Chapter 3 The Trap Tightens

The next morning, Vale Corp looked even less human than it had the day before.

Aria stood just outside the elevator on the forty-second floor, hands wrapped around her ID badge, shoulders squared despite the weight in her chest.

She hadn't slept.

Not after the photo. Not after finding her apartment violated. Not after the message that had turned her blood to ice.

Careful, Aria. Some ghosts don't stay buried.

She should've walked away.

But instead, she walked in.

A tall man in a fitted gray suit security, but the high-end, ex-military kind was waiting for her just past the lobby. He didn't introduce himself. Just nodded.

"Ms. Quinn. Mr. Vale asked me to escort you."

Escort her?

She didn't know whether to feel important or threatened.

They walked in silence through the curved hallway of the executive floor. The walls here were more than sleek they were soundproof, designed for secrets.

Cassian Vale didn't just build a fortress. He built a system.

Her office was glass-walled and private, overlooking the skyline. A sleek white desk, a company laptop, and a digital keycard station greeted her.

No framed welcome, no flowers.

Just power. Cold and clean.

"Mr. Vale will see you at ten sharp," the security escort said. "You'll be briefed before that."

"Briefed?" Aria asked.

He said nothing.

Then walked away.

At exactly 9:59 AM, Aria stood outside Cassian Vale's office, staring at the opaque black doors like they might open and swallow her whole.

They didn't move.

She raised her hand to knock just as they parted with a hiss.

Motion sensors. Of course.

Inside, the office stretched like a cathedral of steel and glass. Floor-to-ceiling windows behind him. A single abstract sculpture in the corner. And in the center of it all Cassian.

He was standing, sleeves rolled to his forearms, suit jacket draped over his chair, black shirt fitting him like it was tailored to armor his silence. He didn't look up right away.

When he did, his eyes pinned her in place.

"Ms. Quinn," he said smoothly. "You're early."

"You're the one who said ten sharp."

"Exactly. Ten. Not before."

She stepped in anyway. "I assumed punctuality would be appreciated."

"It is. But people who arrive early tend to be trying too hard. Or hiding something."

Aria folded her arms. "Which one do you think I am?"

"I haven't decided."

He gestured to the chair across from his desk. She sat, chin high.

He studied her like he was memorizing the way her face shifted under pressure.

"I reviewed your portfolio again," he said. "It's strong. But I'm more interested in you."

"Professionally, I assume."

"Do I seem like a man who wastes time on small talk?"

"No," she said. "You seem like a man who only asks questions when he already knows the answers."

Cassian's lips curved slightly barely there. A shadow of something dark and amused.

"You're not afraid of me," he said. "Most people are."

"I don't think fear is the right word."

"What is?"

"Uncertainty."

A pause.

Then: "You were living in San Diego four years ago."

Aria's pulse skipped. She forced her expression still. "Was I?"

Cassian tilted his head. "You don't seem like the type to forget where you lived."

"You don't seem like the type to ask about things that don't concern you."

Another long pause. The silence between them wasn't empty it was electric. A field of unspoken things neither of them were ready to name.

"Do you believe in transparency, Ms. Quinn?" he asked quietly.

"I believe in boundaries."

"And secrets?"

"They're usually earned."

Cassian leaned back slowly in his chair. "You're either the most self-possessed person I've interviewed this year... or the most dangerous."

She held his gaze. "Why can't I be both?"

That made something flicker in his expression something raw.

But then it was gone.

"You'll begin work with the Lure division immediately. All files will be routed to your private server. If anyone contacts you outside that channel, inform me."

"Why?"

Cassian's voice dropped a degree.

"Because someone in this building is trying to use you. And I haven't decided yet whether that means I protect you"

His eyes glinted

"Or destroy you."

Back in her office, Aria stared at the high-gloss monitor in front of her, watching the screen blink softly. The Vale Corp intranet had just finished loading a sterile, polished portal with hundreds of files and comm channels. A sleek system with zero soul.

She clicked into her designated workspace and began sorting through branding assets for the Lure campaign. For the first time in hours, she almost felt like herself again.

Until her inbox pinged.

Not her work email.

Not her private channel.

The internal Secure Staff Comm flashed once, then opened on its own.

Unknown Sender:

You don't belong here. They know. Get out.

Aria's hand froze on the mouse.

She blinked. The message was already gone.

She clicked to refresh. The inbox reset.

Nothing.

No log. No trace.

Her skin prickled. The back of her neck burned.

It wasn't just the message it was the fact that it had appeared in a secure system. One Cassian claimed only he controlled.

Someone had overridden it.

And they weren't trying to scare her. Not exactly.

They were warning her.

But why?

And how did they know who she really was?

She turned off her screen and stood, heart hammering. The hum of the building felt louder now like it had a heartbeat of its own.

She crossed the office floor and walked toward the internal IT helpdesk at the far end of the hallway. It was mostly deserted just a couple of young analysts staring at monitors too big for their desks.

A woman with short red hair and sharp green eyes sat behind the desk. She glanced up as Aria approached.

"Help you?"

"Yeah," Aria said, keeping her voice even. "I'm trying to make sure my system credentials are fully registered. I got a strange glitch."

"Name?"

"Aria Quinn."

The woman typed. Frowned. Typed again.

"Badge number?" she asked.

Aria read it off her ID.

More typing.

The woman looked up slowly. "You're not listed."

Aria went still.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you don't exist in our personnel database. No username. No onboarding file. No IT log. Whoever gave you this login" She gestured toward the screen. "did it off-grid."

"Is that normal?"

The woman gave her a look. "In this building? Nothing's normal. But that? That's dangerous."

Aria didn't reply.

She turned, walked away heart now pounding too loud to hear her own thoughts.

No record. No log.

She was inside Vale Corp.

But to the system...

she didn't exist.