THE MONSTER THAT RUINED ME

Seven Years Later The alarm on Aurora Hayes’s phone rang at exactly six o’clock. She reached across the tiny bedside table, silenced it, and lay still for another minute, staring at the cracked ceiling of her one-bedroom apartment. Another day. Another chance to pretend everything was fine. Outside, Los Angeles was already awake. The distant hum of traffic drifted through the half-open window, mixed with the occasional bark of a neighbor’s dog and the rumble of an early morning bus. Aurora pushed herself out of bed, wrapped a cardigan around her shoulders, and walked to the kitchenette. The refrigerator held half a carton of milk, a few eggs, and leftover pasta from two nights ago. She sighed. Payday was still three days away. As the coffee brewed, her phone buzzed with a notification from her bank. Available Balance: $32.47 She stared at the screen for several seconds before locking it. Money had been tight ever since the design agency where she worked downsized six months earlier. She had managed to survive by taking freelance jobs and working morning shifts at a neighborhood café, but every month felt like a balancing act and every job interview she’d attended over the last month had ended with the same polite smile. “We’ll let you know.” No one ever did. Sometimes Aurora wondered if people saw her résumé and recognized the name Hayes. Other times, she wondered if they recognized another name. Blackwood. Maybe they discovered who her ex was. Maybe they simply didn’t want to end up on Damien Blackwood’s bad side. She refused to complain. She had survived worse. Much worse. Aurora set her phone down and finished making her coffee. Seven years ago, she was twenty years old. Twenty years old, hopelessly in love with a man everyone had warned her about. She remembered the warnings. Stay away from Damien Blackwood. That man is dangerous. He doesn’t love people. He owns them. You’ll regret it. They had called him a monster. A devil dressed in expensive suits. A man who could destroy someone’s life without losing a night’s sleep. Aurora had heard every word but she simply hadn’t believed them. Not because she thought they were lying. She knew Damien was dangerous. She had seen his temper. His ruthlessness. His ability to make an entire room fall silent with one look, but she had also seen the man nobody else knew. The man who waited outside her classes with her favorite coffee. The man who called whenever thunderstorms rolled over Los Angeles because he knew she hated them. The man who could sit beside her for hours without saying a word when she was hurting. The broken man hidden underneath the monster. Aurora had believed she could love that part of him without being destroyed by the rest. She had been wrong. Or at least, that was what she had spent seven years telling herself. She dressed in blue jeans, a white T-shirt, and sneakers before tying her chestnut hair into a low ponytail. Just as she reached for her bag, another notification appeared. Ethan: Don’t forget dinner tonight. I finally have something worth celebrating. A smile spread across her face. She typed back quickly. Aurora: Promotion? Three dots appeared. Then another message. Ethan: Maybe. She laughed softly. Aurora: You’re terrible at keeping secrets. Ethan: See you tonight, sis. She slipped the phone into her bag. Whatever the surprise was, she couldn’t wait to hear it. Ethan was the closest thing she had to home. At twenty-four, he was younger than her by three years, but there were days when he acted like the older brother instead. He had worked two jobs to help her through college, skipped vacations because he insisted she deserved a better future and volunteered every Saturday teaching children how to code. He worked too hard, worried too much, and somehow still found time to make her laugh. If there was one person in the world Aurora trusted completely, it was Ethan. By eight-thirty, the café was overflowing with customers. The rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the air as orders echoed across the room. “Good morning. What can I get started for you?” The elderly woman ordered a cappuccino and a blueberry muffin. Aurora worked quickly, grateful for something to keep her mind occupied. Worry had become a constant companion, whispering that one more setback would be enough to bring everything crashing down. “Cappuccino for Olivia!” “Double espresso!” “Blueberry scone!” Aurora moved from one customer to another with practiced ease, greeting each person with the same warm smile, even when her feet ached. “You always smile,” her coworker Mia said while wiping down the counter. “How do you do it?” Aurora shrugged. “It’s part of the job.” “No,” Mia replied. “It’s part of you.” Aurora smiled but didn’t answer. If only Mia knew how much effort that smile required. Around noon, business finally slowed. Aurora stepped into the staff room for a quick drink of water when her phone vibrated. ETHAN She smiled immediately. “Couldn’t wait until dinner?” She answered the call. “Hey, little…” A man’s voice interrupted her. “Miss Aurora Hayes?” Her smile disappeared. “…Yes?” “My name is Officer Daniel Brooks with the Los Angeles Police Department.” Every muscle in her body stiffened. “I’m calling regarding your brother, Ethan Hayes.” The bottle