Chapter 9 The keycard

The next morning, on top Aria's desk lay a black envelope.

It was blank. No name, no return address.

And inside was a sleek silver keycard.

Plus a note.

"11th floor. Midnight."

She was gazing at it as if it may be on the verge of exploding.

The elevator panel of the building, however, does not list an 11th floor. In all, it has just floors 1 to 10, then a penthouse. But she had seen guards swipe cards and vanish into levels unseen before.

But this was not paranoia.

Niccolo was not just running a business. He was running something else.

And now he was inviting her into it.

A test? A trap? Or something worse?

Midnight:

The office was like a fortress, sealed tight, keeping out both sound and shadow. Most of the lights were out, with nothing but the blue glow of emergency fixtures visible, not to mention the flickering of hallway security cameras.

Aria moved like a ghost. Carefully. Silently.

At the elevator, she slid the keycard across the panel.

A tiny chiming sound.

The number 11 glowed red.

Access was granted.

Her breath hitched.

The elevator hesitated, rising almost as painfully slow as its occupant's heart, and the doors slid open-the world shifted and Aria found herself stepping into another world.

But the 11th floor was not an office.

It was a command center.

Dim lighting. A dozen wall monitors. Maps, live satellite feeds, encrypted data streams. The air smelled faintly of leather, metal, and power.

A circular table with six empty chairs surrounded it. Black stone carved out of its being dominates the centre of it all.

One of them had a file folder on it.

Labelled: ARIA BENNETT

Her heart was pounding in her ears as she walked forward.

Inside were surveillance photos-of her again-but also financial reports, university transcripts, an unfamiliar psychiatric report.

And then-something that made her stomach curl.

Her passwords.

All of them.

Emails. Bank. Personal cloud.

She took a staggering step back.

Footsteps echoed behind her.

She turned.

Niccolò.

No tie. Open collar. Deep shadows under the eyes.

"You came."

"You hacked my entire life," she hissed. "You invaded me."

"I protected you."

"By watching me sleep? By recording me? This is insane."

"Not insane," he said, calm. "Necessary."

"Necessary for what?"

To keep you alive."

Like ice water, the words hit.

"I never asked for that."

"No," he said. "But you're involved now. You made sure of that the second you opened the Valenti file."

Her stomach sank. "You knew I would."

"I hoped you wouldn't."

"You could have stopped me."

"I couldn't," he said, voice tightening. "Because I wanted to see what you'd do."

Her anger flared. "Do you think this is a game?"

"No. I think this is war."

--

Niccolo came near. He had a look that she hadn't seen before in his eyes- an opening behind the veneer of steel.

"You don't understand, Aria. People at this table in this city would be ready to burn the world for less than what you know now."

"Then why show me this?"

"Because you're already a target."

Her blood went cold.

She's not only a rival; she's a dealer; shrewd and informal about selling secrets to the highest bidder. And last night, she saw something in you. I don't know what. But it made you valuable."

"To who?"

"To everyone who wants me to fall."

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a phone. Unlocked it. Handed it to her.

and on screen: a security feed. Footage of her apartment building.

Frozen on a frame that showed a man in a black hoodie placing something under her fire escape.

"Motion-triggered," he said. "We disabled it before you got home."

Her voice was a whisper. "What was it?"

"A bomb."

Aria swayed.

He caught her by the elbow, steadying her.

"I told you," he murmured. "This is no business anymore."

She took a step back, breath trembling.

"You could've told me before."

"I'm telling you now."

"What do you want?"

He paused before responding.

And then finally: "Loyalty."

"I don't belong to you, Niccolo."

"You already do," he said. "You just don't know whether that scares you or excites you."

His words came crashing down on her like thunder.

And the worst part?

She didn't even know the answer.

---

Aria didn't feel like the same woman stepping out of the 11th floor; she felt quite different.

She wasn't.

Now she was someone different; someone who had a secret keycard in her pocket and a storm in her chest.

Niccolo Moretti had shown her a minutely small part of his empire.

That was only the beginning.

If she were going to survive this...

She'd have to decide what she was willing to become.