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'.

The next morning, the sky was gray. Rain lashed against the windshield of the Maybach.

They were heading downtown. Aria felt brittle, like dried glass, but the dialysis machine Kane had procured-delivered by two men who didn't speak-had done its job. Her blood felt cleaner.

Suddenly, a black SUV swerved in front of them.

Kane slammed on the brakes. The tires screeched on the wet asphalt.

Another SUV boxed them in from behind.

Kane's hand went under his seat. Aria knew he was reaching for a gun.

"Stop," Aria said, putting her hand on his arm. "It's my father."

The door of the lead SUV opened. Robert Daniels stepped out. He didn't have an umbrella. He didn't care. He marched toward Aria's window and banged on the glass.

Aria rolled it down.

"Get in my car," he barked. No hello. No 'are you okay'.

"Say what you have to say here," Aria said.

"You humiliated us," Robert shouted. Rain dripped from his nose. "The stock is down ten percent this morning. Ten percent, Aria!"

"They poisoned me," Aria said quietly. "They tried to steal the company."

"Business is war!" Robert yelled. "You're too emotional. This is exactly why I wanted Chloe. She understands sacrifice. She understands the bigger picture."

The words hit Aria harder than the slap Victoria had tried to land.

"You knew," Aria whispered. "You knew about the takeover."

Robert didn't deny it. He wiped the rain from his face. "The Sloan capital injection is the only thing that will save the conglomerate. We need their money. Issue a statement. Say the video was a deepfake. Say it was performance art. Fix this."

"And if I don't?"

"Then I will remove you as CEO. I still control the voting trust."

Aria looked at her father. She saw the coldness in his eyes. He didn't see a daughter. He saw a liability.

"You're right," Aria said. "Business is war."

She pressed the button to roll up the window.

Robert reached in to stop it. "Don't you dare walk away from me!"

The glass pinched his fingers. He yelped and yanked his hand back.

"Drive," Aria said to Kane. "Run him over if he doesn't move."

Kane didn't hesitate. He floored the gas.

The Maybach surged forward. The fender clipped Robert's knee, sending him stumbling into a puddle.

Aria watched him in the side mirror. He was kicking a trash can, screaming at the rain.

Aria stared straight ahead. She didn't cry. She had no tears left.

"I can ruin him," Kane said softly. "I can empty his accounts by noon."

"No," Aria said. "I want to do it. Take us to the Federal Courthouse."

Kane nodded. He wove through the traffic with surgical precision.

Aria pulled out her phone. She texted Judge Sterling. He was her grandfather's best friend. The only man in New York she trusted besides... well, she wasn't sure about Kane yet.

Black Box. Now.

"He's calling Jordan," Kane noted, glancing at the rearview mirror. "Plan B."

"Let them come," Aria said.

She opened her laptop. She started typing the affidavit. Her fingers flew across the keys.

Kane reached over and handed her a bottle of water. The cap was already unscrewed.

Aria took it. She drank. It tasted like survival.