of water slipped from her fingers and rolled across the floor. “What happened?” “I’m sorry to inform you that your brother was taken into custody approximately forty minutes ago.” Aurora blinked. “I’m… sorry?” “He’s currently being held for questioning in connection with a corporate financial fraud investigation.” She laughed. Not because it was funny but it couldn’t possibly be true. “There has to be some mistake.” “I’m afraid that’s not something I can discuss over the phone.” “My brother doesn’t steal.” “Ma’am—” “He volunteers every Saturday teaching kids how to code. He works sixteen-hour days. He doesn’t even take sick leave because he’s terrified of disappointing his boss.” “I’m simply asking you to come to the station.” “No…” she whispered. “No…” The call ended. For several seconds, she simply stared at the dark screen. “We’ll need a family member at the station.” The line went dead. Aurora stood frozen. The sounds of the café faded until all she could hear was the pounding of her own heart. No. Not Ethan. Not the boy who had worked two jobs to help her through college. Not the brother who skipped vacations because he insisted she deserved a better future. He couldn’t have committed fraud. He simply couldn’t. Mia entered the room. “You okay?” Aurora looked up, her face completely drained of color. “I have to go.” “What happened?” “My brother…” Her voice broke. “My brother’s been arrested.” The taxi ride felt endless, a massive digital billboard displayed Damien Blackwood shaking hands with the governor after announcing another billion-dollar investment. Beneath the image, the headline read: THE KING OF BLACKWOOD HOLDINGS EXPANDS AGAIN. Aurora immediately looks away. She called Ethan over and over again. Voicemail. Again. Voicemail. Again. Nothing. She opened their family group chat and scrolled through old photos. Christmas. Birthdays. Graduation. A picture of Ethan wearing an apron after burning pancakes on her birthday. She smiled through tears. There was no way the smiling young man in those pictures had committed fraud. Someone had to be lying. At the police station, she waited nearly an hour before a detective agreed to speak with her. The detective looked exhausted. He gestured toward a chair. “Please sit.” “The evidence against your brother is substantial,” he said, sliding a file onto the table. Aurora remained standing. “I want to see my brother.” “Not yet.” “What do you mean, not yet?” “We’re still questioning him.” “What exactly are you accusing him of?” The detective opened a thick file. “Over eight million dollars disappeared from company accounts over the past six months.” Aurora stared at him. “Eight… million?” “Electronic transfers.” “My brother doesn’t even own a luxury car.” “We’re following the evidence.” She shook her head repeatedly. “No.” “The digital trail points directly to his employee credentials.” “He was framed.” “We’re investigating every possibility.” “Then investigate faster!” she snapped, her voice echoing across the room. The detective remained calm. “I understand you’re upset.” “No, you don’t.” Tears spilled down her cheeks. “My parents are gone.” “My brother is the only family I have.” “You can’t just lock him away because of a computer record.” The detective studied her for a long moment then his expression softened. “There may be one person who can help.” Hope flickered inside her. “Who?” “The owner of the company.” Aurora leaned forward. “If he believes your brother is innocent, he’ll have access to internal records, private servers, security reports… things we don’t.” “What company?” The detective slid a folder across the table. Aurora looked down. Her heart stopped. BLACKWOOD HOLDINGS Her breathing became uneven. No… Not that company. Not him. The detective continued speaking. “The CEO is one of the most influential businessmen in California.” She never heard the rest. Her eyes remained fixed on the name beneath the company logo. Damien Blackwood The room seemed to disappear around her. The air vanished from Aurora’s lungs. Seven years. Seven years since she’d sworn she would never hear that name again. She stared at the page, unable to move. She stared at the page, unable to move. She had loved Damien with everything she had, known what he was before she ever gave him her heart. Everyone had warned her. They had told her that the man was a monster. But Aurora had believed there was something broken inside him that nobody else could see. She had believed she could love the broken part without being destroyed by the monster. She had been wrong. At least, that was what she believed. Because the night she left him, she had walked away with a heart so shattered she had barely recognized herself. She had cried until there were no tears left. She had waited for Damien to stop her. He hadn’t. He had shown no remorse. No explanation that she could accept. Nothing that could make her stay. So she left. And for seven years, she had forced herself to believe that the man she loved had finally proved everyone right. Yet fate had dragged him back into her life. And this time… Walking away wasn’t an option. The detective’s voice sounded distant. “Miss Hayes?” Aurora slowly closed the file. Her hands trembled. There was only one way to save her brother. She would have to face the monster who had ruined her.