Chapter 7: The Woman Who Returned
311 Words
Damian's eyes froze.
The woman standing outside his office smiled as though she'd never left.
"Hello, Damian."
The room fell silent.
Ariana turned toward the voice.
The woman was stunning. Long black hair framed a face that belonged on magazine covers, and her designer dress looked as though she'd stepped straight off a runway.
"So..." she said, her gaze fixed on Ariana. "This is the woman who replaced me."
Damian's expression hardened.
"What are you doing here, Vanessa?"
Vanessa.
The fiancée who had vanished three days before their wedding.
She laughed softly.
"I could ask you the same thing."
Her eyes fell to the diamond ring in Ariana's hand.
"You work fast."
Ariana instinctively stepped back.
"I think there's been a misunderstanding—"
Vanessa cut her off.
"No, sweetheart."
"I understand perfectly."
She looked at Damian.
"You told the whole world I disappeared."
"You let them think I abandoned you."
Damian's jaw tightened.
"You did disappear."
Vanessa's smile faded.
"I disappeared because someone tried to kill me."
The words hit the room like a thunderbolt.
Ariana's breath caught.
"What?"
Vanessa slowly rolled up her sleeve.
A long scar ran from her wrist to her elbow.
"I barely survived."
She looked directly at Damian.
"And the person who wanted me dead..."
"...works for your company."
The office fell into stunned silence.
Damian stared at the scar, unable to speak.
For the first time since Ariana had met him...
The billionaire looked shaken.
Vanessa reached into her handbag and placed a sealed envelope on the desk.
"I have proof."
"But before I hand it over..."
She looked at Ariana.
"I want your fake wife out of my life."
Ariana's heart pounded.
She had walked into Knight Group believing she was signing a business arrangement.
Now...
She was standing in the middle of a mystery that someone had already tried to kill for.
- Writer
