone's naming you. I can help—my family's lawyers are discreet and brutal."
Bella stirred her tea absently, her thoughts still locked on Jason's findings. "I appreciate it, Dean. But I'm handling it."
"You don't have to handle it alone," he said gently, placing his hand over hers. "You don't have to keep me at arm's length. I still care about you."
The weight of his words stirred something in her but it was drowned out by the storm inside her. Before she could respond, her phone vibrated violently against the table.
She flipped it over.
No name. Just a number.
Watching. Keep your secrets safe, Bella. Especially the little one.
Attached was a grainy video. Bella's breath caught in her throat.
It was Lila.
At the park. Just hours ago. Laughing, chasing pigeons, blissfully unaware that someone, somewhere, was recording her from a hidden vantage point. The footage was zoomed-in, shaky… disturbingly intimate.
Bella's hands trembled as she clutched the phone. Dean noticed the color drain from her face.
"Bella? What is it? Are you okay?"
She stood abruptly, shoving the phone into her coat pocket. Her voice was tight, strained. "I have to go."
"But—"
"Thank you, Dean," she said, her tone clipped. "I'll call you."
She exited the café, heart pounding. The message wasn't just a threat, it was a warning. They weren't just trying to ruin her reputation or steal her career.
They were coming for her daughter.
Back at Reed International, Jason stared at his father's portrait in the executive gallery. He couldn't look at it without wondering—how far had George Reed gone? Had he merely manipulated the truth to protect the company… or had he orchestrated a campaign to erase Bella from their lives entirely?
"We're not dealing with a single enemy," Jason said when Bella returned, pale and shaken. "This… this is an alliance. Someone with money, someone with influence, and someone who knows how to disappear into networks."
Bella didn't respond right away. She just handed him her phone. His face went rigid as he watched the footage of Lila on the swing, her laughter echoing like a countdown.
"We're running out of time," she whispered.
Jason placed a hand on her shoulder, steadying her. "Then we fight fire with fire."
The unholy alliance had shown its hand. But Jason and Bella? They weren't hiding anymore.
They were going to expose every lie.
And this time, they would burn down everything to protect their daughter.