His Ruthless Vow

The Secret Behind The Meeting

The message stayed on Aria's screen long after the room had fallen silent.

She read it again.

And again.

Every instinct told her it was a trap.

Yet another part of her couldn't ignore it.

If the anonymous sender truly knew what had happened to Isabella, this could be the only chance to uncover the truth.

She glanced toward the closed bedroom door.

Damien had warned her not to answer unknown messages.

He had increased security around the estate.

He had even given her a necklace with a GPS tracker.

He was trying to protect her.

So why did she still feel as though he was hiding something?

The next morning...

Aria barely touched her breakfast.

Damien noticed immediately.

"You're unusually quiet."

"I'm just tired."

His eyes lingered on her face for a moment.

"Did you sleep?"

"A little."

He didn't look convinced.

Before he could ask another question, Victor Hale entered the dining room carrying a tablet.

"Mr. Kingston, the board meeting has been moved to nine o'clock."

Damien frowned.

"Who changed it?"

"The directors insisted."

He sighed.

"I'll leave in twenty minutes."

Victor nodded before excusing himself.

Aria's heartbeat quickened.

Nine o'clock.

If Damien left for the office...

She could reach Central Station by eight.

The thought made her stomach tighten.

She hated lying.

But she needed answers.

At exactly 7:40 a.m., Damien stood.

"I'll be late tonight."

Aria forced a smile.

"I understand."

He walked around the table and stopped beside her.

"Don't leave the estate today."

Her heart skipped a beat.

"What?"

"The security team is reviewing something."

His expression was serious.

"I'd rather you stayed here."

She nodded.

"Of course."

It was another lie.

Damien studied her for a second longer before leaving.

A minute later, she heard the front gates open.

Then the sound of his car disappeared into the distance.

She waited another five minutes.

Then she hurried upstairs.

She changed into simple jeans, a dark jacket, and a baseball cap.

If someone was watching Kingston Estate, she didn't want to be recognised immediately.

Slipping the GPS necklace beneath her shirt, she quietly made her way toward the side entrance used by the staff.

Clara was arranging flowers nearby.

She looked up in surprise.

"Mrs. Kingston?"

"I... just need some fresh air."

Clara smiled politely.

"Don't be too long."

Aria returned the smile, guilt tugging at her chest.

"I'm sorry," she whispered once she was outside.

The estate gates closed behind her.

A taxi was already waiting at the end of the road.

She climbed inside.

"Central Station, please."

As the taxi pulled away, she didn't notice the black SUV parked across the street.

Inside, a man picked up his phone.

"She's left the estate."

A cold voice answered.

"Don't lose her."

The taxi weaved through the morning traffic as Aria sat silently in the back seat.

She glanced out of the window every few seconds.

The anonymous messages echoed in her mind.

Come alone...

Don't tell Damien...

She wondered if she was making the biggest mistake of her life.

Twenty minutes later, the taxi stopped outside Central Station.

The place buzzed with commuters rushing to work.

Businessmen hurried across the platforms.

Street musicians played near the entrance.

Families dragged suitcases behind them.

It was the perfect place for someone to disappear into a crowd.

Aria paid the driver and stepped onto the pavement.

She looked at the time.

7:58 a.m.

Two minutes early.

She scanned the crowd, searching for anyone who looked familiar.

Nothing.

Just strangers.

Her phone vibrated.

Walk to Platform 6.

Her pulse quickened.

She hesitated.

Then she followed the signs.

Platform 6 was much quieter than the others.

Only a handful of people waited for the next train.

Another message arrived.

Don't look behind you. You're being watched.

Aria froze.

Every instinct told her to turn around.

She forced herself not to.

Instead, she kept walking.

A few seconds later, she reached the end of the platform.

No one approached her.

No one spoke.

Her phone buzzed again.

Sit on the third bench.

She counted carefully.

One.

Two.

Three.

The wooden bench was empty.

She sat down.

Her heart hammered against her ribs.

Five minutes passed.

Nothing happened.

Just as she began to think it was all a cruel prank, someone sat beside her.

An elderly woman wearing a grey coat.

She never looked at Aria.

Instead, she quietly unfolded a newspaper.

Without moving her lips, she whispered,

"Don't react."

Aria's breathing became shallow.

The woman continued reading the newspaper.

"They're watching us."

"Who?" Aria whispered.

"The people who killed Isabella."

Aria's eyes widened.

She wanted to ask a hundred questions.

Instead, she forced herself to remain calm.

"You sent the messages?"

"No."

"Then who are you?"

"A friend."

"I don't even know your name."

"You don't need to."

The woman slowly turned a page of the newspaper.

