Chapter 18: Chapter 18:The house with no name
Midnight.
Blackridge Lane.
Aria stood in front of a crumbling mansion hidden behind iron gates, its windows dark, the moon casting jagged shadows on the weeds that grew through cracked stone.
This wasn't just a house.
It was a graveyard of secrets.
She pushed open the gate and stepped inside.
The silence was thick.
> No lights. No voices. No sign of life.
But someone had been there — recently. A candle burned on a table inside, flickering beside an envelope with her name on it.
She opened it.
You've come further than she ever did. But truth comes at a price—A.R.
Aria's fingers trembled.
A.R. — Augustin Rothschild.
Her real father.
---
A floorboard creaked behind her.
She turned fast, grabbing the nearest object — an old fireplace poker.
Put it down, a familiar voice said.
> Ethan.
He stepped out of the dark, wearing black gloves and a wounded look.
Her eyes narrowed.
I thought you were dead.
I almost was.
Where the hell have you been?
Ethan didn't answer right away.
Then:You were right not to trust me completely.
Aria's heart dropped what does that mean?
I was working with your father the real one.
She took a step back.
Ethan raised a hand let me explain.
---
He told her everything.
That after Mei Lin's death, Augustin Rothschild activated a decades-old protocol. He had agents hidden across major cities — Ethan was one of them.
> "Your mother never told you because she didn't want you to be pulled into his world. She wanted to protect you.
"Then why now?" Aria demanded. "Why show me any of this?"
Because Augustin is alive, Ethan said and he's watching he wanted Zhao out of the way — but you? You're his final test.
---
Suddenly, the candle flickered out.
A cold voice spoke from the shadows.
She failed already.
A man stepped forward from a hidden door behind the bookshelf — tall, scarred, with cold silver eyes.
Aria's breath caught.
He looked nothing like the photos she'd seen.
But her soul knew.
Hello, daughter,he said you're not the only one born from the Phoenix.
---
He wasn't alone.
Another figure emerged behind him.
A woman slender and familiar.
> Zhao Yanmei.
Aria staggered back you're supposed to be in prison.
She never went to prison,Augustin said she works for me.
---
She had been an agent for Augustin the whole time — a ruthless one, yes, but loyal to the bloodline.
Your mother wanted you to inherit Lin Group,Zhao said, stepping forward but your father? He has bigger plans."
---
Aria's hands curled into fists.
This was all a test? The betrayals, the lies, the pain—Augustin's voice cut in, sharp and cold.
No hat was your training.
---
> Twist #2: Everything Aria faced — from betrayal to assassination attempts — had been orchestrated to shape her.
Project Phoenix wasn't a company,Augustin said it was a bloodline protocol. A way to forge a leader that couldn't be bought, broken, or controlled.
Ethan stepped back, silent nowi didn't want to tell you this he said but you were chosen before you were even born.
---
Aria stood still.
Her mind spinning.
Her voice calm so you're saying… all this pain, everything I lost… was to make me into you?
Augustin nodded.
I don't want your empire, she said.
You don't get to want anything,he snapped. You already carry my legacy in your blood. And now… you'll finish what I started.
Zhao smiled coldly.
Welcome to the family.
---
> Twist #3: Aria was never just a heiress. She was born to be a weapon.
But as her father turned away, something shifted in her chest.
Aria smiled, just a little.
Because what they didn't realize was…A weapon could choose who to point itself at.
---
❓ Reader Questions:
1. Can Aria break free from the Rothschild bloodline… or will she become what they forged her into?
2. Was Ethan protecting her… or helping control her?
3. Zhao was never the villain — but can she still be trusted?
4. What should Aria do now: play along… or disappear?