Yours, Not Contracted

CHAPTER 12- INSIDE BETRAYAL

Smoke swallowed the garage, reducing everything to a suffocating gray haze.

Aria staggered, coughing as a sharp ringing filled her ears. The world around her blurred, and for a terrifying moment, she couldn't tell which way was up.

"Aria!"

Adrian's voice reached her, but it sounded distant and distorted, as though it had to fight its way through water.

He rushed to her side, gripping her shoulders to steady her.

"Aria, look at me."

She blinked several times, her unfocused eyes finally settling on him.

"What...?" she whispered, barely able to hear her own voice.

His jaw clenched. "Stay with me. Can you hear me?"

She frowned, shaking her head weakly.

"I... I can't..."

For a split second, panic flickered across Adrian's face before he forced himself to stay calm.

"It's okay," he said firmly, tightening his hold on her. "Just keep your eyes on me. Don't close them."

Aria swallowed hard, struggling to remain conscious as the ringing slowly faded, allowing his voice to become a little clearer.

Before Aria could gather her bearings, another violent crash tore through the garage.

Adrian's eyes widened.

"Down!"

He grabbed her without hesitation, pulling her against his chest as he turned his body, shielding her from the shower of shattered glass and falling concrete. Debris slammed against his back while dust exploded into the air, cloaking them in a thick gray haze.

For a few agonizing seconds, neither of them moved.

When the rumbling finally ceased, Adrian slowly loosened his hold, his hands immediately moving to her shoulders.

"Aria."

His voice was steady, but the urgency beneath it was unmistakable.

He cupped her face, turning it gently from side to side before his gaze swept over the rest of her body. His hands quickly checked her arms, her waist, and the side of her head for injuries.

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

Aria blinked at him, still trying to make sense of the chaos around her.

"I... I don't know."

His jaw tightened.

"Look at me."

She did.

"Can you move your arms?"

She nodded and slowly lifted them.

"Your legs?"

Another hesitant nod.

Only then did Adrian allow himself the smallest breath of relief.

"Good," he murmured, slipping an arm securely around her waist. "We're leaving. Stay close to me."

As the dust slowly settled, the full extent of the destruction came into view.

Several security guards lay sprawled across the garage floor, some struggling to get back on their feet while others remained frighteningly still beneath the rubble. Pain-filled groans echoed through the smoke as a few desperately called for backup.

One guard clutched his bleeding arm, another limped toward a trapped colleague, and somewhere deeper in the garage, someone shouted for a medic.

The attack had been far worse than anyone had anticipated.

Adrian's expression darkened as he took in the scene. His protective hold on Aria tightened almost instinctively.

"This wasn't an accident," he said quietly, his voice edged with steel. "Someone planned this."

The realization settled over them like another cloud of smoke.

Whoever was behind the attack hadn't come to scare them.

They had come to kill.

Heavy footsteps echoed through the garage as Nathan hurried toward them, his face streaked with ash.

"Sir."

Adrian turned, his expression unreadable.

Nathan glanced at the mangled remains of the black SUV before speaking.

"The bomb squad has confirmed it." His voice was grim. "The SUV was rigged with explosives. It wasn't triggered by the collision it was planted beforehand."

Silence fell.

Adrian's eyes drifted back to the burning wreckage, his mind piecing everything together.

"They knew," he said quietly.

Nathan nodded.

"They knew exactly which vehicle your security team would use today."

A muscle ticked in Adrian's jaw.

That wasn't luck.

It wasn't a coincidence.

It was planning.

Whoever orchestrated the attack had known their route, their security arrangements, and even the specific SUV assigned for the trip. Information like that never left Blackwell Holdings.

"There was only one way they could've known," Nathan continued, his voice low. "Someone on the inside gave them access."

The words hung heavily between them.

An outsider couldn't have planted explosives inside a company vehicle without being noticed. They couldn't have predicted Adrian's movements with such precision.

No...this wasn't the work of a random enemy.

It was a conspiracy.

Someone within Blackwell Holdings had betrayed them.

Adrian's gaze hardened as the realization settled in.

"Find the leak," he ordered, his voice cold enough to send a chill through everyone present. "I don't care how high they are in this company. Whoever helped them... I want them exposed."

Nathan gave a sharp nod.

"Yes, sir."

As the flames continued to consume the ruined SUV, one truth became impossible to ignore.

The greatest threat wasn't outside Blackwell Holdings, it was already inside.

Aria's gaze remained fixed on the burning wreckage.

