Aria’s POV
The plan took shape in layers.
Not rushed. Not emotional. Precise.
That was the first thing Rico insisted on after I said the words draw him out. We didn’t argue not really. We circled the idea like predators testing distance, weighing consequence against necessity.
By dawn, the decision had hardened into strategy.
I would attend the gala.
Publicly.
Alone but not unprotected.
The Zane Legacy Summit was scheduled for the following evening, an exclusive event dripping in power and optics. CEOs. Politicians. Philanthropists. Media carefully curated. It was exactly the kind of place a man obsessed with legacy and symbolism wouldn’t be able to resist.
“He’ll come,” Juno said over video call, eyes sharp behind her glasses. “If not personally, then through a proxy.”
“And Elen
