The Abandoned one

The warehouse was dark, abandoned, and silent except for the distant creak of metal under wind.

Aria stood in the shadows, wearing a black trench coat and boots the faint hum of a drone circled overhead she was ready. A small blade hid in her sleeve a tracker pulsed in her ring she had prepared for betrayal.

But nothing could prepare her for who stepped out of the shadows.

A tall man masked dressed in a tailored coat.

Phoenix wakes,he said.

Aria stiffened who are you?

The man removed his mask.

She gasped.

It wasn't her father.

It wasn't Liam.

It was— Ethan her ex-fiancé.

The same one who threw her under the bus five years ago. The same man who married into the Zhao family the week after her downfall.

You,she hissed you're behind this?

No,he said but I'm not your enemy anymore.

She laughed coldly you expect me to believe that?

You don't have to believe anything,ethan said just listen.

He tossed her a small envelope inside was a photo — her mother shaking hands with a woman in military uniform… and Liam's father in the background.

What is this?Your mother was part of a covert intelligence unit. Project Phoenix wasn't just about money. It was a failsafe program in case high-level corruption infiltrated the business sector,"he said your father… was the first to sell them out.

Aria's world tilted.

You married into the Zhao family to protect yourself, she said.

I married them because I had no choice. They threatened to kill my sister if I didn't cooperate.

Aria clenched her jaw she wanted to scream cry hit him.

But instead, she asked,why now?

Ethan's gaze was serious because they're coming for you next the ones behind your mother's death? They've learned about the vault the Phoenix documents they won't let you live.

Then help me expose them.

He hesitated it's not that simple one of them sits on the Lin Group board another is tied to Chen Group."

Her eyes widened you mean Liam?

I don't know,Ethan admitte but someone close to him is involved maybe even feeding him lies.

Aria stepped back the ground beneath her felt shaky.

Everything was connected.

Her mother.

Her father.

Liam's family.

And now Ethan… the man she once loved, once hated — and who now might be the only one trying to save her.

---

Suddenly, a bullet slammed into the wall beside them.

Get down!Ethan grabbed her arm.

More shots echoed through the warehouse. A black SUV screeched outside masked men with silenced guns moved like shadows

It's a trap!Aria hissed.

No, Ethan growled it's a warning.

---

They escaped through a back door, racing through narrow alleys. Ethan's car waited at the edge of a loading dock he threw open the door.

Get in. Now

Aria hesitated.

I'm not the same man I was back then,Ethan said but I can help you survive this.

She stared at him, her heart racing.

Then, slowly…she got in.

---

As the car sped away, Aria glanced at the envelope again.

At the bottom of the photo was a handwritten note:

If you find this, Aria…don't trust anyone wearing a mask — even if it's made of love.

– Mom

---

❓ Reader Questions:

1. Did you expect Ethan to return as an ally?

2. Do you think Liam is being used… or is he part of the conspiracy?

3. Should Aria keep working with Ethan — or set him up next?

4. What do you think Project Phoenix really was?