"What you need is the truth."

Aria swallowed hard.

"What happened five years ago?"

The woman's hands trembled slightly.

"Isabella discovered something."

"What?"

"Proof."

"Proof of what?"

Before the woman could answer, her eyes suddenly shifted toward the opposite platform.

Her expression changed instantly.

"They found us."

Aria instinctively looked up.

Three men in black suits were walking through the crowd.

They weren't running.

They weren't shouting.

But their eyes were fixed on the bench.

The woman's voice became urgent.

"Listen carefully."

She slipped a small folded piece of paper into Aria's hand.

"Don't open it here."

"Who are those men?"

"They work for someone far more dangerous than Damien."

Aria's heart skipped.

"What?"

"You've married the wrong man..."

The woman stopped herself.

"No..."

She corrected quietly.

"...you've married the right man."

Before Aria could ask what she meant, the woman stood.

"Leave. Now."

"What about you?"

"I'll slow them down."

"I'm not leaving you!"

"You don't have a choice."

The three men were only metres away now.

The woman's voice dropped to a whisper.

"Run, Aria."

Without another word, she disappeared into the crowd.

For a second, Aria stood frozen.

Then one of the men pointed directly at her.

"There she is!"

Fear exploded inside her.

She turned and ran.

Aria ran.

The noise of Central Station faded beneath the pounding of her heartbeat.

"Stop her!" one of the men shouted.

She pushed through the crowd, apologising as she bumped into commuters.

A train whistle echoed through the station.

People surged toward the platform, creating a wall between her and the men chasing her.

She risked a glance over her shoulder.

They were still coming.

One of them spoke into an earpiece.

"Target is moving east. Don't let her leave the station."

Target?

The word sent another wave of panic through her.

Who were these men?

And why were they after her?

She clutched the folded piece of paper tightly in her hand.

Whatever was written inside had to be important.

She just had to escape first.

She darted down a flight of stairs leading to the underground passage.

The crowd was thinner here.

Too thin.

Her footsteps echoed against the tiled walls.

Another glance behind her.

The men had split up.

One was following directly behind her while the other two disappeared into different corridors.

"They're trying to cut me off," she whispered.

Her breathing grew heavier.

She reached the end of the passage and hurried toward the station exit.

Just as she stepped outside, a black sedan screeched to a halt in front of her.

The rear door flew open.

For one terrifying second, she thought the strangers had caught her.

Then she heard a familiar voice.

"Get in!"

Victor Hale.

Without hesitation, Aria jumped into the car.

Victor slammed the door shut.

"Drive!"

The driver accelerated, leaving the station behind.

A black SUV pulled out from the opposite side of the road and followed them.

Victor looked through the rear window.

"They're still there."

Aria struggled to catch her breath.

"How... how did you find me?"

Victor adjusted his glasses.

"Mr. Kingston."

Her eyes widened.

"He knew?"

"The necklace."

Aria instinctively touched the sapphire pendant around her neck.

"The GPS."

Victor nodded.

"The moment you left the estate, Mr. Kingston knew."

Guilt washed over her.

"He told me not to leave."

"He did."

"I lied to him."

Victor remained silent for a moment.

Then he said quietly,

"Mrs. Kingston... Mr. Kingston has made many enemies."

"I can see that."

"But very few things frighten him."

She looked at him.

"This morning..."

Victor paused.

"...you frightened him."

Aria blinked.

"What do you mean?"

"When he realised you'd left without security, he cancelled his board meeting."

She stared at him.

"He cancelled it?"

"He has never cancelled a board meeting."

Not once.

The words lingered in the silence.

For the first time since their marriage, Aria realised Damien's concern hadn't been about control.

He had genuinely been worried.

Her phone vibrated.

An unknown message.

With trembling fingers, she opened it.

You escaped today...

Next time, he won't save you.

A photograph appeared beneath the message.

It had been taken only minutes earlier.

It showed Aria climbing into Victor's car.

Someone had been watching.

Someone had been close enough to take the picture.

A cold shiver ran down her spine.

She slowly unfolded the piece of paper the elderly woman had slipped into her hand.

There were only two lines written in blue ink.

Locker 317.

Isabella died protecting the truth inside.

Before Aria could say a word, Victor's phone rang.

He answered immediately.

"Yes, sir."

His expression changed.

"We're ten minutes away."

He ended the call and turned to Aria.

"Mr. Kingston is waiting."

"For me?"

Victor nodded.

"He said there is only one question he wants answered."

Aria swallowed.

"What question?"

Victor met her eyes in the rear-view mirror.

"Why did you risk your life..."

"...to chase the past instead of trusting your husband?"

End of Chapter 9