The city buzzed with the fallout from Nina's exposé, but Aria felt anything but victorious. She'd opened Pandora's box, but the fight had only just begun. Victor Hale was an enemy unlike any other—protected by layers of influence, power, and public goodwill. Damon was no less dangerous, a man desperate to preserve what little control he still had.
Yet amid the chaos, one phrase burned in her mind like a beacon: Project Haven.
It had been buried deep in the contingency plans, almost as if it were a last resort. Aria's instincts told her that unraveling Project Haven could dismantle Hale and Damon once and for all.
She didn't have a choice. She had to find out what it was.
---
The next morning, Aria arrived at Zenith Corp with a renewed sense of purpose. She needed access to the company's most secure servers, and that meant taking a risk.
Her first obstacle was Liam. He was stationed near the server room, his usual smirk replaced by a hawkish vigilance.
"Working late again?" he asked as she approached, his tone casual but tinged with suspicion.
"Damon needs the quarterly reports rechecked," Aria lied smoothly, holding up a folder. "Said it was urgent."
Liam raised an eyebrow, glancing at the folder but not moving. "Funny. He didn't mention it to me."
Aria smiled, her heart racing. "Guess he trusts me more."
For a moment, Liam didn't respond. Then, with a small shrug, he stepped aside. "Be quick about it. Damon's not in the mood for mistakes."
Aria nodded, slipping past him into the server room.
---
Inside, she wasted no time. The air was cool, the hum of the machines almost deafening. Aria inserted her USB drive into the terminal and began her search.
The system was massive, with hundreds of encrypted files and directories. She typed "Project Haven" into the search bar, her fingers trembling slightly.
A single file appeared: Haven_Masterfile.xcl.
She clicked on it, but a password prompt immediately popped up.
Damn it.
Aria bit her lip, thinking quickly. The file was encrypted with a multi-layered security protocol, but she had prepared for this. Pulling out a second USB drive, she launched a decryption program.
The process was painfully slow, each passing second feeling like an eternity.
Suddenly, the screen flickered, and a new window opened. The decrypted file unfolded before her eyes.
What she saw made her blood run cold.
---
PROJECT HAVEN
1. Primary Objective: Secure offshore accounts containing Zenith's illicit funds.
2. Assets: Properties, luxury vehicles, and holdings under shell corporations across the globe.
3. Contingency Measures: Eliminate whistleblowers and rivals; relocate key players if exposed.
4. Operational Authority: Hale-Global Trust—Victor Hale's private financial institution.
At the bottom of the document was a detailed breakdown of accounts, with transfers totaling billions of dollars. It was a global operation, its reach staggering.
But what caught Aria's attention most was the final line:
"All records backed up on Haven's Vault – Alpha Facility."
Alpha Facility. It wasn't a term she recognized, but it was clearly important.
She quickly copied the file onto her USB drive and removed it from the terminal.
---
As she turned to leave, the door swung open.
Damon stood in the doorway, his face a mask of cold fury.
"Well, well," he said, his voice dripping with venom. "I knew you were hiding something."
Aria froze, her mind racing. "I was just—"
"Spare me the lies," Damon snapped, stepping closer. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"
She clenched her fists, meeting his gaze. "Exposing the truth."
"The truth?" Damon laughed bitterly. "You think you're some kind of hero? You're a fool. Hale won't just destroy you—he'll destroy everyone you care about."
Aria swallowed hard, but she refused to back down. "You're scared. You know this is the end for you."
Damon's jaw tightened. "You don't know anything about me or Hale. You're playing a game you can't win."
For a moment, the room was silent except for the hum of the servers. Then Damon reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
"You've left me no choice," he said, dialing a number.
Aria acted on instinct. She lunged forward, knocking the phone from his hand. It clattered to the floor as Damon shouted in surprise.
She didn't wait to see what he would do next. Grabbing the phone, she bolted from the room.
---
Aria's heart pounded as she raced through the building. Liam spotted her near the elevators, his eyes widening in shock.
"Aria!" he called, but she didn't stop.
She burst into the stairwell, taking the steps two at a time. Damon's shouts echoed behind her, but she didn't look back.
By the time she reached the parking garage, her lungs burned, and her legs felt like jelly. She climbed into her car and started the engine, peeling out of the lot before anyone could stop her.
---
Back in her apartment, Aria locked the door and collapsed onto the couch. Her hands shook as she inserted the USB drive into her laptop and reviewed the files again.
Project Haven was bigger than she had imagined—bigger than Nina's exposé could fully cover. But the mention of the Alpha Facility intrigued her.
What is it? And where is it located?
She sent a message to Nina, including the new information.
"Found something big. Need help identifying the Alpha Facility. Let me know if you can trace it."
Nina's reply was almost immediate.
"Got it. Sit tight—I'll dig into it."
---
As the night wore on, Aria couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. She double-checked the locks on her door and windows, but the sense of unease remained.
Her phone buzzed again. It was from an unknown number.
"You're making enemies, Miss Reynolds. Tread carefully."
Aria's blood ran cold.
The game had escalated, and she was running out of time.