THE EMPIRE BETWEEN US

EPISODE 6

Aria POV

The lobby of Blackwell Tower was nothing like I’d imagined. It wasn’t gold-plated or screaming of money, just glass and stillness, like everything expensive was meant to whisper, not shout.

The receptionist looked up as soon as I mentioned the land.

“You’ll need an appointment,” she said, polite but dismissive.

“I’m not leaving until I get one.”

I planted my feet on that glossy floor like it was still the dirt outside my house.

After a few calls and an awkward silence, she sighed and gestured toward the elevator.

“Top floor. Mr. Blackwell will see you now.”

The name hit me like static.

Mr. Blackwell.

So this was the ghost behind the company, the man Nathan said he’d “speak to.”

My pulse thudded in my throat all the way up.

When the elevator opened, the office was so wide it made the city look small through its windows.

And behind a sleek desk sat Lori Blackwell.

He didn’t look surprised to see me, just amused.

“You’re Aria Lawson,” he said. “The face of the land our company apparently tried to steal.”

“You mean the land people live on,” I shot back.

He smiled slightly, like he was testing me.

“I was told you’re persistent. I like that.”

His tone was smooth, but his eyes, those cold, gray eyes, were measuring me.

“I came to thank you for the pause,” I said. “But now I see it wasn’t you.”

That made him lean forward. “Who told you otherwise?”

For a second I almost said Nathan’s name, but I caught myself. Instead, I said, “Someone who actually listens.”

The flicker in his gaze was sharp. “Ah. My brother.”

So he knew.

“Then let me offer you advice,” he said, standing. “My brother has a talent for pretending to care. But don’t mistake attention for intention.”

“You sound jealous.”

That earned a laugh. “Jealous? Hardly. I built him. Whatever you think you see in him, I made sure it exists to serve me.”

The arrogance stung, but something else hid under it, a crack, maybe, or regret.

I didn’t know which.

“I’m not scared of you,” I said.

“Good,” he murmured, walking closer. “Then you’ll last longer than most.”

Adrian POV

When I learned Aria had gone to see Lori, I left the meeting halfway through.

My assistant trailed behind me, confused, but I didn’t care.

Every step down that corridor felt heavier with what I already knew Lori was capable of.

I found him leaning against his desk, watching her leave. She didn’t see me.

He did.

“You couldn’t help yourself,” I said.

“Neither could you,” Lori replied. “She came to me on her own. Don’t look so threatened.”

“Stay away from her.”

He smirked. “If she’s the reason you’re breaking the rules, maybe I should meet her properly.”

Something in me snapped then, quiet but dangerous.

“You’ll regret that,” I said.

He raised a brow. “Are we fighting over a girl now, brother? How poetic.”

I didn’t answer. I just walked out before I said something worse.

Lori POV

It was almost funny, how easily Adrian’s calm fractured when the right woman showed up.

Aria wasn’t like the others who flocked to power.

She had that stubborn moral fire, the kind that could burn everything she touched.

And maybe that’s what made me curious.

When she left, I told my assistant to keep tabs on her, quietly.

If my brother wanted to play the hero, I wanted to see what happened when his “cause” started falling for the villain.

Aria POV

I didn’t know how I made it home that evening. Dad was asleep, the house quiet except for the distant hum of the city.

But I couldn’t shake Lori’s words. Don’t mistake attention for intention.

He was wrong about Nathan.

Wasn’t he?

I reached for my phone, typed a message, then erased it.

Typed again:

“Are you okay?”

Three dots appeared, then vanished.

And then:

We need to talk.

My chest tightened.

When?

Tonight. Same place. By the river.

Adrian POV

The night air smelled like rain again.

She was already there, hugging herself against the wind, the streetlight carving gold lines into her hair.

I stopped a few steps away.

“You saw Lori.”

She nodded. “You should’ve told me who you were.”

“I wasn’t hiding from you,” I said quietly. “I was hiding from what comes with me.”

“You mean him.”

“Yes.”

For a moment, neither of us spoke. The river kept moving, like it didn’t care whose heart was breaking beside it.

“I don’t know who to trust,” she whispered.

“Then don’t trust names or companies. Just trust what you’ve seen.”

Her eyes searched mine, full of questions and something I hadn’t earned yet, hope.

“Will you fight him for this?” she asked.

“For you,” I said, “I already am.”