CHAPTER3
1050 Words
FAMILY WARNINGS
Ariana barely slept.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw him.
Damian Blackwood.
Not just his face—but the way he looked at her, like she was already part of something she didn’t understand yet.
It irritated her.
More than that… it unsettled her.
At exactly 7:12 a.m., her phone buzzed again.
She had stared at the previous message for hours without replying.
“Next time, don’t look at me like that in public. It draws attention. — D. Blackwood.
Ariana had almost convinced herself it was a prank.
Almost.
Until she opened her phone again.
The message was still there.
Real.
Unread.
Waiting.
She threw the phone onto the bed like it burned her.
“No way,” she muttered. “No way he got my number.”
But deep down, she already knew.
People like Damian Blackwood didn’t ask for things.
They simply took them.
DOWNSTAIRS — DEVEREUX RESIDENCE
The house was too quiet for a family that used to own half of Manhattan.
Now it felt… smaller.
Like the walls remembered better days and mourned them silently.
Ariana walked into the dining room to find her mother already seated, untouched tea in front of her.
Isabella looked worse than yesterday.
Tired eyes. Straight posture. But something fragile underneath it all.
“You’re awake early,” Ariana said carefully.
Her mother didn’t respond immediately.
Then—
“Sit down.”
That tone again.
Ariana obeyed slowly.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Isabella finally looked up.
“I received a call this morning,” she said.
Ariana frowned. “From whom?”
Her mother hesitated.
That hesitation alone made Ariana’s stomach tighten.
“… Blackwood Enterprises.”
Silence.
Ariana blinked. “What?”
Isabella’s hands tightened slightly around her teacup.
“They want a meeting.”
Ariana straightened instantly. “Why would they want to meet us?”
Her mother’s expression darkened.
“That’s exactly what I asked.”
A pause.
Then—
“They didn’t give a reason. Only a time.”
Ariana felt her pulse rise.
“And you agreed?”
Isabella finally met her eyes.
“I had no choice.”
That answer made something cold settle in Ariana’s chest.
“No choice?” she repeated. “We’re not employees. We’re not—”
“Ariana.” Her mother’s voice cut through hers sharply.
A warning.
Ariana stopped.
The silence stretched between them.
Then Isabella stood up slowly, walking toward the window as she needed distance to breathe.
When she spoke again, her voice was quieter.
“You need to understand something.”
Ariana didn’t like the tone.
Not at all.
“What?”
Her mother stared outside for a long moment before answering.
“The Blackwoods don’t invite people to meetings.”
Ariana frowned. “So?” Isabella turned slightly.
“They summon them.”
The word landed heavily in the room.
Ariana’s chest tightened.
“That’s ridiculous,” she said. “He’s just a CEO. Not a dictator.”
Isabella gave a humorless laugh.
“If you knew what he’s capable of, you wouldn’t say that.”
Ariana stood up now, frustration rising.
“Everyone keeps talking about him like he’s some kind of monster. I met him once. He didn’t do anything except look at me like I was interesting.”
Her mother froze.
Slowly turned back.
“That’s worse.”
Ariana frowned. “What?” Isabella stepped closer now.
Her voice dropped.
“When Damian Blackwood takes an interest in someone… it never ends well.”
Ariana scoffed softly. “That sounds like gossip.”
“It’s history,” her mother corrected sharply.
Silence again.
Then Isabella said something that made everything colder.
“Do you know what happened to the last company that refused him?”
Ariana didn’t answer.
She didn’t need to.
Her mother did anyway.
“It disappeared in three weeks.”
Ariana’s heart skipped.
“That’s not possible.”
“It is when you control banks, governments, and half the corporate world.”
The room suddenly felt too small.
Too quiet.
Too real.
Ariana lowered her voice. “Why are you telling me this?”
Isabella stared at her for a long time.
Then, softly—
“Because I saw the way he looked at you last night.”
Ariana went still.
Her mother continued.
“That wasn’t curiosity.”
A pause.
“That was recognition.”
Ariana’s throat tightened slightly.
“Recognition of what?”
Isabella hesitated.
Then—
“I don’t know.”
That was the scariest answer she could have given.
BLACKWOOD ENTERPRISES — SAME MORNING
Damian stood by the glass wall again.
Same position. Same city. Same silence.
But not the same mind.
Behind him, his assistant spoke carefully.
“The Devereux family confirmed the meeting for tomorrow.”
Damian didn’t turn.
“Good.”
A pause.
Then the assistant added, “Sir… may I ask why are we involving them now? The Devereux empire is no longer—”
“Complete the sentence,” Damian said calmly.
The assistant stopped immediately.
Silence.
Damian finally turned slightly.
Just enough for the room to feel his attention shift.
“The Devereux empire is no longer powerful,” the assistant corrected quickly.
Damian nodded once.
Then walked back to his desk.
But his voice followed casually.
“That’s not why I’m interested.”
No one spoke.
No one dared.
He opened a file on his desk.
Ariana Devereux.
Her photo stared back at him.
Same face from the gala.
Same defiance.
Same eyes that didn’t flinch.
Damian studied it quietly.
Too quietly.
One of the executives finally asked, “Then why, sir?”
Damian didn’t look up.
“Because,” he said slowly.
“She doesn’t behave like someone who lost everything.”
A pause.
“And people like that…”
His fingers tapped once on the desk.
“…are always hiding something worth finding.”
He closed the file.
But didn’t stop thinking about her.
………………..(cont'd)
At exactly the same moment in different parts of New York…
Ariana Devereux and Damian Blackwood both received the same realization without saying it out loud.
This wasn’t random.
This wasn’t a coincidence.
Their worlds weren’t colliding.
They were being pulled together.
And neither of them knew yet…
Which one of them was the danger??
- Writer
