CHAPTER 12: No More Games
Aurora didn't sleep that night.
Even after Damien left—his touch lingering on her hand, his eyes saying more than his words could—she lay in bed, staring at the ceiling while Noah snored softly in the next room.
The image of the photo wouldn't leave her mind.
The old Damien. The way Sabrina looked at him. The sound of his voice when he said I know—even if it was a lie meant to protect.
She wanted to believe him. She almost did.
But "almost" was a dangerous place to be when the future of her son—and possibly her heart—was at stake.
---
Across the city, in the privacy of his penthouse office, Damien Blackwood was done playing defense.
He tapped his tablet, watching the security footage from his conversation with Sabrina earlier that day.
"She thinks she has leverage," he muttered to himself. "Let's see how she handles being the one in the spotlight."
A knock came at the door.
Maxwell, his most trusted aide, stepped inside. "Everything's in place. The documents. The calls. The press contacts you requested."
Damien looked up. "Good. Let's give Miss Voss a reminder of what happens when you back a Blackwood into a corner."
Maxwell gave a small, wicked grin. "Public exposure, private ruin?"
Damien nodded. "Exactly."
---
The next morning, Aurora sat at her kitchen table scrolling through social media, her stomach still tight with worry.
Then she saw it.
BREAKING: Sabrina Voss Resigns from Voss & Blackwood PR Amidst Allegations of Blackmail and Ethics Violations
Her breath caught.
She clicked the article.
Damien hadn't held back. The story painted Sabrina as manipulative, ruthless, and unethical. An anonymous source—clearly Maxwell—had leaked audio of her trying to sabotage a former relationship between "a CEO and an unwed mother" for personal gain.
The timing, the words, the implications… it all pointed directly at them.
Aurora's phone buzzed.
Damien: She's done. For good.
She didn't know whether to be relieved or terrified. Because when a man like Damien Blackwood declares war, there's always fallout.
---
At his office, Damien stared out the window as rain began to streak the glass.
Maxwell returned with a file in hand.
"This came in from a PI we hired. Something about Sabrina's visit to Aurora's apartment. Thought you'd want to see."
Damien opened the folder and froze.
A photo. Sabrina, slipping something into the mail slot before she knocked. A second image showed her placing the flash drive.
There was more.
Another document. A report.
Surveillance: Sabrina contacted an unidentified individual 12 hours before visit. Untraceable burner number.
"Who the hell is she working with?" Damien growled.
Maxwell frowned. "We're still digging. But this wasn't just jealousy. Someone gave her that footage. Someone who knew exactly when and how to hit you."
Damien's blood ran cold.
This wasn't just personal.
It was strategic.
---
That afternoon, Aurora took Noah to the park to clear her head.
They sat beneath a giant oak tree while he showed her how fast he could run with his sneakers "charged up."
She laughed, watching him with a bittersweet smile.
Her world had always been small. Her and Noah. Safe. Predictable.
Now, it was unraveling—fast, luxurious, dangerous.
A sleek black car pulled up near the park entrance.
Aurora's stomach dropped.
Damien stepped out, dressed down in jeans and a dark jacket, but every bit the man who could control boardrooms and headlines.
He approached slowly.
"Hey," he said, nodding toward Noah. "Mind if I join you?"
Aurora hesitated, then nodded. "We could use some company."
Noah squealed when he saw Damien. "Mr. Damien! Watch this!"
He ran full speed toward the swings, tripping dramatically and landing in the grass with a theatrical groan. Damien laughed.
Aurora watched him carefully.
"Was it you?" she asked quietly. "The article."
"Yes," Damien admitted. "She crossed a line. I ended her career."
"She might come back harder."
"She won't," he said. "Not after what I found. There's more going on here. Someone's using her to get to me. And I think… they may be targeting you, too."
Aurora's blood turned to ice.
"Me?"
Damien nodded. "You and Noah."
---
That night, Aurora locked every window. Checked the doors twice. Held Noah a little tighter.
Because this wasn't just about the past anymore.
This was war.
And the enemy hadn't shown their face yet.
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