The Maybach glided to a halt at the service entrance of The Plaza Hotel. The tinted windows turned the bright afternoon sun into a dull gray gloom.

"The paparazzi are swarming the front," Kane said. He didn't look at Aria. He was watching the mirrors, his eyes darting back and forth.

"Good," Aria said. "Let them wait."

Aria touched the earpiece in her right ear. "I need the security feed for the VIP suite. The Penthouse level."

Kane looked at Aria then. "You want me to hack the hotel?"

"I want you to do what you do when you think I'm asleep," Aria said. "Don't pretend, Kane. We don't have time."

He held Aria's gaze for a second, assessing. Then he nodded. He pulled a laptop from under his seat. His fingers flew across the keyboard. It wasn't the typing of a layman. It was a blur.

"I need physical access to the server room to bypass the hardline encryption," he said. "Third floor."

"Go," Aria said. "I'll handle the board."

Kane got out of the car. He didn't walk like a driver. He moved like a ghost. He slipped through the service door and vanished into the shadows of the corridor.

Aria took a breath. The nausea was rising again, a reminder that her timeline was physical, not just strategic. She pushed the door open and stepped onto the red carpet of the back hallway.

Three members of the Hubbard-Daniels board were standing near the kitchen entrance, looking lost.

"Gentlemen," Aria said, flashing a smile that felt like baring teeth.

"Aria!" Mr. Henderson, the CFO, looked relieved. "We were told the ceremony was delayed. Is everything alright?"

"Everything is perfect," Aria lied. "But before we start, I have a merger demonstration. A surprise. It's upstairs in the VIP suite. You need to see this."

Greed is a powerful motivator. They followed Aria without question.

They took the elevator to the penthouse. As the numbers climbed, Aria texted the reporter she had tipped off an hour ago. Now.

The elevator pinged. They stepped out.

Aria stood in front of the double mahogany doors of Suite 1001. Her hand hovered over the brass handle. Her heart was hammering against her ribs, but her hand was rock steady.

"This," Aria said to the board members, "is the future of our company."

In her earpiece, Kane's voice crackled. "You're live. Main ballroom screen is overridden. Audio is hot."

Aria threw the doors open.

The scene inside was a cliché, but clichés are effective for a reason.

Jordan was on the bed. Chloe was straddling him. They were half-naked, a tangle of limbs and expensive sheets. A bottle of champagne lay overturned on the floor, soaking into the carpet.

Chloe screamed. It was a high, piercing shriek. She scrambled for a sheet, pulling it up to her neck.

Jordan rolled off the bed, tripping over his own pants. He crashed into a side table, sending a lamp smashing to the floor.

"What the-" Jordan stared at them. Then he saw the board members. His face drained of color.

Behind Aria, cameras flashed. The reporter had slipped in with the board.

Aria didn't yell. She didn't cry. She just watched.

"Is this the merger strategy?" Aria asked, her voice calm.

Downstairs, in the grand ballroom, five hundred guests were watching this on a forty-foot LED screen. Aria could imagine the collective gasp.

Jordan scrambled to his feet, holding a pillow over his crotch. "Aria! Aria, wait! This isn't-"

"Isn't what?" Aria held up her tablet. "A violation of the morality clause in the pre-merger agreement? Section 4, paragraph 2?"

She tapped the screen.

"As of this moment, Hubbard-Daniels is exercising its right to terminate the merger due to gross misconduct by the Sloan acting CEO."

"You can't do that!" Chloe yelled. She looked pathetic, shivering under the sheet. "We love each other!"

"Love doesn't vest for three years, Chloe," Aria said.

She turned to the board members. They looked horrified. Disgusted.

"Is this the man you want running my grandfather's legacy?" Aria asked. "A man who can't even keep his zipper up for a wedding?"

Mr. Henderson shook his head. He turned his back on the room.

"Showtime is over," Kane's voice said in Aria's ear. "Extraction ready. North stairwell."

The adrenaline crashed. The room spun. The floor tilted.

Aria turned on her heel and walked out. She kept her chin high until she rounded the corner.

Her knees buckled.

Strong hands caught her before she hit the ground.

Kane was there. He held her up by her elbows, his grip iron-hard. He looked at Aria's face, scanning her pupils.

"Breathe," he ordered.

Aria leaned into him, just for a second. "Did they see?"

"Everyone saw," Kane said. "The internet is melting."

Kane guided Aria into a private lounge off the main hallway. He sat her down on a velvet sofa and handed her a bottle of water.

"Drink," he said.

Aria took a sip. Her hands were shaking.

The door to the lounge banged open. It hit the wall with a crack that sounded like a gunshot.

Victoria Sloan marched in. Jordan's mother. The matriarch of the Sloan empire. She was followed by Tiffany, Jordan's sister.

Victoria's face was a mask of fury. Her makeup was perfect, but her eyes were wild.

"You little bitch!" she screamed.

She crossed the room in three strides. "Do you have any idea what you've done? Our stock is in freefall!"

Tiffany lunged for the tablet in Aria's lap. "Give me that! You recorded it illegally!"

Aria twisted her body, shielding the device. "It was a live feed from the hotel security. I didn't record anything. The internet did."

Victoria raised her hand. Her palm was open, fingers rigid. She swung at Aria's face.

Aria flinched, bracing for the impact.

It never came.

Kane stepped out of the shadows. He didn't grab her. He didn't shove her. He just stepped between them. He stood there, a wall of muscle and menace.

Victoria's hand stopped inches from his chest. She looked up at him, startled.

"Get out of my way, you useless kept man," she spat.

Kane didn't blink. He looked down at her like she was a stain on the carpet.

