Rivals Heart

Buried Sin

The words of her father seemed to render her world tilted. Your mother’s death… was not an accident. For years, she’d believed it had been, a freak car crash. But if it wasn’t? What was her father hiding?

“Dad,” she whispered, gripping his arm, “what do you mean? What happened to Mom?”

Just before he could answer, he looked over her shoulder and scowled in alarm. “Ava, move!”

As a black sleek car whipped by, inches from her. A few yards away the driver's face was obscured by tinted windows as it screeched to a halt. She knew without turning around who it was.

Liam.

It idled for a millisecond, before peeling off into the night. Fury bubbled up and she clenched her fists. This had gone far enough. Liam had no idea who he was dealing with if he thought he could intimidate her in to handing over her family’s empire.

She looked at him, gave him a pair of cold, resolved eyes, "Now he has to understand that we will not go around being bullied.”

He shook his head, showing worried. “Ava, you don’t understand. Liam isn’t bluffing. He has the board wrapped around his finger and powerful allies who’d do anything to see us fall.”

“Maybe so, but he made one critical mistake,” she replied, pulling the marriage contract from her bag. “He signed this.”

Her father’s eyes widened as she held it up. “You… You actually got him to sign?”

Ava nodded. “This contract isn’t just a marriage agreement; it’s leverage. As long as we’re married, the Sinclair board can’t give Liam full control without my approval.”

Her father sighed in hatred to what he just held, “Ava, you’re playing a dangerous game. Liam won’t sit back and let anyone, even his wife, control him.”

“Good,” Ava said firmly. “I’m done being defensive.”

Just then, her phone buzzed with another unknown number. She answered cautiously.

“Ava,” came Liam’s cold voice, “running to Daddy for protection? Pathetic.”

Her pulse quickened, but she forced her tone to stay steady. “Trying to run me off the road, Liam? Is that supposed to impress me?” He laughed, the sound as hollow as it was cruel. “Impress you? Hardly. I’m only warning you to back down before this goes too far. “I always get what I want, told you.”

“I told you Liam, I’m not walking away.” “So, as your wife, I expect you to start acting like a husband and come discuss our next move.”

There was a pause on the other end, and Ava knew she’d thrown him off balance. She could almost picture him clenching his jaw, fury simmering beneath his calm facade.

“Fine,” he said finally. “I’ll be at your penthouse in an hour. But make no mistake, this will end on my terms.”

Ava hung up, her heart racing. She had only an hour in which to cook up a plan, to gain control of what little leverage she had left.

Ava and her father stayed quiet and the air thick with tension at her penthouse. Whatever it was, he’d decided to keep it silent, for now, she could tell that he wanted to say more about her mother. The door opened and Liam walked through. His gaze was cold, as he shut the door behind him and surveyed the room.

He spoke to her with a tone dripping with sarcasm. “Ava, convenient setup.” “Are we here for you to negotiate, or ambush?”

She stood her ground, and replied neither. “We came in here to finish this once and for all.”

He turned his eyes to her father, then back to her. “So that’s it? A family intervention?” He smirked. “Touching, but pointless.”

Ava held up the marriage contract. “Actually, this is all the intervention I need.” She moved closer, holding his gaze. “You signed this contract, Liam. That means I have just as much say in what happens to our companies as you do. “You can’t approve of anything the board does without my consent.”

His confident facade faltered, for the briefest moment, but recovered quickly. “So, what do you plan to do, Ava?” “Go to war with me? As I do not think you’re ready for that.”

Her bottom lip popped out as she stepped even closer, offering herself up. "I’m finished playing defense and I’m done letting you manipulate me." "You’ll have to earn my cooperation if you want that.”

She absorbed her words and Liam’s jaw clenched as his gaze darkened. “I think you ought to be very careful,” he said. “It’s a bad idea.” Ava,” he warned. “You have no idea what you’re asking for.”

She frankly admitted that she was willing to find out. Her voice had turned hard, and she held out the contract. “Here’s my offer: if you stop this campaign against my family, you back off of us, I’ll negotiate.”

He said nothing for a moment and stared at her with a cold intensity giving her a shiver down her spine. Slowly a smile spread across his face … a smile that didn’t light up his eyes. He leaned in close enough that she could feel the chill radiating off him, and murmured, “Oh, Ava.” “You think you can outplay me? This contract may tie me to you legally, but you’ve only ensured that you’re bound to me for good. I have power you can’t even imagine.”

She held his gaze, refusing to let him see her fear. “And I have something you can’t buy, your name. But if you bring us down, it’s your own legacy that you’re destroying. You can’t win this without losing everything.”

She saw a flicker, a crack in his icy demeanor, that she’d never seen before.. But just as quickly, he masked it.

“Very well,” he said, his tone a deadly whisper. “You want to play? Let’s play.”

He pulled a small envelope out of his pocket and tossed it onto the table between them before Ava could respond.

She looked at him warily, 'What's this?' she asked.

“A wedding gift,” he replied, his smirk returning. “Open it.”

She picked up the envelope, carefully tearing it open. Inside was a single photograph, one that made her blood run cold.

It was an image of her mother, taken the night she died. Barely visible in the background was Liam’s father, watching her with a dark-knowing look.

Her heart pounded; horror and confusion twisted in her belly as she looked up at him.

Liam said softly, looking at her father consider it a reminder. “Past sins don’t get buried forever."

He walked away, leaving her staring at the photo in shock.