"This happened because of me," she whispered, her voice barely audible above the distant sirens. "If I hadn't been with you..."

"No." Adrian stopped her midway

She slowly looked up at him, only to find him watching her with unwavering certainty.

"This is not your fault."

"But they were after"

"I said no."

His voice wasn't harsh. It was firm. Absolute.

"They chose to do this. They chose violence." His gaze never left hers. "Don't carry the weight of someone else's decisions."

Aria lowered her eyes, guilt still tightening around her chest.

"I almost got your people killed."

"You didn't."

His answer came just as quickly.

"The people responsible are the ones who planted that bomb."

For a long moment, neither of them spoke.

Around them, paramedics rushed to the injured. Security officers shouted orders through crackling radios, and firefighters battled the flames consuming the SUV.

Yet somehow, the noise seemed to fade.

Adrian took a slow step closer.

"You don't have to shoulder this alone," he said quietly.

Aria searched his face, expecting pity.

She found none.

Only quiet conviction.

For the first time since this nightmare had begun, the fear in her chest eased if only a little.

She gave the smallest nod.

It wasn't gratitude.

It wasn't forgiveness.

But it was trust.

And though the world around them remained in chaos, something unspoken settled between them a fragile understanding that neither of them had expected, yet neither was willing to break.

"Sir!"

One of the security officers came sprinting through the smoke, breathing hard.

"We've got one."

Adrian's attention snapped toward him.

"Alive?"

The guard nodded. "Barely. He tried to escape through the lower level, but our men caught him."

Nathan didn't wait for another word.

"Take me to him."

The group moved quickly through the garage, weaving past emergency crews and scattered debris until they reached a cluster of Blackwell security personnel.

In the center, a man knelt on the concrete floor.

His clothes were torn, his face streaked with soot and blood. One of the guards forced his hands behind his back while another kept a weapon trained on him.

The attacker coughed violently before letting out a weak laugh.

"So..." he rasped. "The great Adrian Blackwell... survives."

Adrian stopped a few feet away, his expression unreadable.

"Who sent you?"

The man only smiled.

Nathan stepped forward.

"Answer him."

Silence.

Then a sharp crack echoed through the garage.

The prisoner's eyes widened.

For a heartbeat, no one moved.

Then his body slumped forward onto the concrete.

"Sniper!" someone shouted.

"Take cover!"

Panic erupted once again.

Security officers scattered, weapons drawn as they searched every level of the parking structure.

Nathan rushed to the fallen attacker, checking for a pulse.

His expression darkened.

"He's gone."

Adrian's gaze swept across the upper levels of the garage.

Whoever had fired the shot had vanished without leaving so much as a shadow behind.

It hadn't been an act of desperation.

It had been an execution.

Someone had silenced the only person who could have exposed them.

As officers secured the area, one of the guards crouched beside the dead attacker.

"Sir..."

He held up the man's limp hand.

A heavy silver ring still rested on one of his fingers, blackened by smoke but otherwise untouched.

Its face bore an unfamiliar symbol an intricate crest carved into the metal.

Nathan frowned.

"I've never seen that before."

Adrian didn't answer.

The color drained from his face.

His eyes remained fixed on the ring, memories he had spent years burying forcing their way back to the surface.

Impossible…

Adrian's breathing slowed.

His fingers hovered over the silver ring without touching it.

His eyes narrowed.

No...

It couldn't be.

That symbol had disappeared years ago.

The organization behind it had been wiped out or so everyone believed.

A memory he had buried long ago forced its way back into his mind, and for the first time since the attack began...

Adrian Blackwell looked genuinely shaken.

Then Nathan received a call from the headquarter,after ending the call his facial expression told it all.

“Now what's wrong again” Adrian asked in curiosity

“Sir, someone has just accessed your private office”

Adrian freezes because only a few people have access to his office.

Nathan slowly lowered the phone.

His face had gone completely pale.

"Sir..."

"What now?" Adrian asked.

Nathan swallowed hard.

"Someone just accessed your private office."

For the first time that night...

Adrian froze.

Only four people had authorization to enter that office.

Three of them were standing here.

Which meant...

Someone inside Blackwell Holdings had just betrayed him.

Aria stared at him.

"What is it?"

Adrian's jaw tightened.

His eyes never left the burning wreckage behind them.

"They're not after you anymore."

Nathan looked at him in confusion.

Adrian slowly clenched his fist around the silver ring.

"No..."

His voice was barely above a whisper.

"You were never the target."

A chilling silence settled over everyone.

Adrian looked toward the city skyline.

"You were only the distraction."