The Way He Said My Name

Chapter 5: The Warning

Ariana barely slept.

Her mother's words kept replaying in her mind.

Your father didn't die because of an accident.

He was killed.

And the Laurent family knew why.

By morning, Ariana had convinced herself that there had to be an explanation.

There had to be.

She refused to believe that Damien—the man who had looked at her with strange familiarity, the man who had protected her from the rain, the man who had offered her a job—could be connected to her father's death.

But she couldn't ignore the facts either.

Damien knew her.

He had known her before she met him.

And he had kept it from her.

Ariana stared at herself in the bathroom mirror.

"Today, you get answers."

She grabbed her bag and left.

---

When Ariana arrived at Laurent Holdings, the building was already busy.

Employees hurried across the lobby with phones pressed to their ears. The elevators opened and closed constantly.

Everything looked normal.

But Ariana didn't feel normal.

She stepped into the elevator.

Before the doors closed, a hand stopped them.

Damien.

He stepped inside.

Neither spoke.

The doors closed.

Ariana stared at the floor.

Damien glanced at her.

"You look tired."

"I didn't sleep."

"Why?"

She turned toward him.

"Because of you."

His expression changed slightly.

"Me?"

"Yes."

The elevator continued upward.

Ariana crossed her arms.

"My mother told me something last night."

Damien became very still.

"What did she tell you?"

"That my father was killed."

He looked away.

Ariana watched him carefully.

"You knew."

It wasn't a question.

Damien's jaw tightened.

"I knew there were questions surrounding his death."

"That's not what I asked."

The elevator stopped.

The doors opened.

Damien stepped out.

Ariana followed.

"Damien."

He continued walking.

"Don't do this."

He stopped.

Slowly, he turned.

"Do what?"

"Walk away whenever I ask about my father."

His eyes met hers.

"I don't want you involved in something you don't understand."

"Then help me understand it."

"I can't."

"Why?"

He lowered his voice.

"Because the truth isn't safe."

Ariana stared at him.

"Are you?"

He frowned.

"What?"

"Are you safe?"

For the first time, Damien looked genuinely hurt.

"From me?"

Ariana swallowed.

"I don't know anymore."

He stepped closer.

"You should."

She looked up at him.

Their faces were only inches apart.

"How can I know when you keep lying to me?"

Damien's expression softened.

"I haven't lied to you."

"You withheld the truth."

"There's a difference."

"Not when it changes everything."

He didn't answer.

Ariana stepped back.

"I want the truth, Damien."

"You'll get it."

"When?"

"When I know I can protect you from it."

She shook her head.

"You still don't understand."

"What?"

"I don't need you to protect me."

She walked away.

Damien watched her go.

He knew she was right.

And that frightened him more than anything.

---

Ariana spent the morning buried in work.

The Laurent Foundation project was more complicated than she'd expected.

She had already identified several problems in the previous campaign.

Sponsors had been poorly managed.

Donations were declining.

Public confidence in the foundation had weakened.

She began making notes.

By noon, she had created a preliminary strategy.

For the first time that morning, she felt like herself again.

She was good at this.

She could solve problems.

She could build something.

She didn't need to spend the entire day thinking about Damien.

At least, that was what she told herself.

"Ariana."

She looked up.

Damien stood beside her desk.

She hadn't heard him approach.

"Yes?"

"Conference room."

"Why?"

"Meeting."

"With who?"

"Me."

She raised an eyebrow.

"You're very mysterious."

"Are you complaining?"

"Maybe."

He turned away.

"Five minutes."

Ariana sighed.

"Of course."

---

The conference room was empty when Ariana entered.

Damien stood near the windows.

A file was open on the table.

She sat down.

"What is this?"

"Your proposal."

"You read it already?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"It's good."

Ariana smiled.

"That's almost a compliment."

"It is."

She looked through the pages.

"I want to restructure the campaign completely."

"I agree."

She looked up.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"You're not going to argue?"

"No."

"Are you sick?"

Damien almost smiled.

"No."

Ariana laughed softly.

The tension between them eased for a moment.

Then Damien looked at her.

"You were right."

"About what?"

"About not needing me to protect you."

Her smile faded.

He continued.

"But I need you to understand something."

"I'm listening."

"There are people who will use you to get to me."

Ariana frowned.

"Why?"

"Because of my position."

"That happens to people in your position."

"Not like this."

She studied him.

"What are you hiding?"

Damien looked toward the window.

"Things that happened before you knew me."

Ariana's heart tightened.

"And my father?"

His silence was enough.

She stood.

"You know something."

"Ariana—"

"What happened to him?"

Damien turned toward her.

"I don't know everything."

"But you know something."

"Yes."

She waited.

He finally spoke.

"Your father was investigating my family's business."

Ariana's breath caught.

"Why?"

"Because he believed someone was stealing from the company."

"And?"

"He found something."

"What?"

Damien's eyes darkened.

"Evidence."

"Evidence of what?"

"Fraud."

Ariana stared at him.

"Who was responsible?"

"I don't know."

"But my father did."

"Yes."

"Then someone killed him to stop him from talking."

Damien didn't answer.

Ariana's eyes filled with tears.

"Is that what happened?"

"I don't know."

"But you believe it."

"Yes."

She looked away.

Her entire childhood suddenly felt like a lie.

She remembered her mother crying.

Her father's empty chair.

The unanswered questions.

The way everyone had always told her to move on.

She wiped her eyes.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"Because you were young."

"I wasn't a child forever."

"I know."

"Then why?"

Damien stepped closer.

"Because the people responsible were never caught."

Ariana looked at him.

"And you think they're still out there."

"I know they are."

Silence filled the room.

Ariana felt a chill run through her.

"How?"

Damien's phone rang.

He looked at the screen.

His expression changed.

He answered.

"Hello?"

Ariana watched him.

He listened.

Then his face became completely expressionless.

"Where?"

A pause.

"Don't touch anything."

He ended the call.

Ariana stood.

"What happened?"

Damien looked at her.

"Someone broke into your apartment."

Her heart stopped.

"What?"

"They didn't take anything."

"Then what did they want?"

Damien's eyes hardened.

"They left something."

"What?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small photograph.

Ariana took it.

Her fingers began trembling.

It was an old photograph.

Her father.

Standing beside Damien's father.

And on the back, written in faded ink, were four words:

You should have stayed away.

Ariana looked up.

Damien was staring at her.

For the first time since she had met him, she saw something close to fear in his eyes.

"Damien..."

He took the photograph from her.

"You're coming with me."

"Where?"

"Somewhere safe."

"I can protect myself."

"I know."

He looked at her.

"But this isn't about whether you can protect yourself."

His voice dropped.

"It's about whether I'll be able to forgive myself if something happens to you."

Ariana's heart skipped.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Then Damien reached for her hand.

His fingers closed gently around hers.

And this time, when he said her name, there was no mystery in his voice.

Only fear.

"Ariana."

She looked into his eyes.

And suddenly, she understood.

Whatever had happened to her father wasn't buried in the past anymore.

Someone had just brought it back to life.