Aria stood up. She reached around Kane and grabbed Victoria's wrist. She squeezed. Hard.

"This isn't your country club, Victoria," Aria said. "This is a crime scene. Your son committed fraud."

"Fraud?" Victoria laughed, a harsh, barking sound. "He cheated. Men cheat. You'll get over it."

"He signed a contract stating he was not involved in any actions that would damage the company reputation while negotiating the deal. He lied. That's fraud. Federal fraud."

Victoria's face went pale. She knew the law. She knew what an SEC investigation would do to them.

"You're just frigid," Tiffany sneered from behind her mother. "That's why he went to Chloe. Jordan has needs. He said you were like sleeping with a mannequin."

Aria laughed. It was a cold, dark sound.

"If his performance issues are my fault," Aria said, looking Tiffany dead in the eye, "then why did he only last three minutes with Chloe? I timed it."

Tiffany's mouth dropped open.

Victoria signaled to the two large men in suits waiting in the hallway. "Get him out of here. And grab her."

The bodyguards stepped forward.

Kane walked to the door. He slammed it shut in their faces. He turned the lock.

Then he turned back to the room. He unbuttoned his suit jacket.

"You're locked in here with me," Kane said. His voice was low, terrifyingly calm.

Victoria took a step back. "Who is this animal? Where did you find him?"

Aria walked up to Kane. She put her hand on his arm. It was rock hard.

"This is my husband," Aria said. "And he's more of a man than your son will ever be."

Victoria was shaking now. Rage and fear warring in her eyes. "I will freeze every asset you have. You won't be able to buy a pack of gum."

"Try it," Aria said. "I'll drive your stock price so low you'll be delisted by Tuesday."

"Move," Aria said to Victoria.

Aria shoulder-checked her as she walked past. Kane opened the door, checked the hall, and ushered her out.

As soon as they were clear, in the service corridor, the strength left Aria's legs again. She grabbed Kane's arm to stay upright. Cold sweat was running down her back.

"Hospital?" Kane asked. He was supporting Aria's entire weight now.

"No," Aria whispered. "Dr. Evans. The private toxicologist. Upper East Side."

Kane's head snapped toward Aria. His eyes narrowed. He didn't ask questions. He didn't waste time.

"Hold on," he said.

He scooped Aria up. He carried her through the kitchen, ignoring the staring chefs. They burst out into the alley where the car was waiting.

Victoria's screams echoed down the hallway behind them. "Aria! You'll pay for this!"

Kane dumped Aria in the passenger seat and slammed the door. He vaulted over the hood and slid behind the wheel.

The engine roared.

The lab was cold. Stainless steel and blue LED lights. It smelled of antiseptic and ozone.

Dr. Evans pulled the needle from Aria's arm. He pressed a cotton ball to the puncture wound.

Kane stood in the corner. He had been scanning the room since they arrived, checking the exits, checking the labels on the chemical bottles. He was vibrating with a suppressed energy.

Aria sat on the edge of the exam table. Her feet dangled. She felt small.

Dr. Evans walked over to the computer. He waited for the results to print. The whir of the printer was agonizingly slow.

He ripped the page off and turned to Aria. His face was grave.

"It's a neurotoxin," he said. "Derived from the Cerbera odollam plant. The suicide tree."

Kane stepped forward. "How much?"

"Enough to kill a horse," Evans said. "But the dosage seems to be... staggered. You've been ingesting small amounts for months, building a partial tolerance, but you took a massive hit about twelve hours ago."

"How long do I have?" Aria asked.

"Without treatment? Organ failure in seven days. Maybe less."

Kane's hand clenched into a fist. Aria heard the knuckles crack.

"Fix it," Kane said. It wasn't a request.

"I can start a chelation protocol," Evans said. "But it's brutal. It strips everything from your blood. Calcium, magnesium, the poison. It will feel like your bones are melting."

"Do it," Aria said.

"And," Evans added, looking at Kane, "she needs dialysis. Daily. I don't have a unit here."

"I need to be functional," Aria said. "I have a company to save."

"You need to be in an ICU," Evans argued.

"No hospitals," Aria said. "If I go to a hospital, the board declares me incapacitated. Chloe wins."

Aria looked at Kane. "I need to survive this."

"You will," he said.

Evans prepared the injection. "This is going to hurt."

He wasn't lying.

The moment the liquid entered Aria's vein, it felt like liquid fire. She gasped. Her back arched. A scream tore from her throat.

Kane was there instantly. He pulled Aria's head against his stomach. He covered her ears with his large hands, muffling the sound of her own agony.

"I've got you," he murmured into her hair. "I've got you."

Aria grabbed his shirt. She twisted the fabric until her fingers turned white. She cried. She shook. The pain was absolute.

It lasted for thirty minutes. When it faded, Aria was limp. A wet rag.

Kane picked her up. He carried her out to the car.

"Don't tell anyone," Aria whispered against his chest.

He placed her in the seat and buckled her in. He walked around to the driver's side.

He didn't start the car immediately. He pulled out his phone. He dialed a number.

"It's me," he said. "I need a portable dialysis unit. High flow. Delivered to the penthouse. Now."

Pause.

"I don't care about the cost or the method. I need it in one hour. Handle it."

He hung up.

Aria stared at him. "Who was that?"

Kane looked at Aria. His eyes were hard, guarded. "We're allies now, right? Don't ask about the sourcing."

A weak smile tugged at Aria's lips. "Okay."

They drove into the night. Aria's phone lit up on the dashboard.

Jordan calling.

Aria stared at the name. The man who had poisoned her. The man who had burned her living will.

She reached out and pressed 'Block'.