The Abandoned one

2:13 a.m.

Lin Group Tower. Sublevel 3.

Aria moved through the cold, dim corridor, dressed in black no heels,no perfume just silence and shadows.

Her mother's pendant swung gently from her neck.

The elevator didn't go this low she had to use the maintenance stairwell, a blueprint she'd memorized from her mother's files in hand.

She reached a steel door marked R-7 DEEPCORE

No keypad.

Just a scanner.

She held up the necklace.

A small blue light blinked once, then twice.

Access granted.

The door opened.

Inside was like stepping into another world — a narrow server vault, glowing with soft blue light. Cables lined the walls like veins. Every file, every secret, every dollar trail tied to the Lin Group and Phoenix Protocol was stored here.

So this is what they wanted to erase.

Aria stepped toward the central terminal.

She inserted the drive Ethan gave her and started scanning.

File after file popped up — encrypted, red-flagged, protected. Buried deep within the code were entire folders labeled:

Phoenix Assets

Blacklist Z

Emergency Protocol: Burn

She began copying them all.

But halfway through…

A soft click echoed behind her.

She froze.

Someone else was in the room.

She turned slowly — eyes narrowing.

Hello, Aria.

It was Zhao Yanmei.

Dressed in white, her calm face a porcelain mask.

You never did learn to stay in your place,she said just like your mother.

How did you find me?

Zhao smiled coldly you really think I didn't build this system with backup surveillance? I knew the moment that pendant was activated.

She stepped closer.

Your mother was brilliant but she made one mistake — she thought the truth was enough.

Aria's hands curled into fists. "It is.

"No,Zhao said the truth without power is noise,you don't have the board,you don't have public support all you have is a dead woman's legacy… and a borrowed sense of righteousness.

She tapped the table, ready to delete it all.

But Aria was faster.

She slammed her palm on the emergency console, activating a hidden function her mother had embedded.

> "PHOENIX LOCK INITIATED. BACKUP FILES DISPATCHED TO EXTERNAL SOURCES."

Zhao's eyes widened

> Too late.

"You sent them," Zhao hissed.

To three news outlets. An anonymous law firm. And one government contact your people haven't bribed yet,"Aria said.

The silence was deafening.

Zhao stepped back, her calm finally cracking. Do you know what you've done?

I started the fire,Aria whispered you just gave me the match.

---

Suddenly, footsteps echoed.

Liam appeared in the doorway.

He looked between them — the server lights casting his shadow across the room.

You…Zhao's lips curled you brought him?"

I didn't, Aria said but I don't need to anymore."

Liam walked toward Zhao, eyes sharp.

I saw the videos,he said everything,the meetings my mother and ny signature…

You were a child when you signed that file Zhao said softly.A boy playing at business.

I'm not a boy anymore,"Liam growled and I don't play.

He pulled out his phone and played a final audio clip: Zhao's voice, bragging about rigging the Lin board elections.

Zhao lunged for the console.

But Aria grabbed her arm and twisted it back.

This is for my mother.

---

Security arrived ten minutes later.

Zhao was arrested for corporate fraud, blackmail, and obstruction of justice.

Liam stood beside Aria as the cameras flashed — not as her enemy. But not yet as her ally.

Not again.

Not yet.

---

Later, as Aria stood on the rooftop of the tower, wind whipping through her hair, she whispered to the sky:

You did it, Mom we did it.

But even as justice tasted sweet, she knew...the fire was only just beginning.

Because someone even more dangerous than Zhao had just gone quiet.

And silence?

Was always the warning before the storm.

---

❓ Reader Questions:

1. Was Zhao really the top villain — or just the puppet?

2. Now that Liam knows the truth, should Aria forgive him?

3. Will Ethan return to finish what he started?

4. What do you think the "Emergency Burn" file really contains?