Aria stared at her father's letter, the incomplete warning burning in her head like acid. 'Trust no one. Especially not—' The missing name felt like a wound that wouldn't heal.
The chime of the doorbell broke her focus and set her heart racing. Her hands shaking slightly as she smoothed her expression into something like normalcy, then quickly folded the letter and tucked it beneath a stack of business records.
"Coming!" she said while she hurried from the study, pushing brightness into her voice.
Through the glazed front door, she spotted a familiar person carrying what appeared to be an armload of goods. Aria inhaled deeply and opened the door to discover Bella Martinez smiling at her with the kind of brilliant smile that would have once made her happy.
It now made her want to throw up.
"Surprise!" Bella sang, her arms loaded with exquisite gift boxes, a large bouquet of white roses, and a bottle of what looked to be very costly champagne. "I couldn't wait another day to check on my favorite newlywed!"
'How sweet! Nothing says "caring friend" like showing up unannounced while my husband isn't home,' Aria thought to herself.
"Bella!" Aria said, stepping aside to let her in. "What a great surprise. You did not have to bring anything."
"Are you crazy? During such a special period?" Bella went into the foyer like a woman who owned the place and set her gifts on the marble console table. She paused dramatically, then brought out a smaller box, "a little something from that jewelry boutique we saw in Paris last year. I also brought celebration champagne and those French chocolates you love."
Aria would have been touched by such generosity if she had not known better. Rather, she found herself observing every micro-expression, every well-selected word.
Bella noticed Aria's face with what seemed to be real concern: "You look tired, sweetie. Is everything good? Especially when you're trying to balance everything with business obligations, marriage can be quite taxing."
'Yes, Bella, adjusting to finding my husband is a murderer who's been methodically stealing my inheritance is quite taxing. I appreciate your inquiry.' Aria thought with sharp sarcasm.
"Just the usual post-wedding tiredness," Aria said with a gentle laugh. You know how it is—so much has changed so rapidly."
Aria could feel something else beneath the surface of the sympathy that glittered in Bella's eyes.
"Well, that's exactly why I'm here," Bella said, gently linking her arm through Aria's with familiar affection. "Best friends are meant to support one another during major life turning points. I also want to hear exactly everything about the honeymoon. When Marcus showed up at the coffee shop yesterday morning, I could tell he was delighted."
Aria couldn't help thinking that when Marcus had returned from his commercial meetings yesterday, he had not mentioned stopping for coffee or seeing Bella.
"Oh, you've seen him?" Guiding Bella toward the living room, Aria asked innocuously. "He said nothing about running into you."
Bella said dismissively, "Just briefly, you are aware of how men are; they never retain the specifics. Most likely, he was thinking about something boring or about work."
Bella started her post-wedding interview session as they sank into the soft sofa. She wanted all the specifics of the honeymoon, every romantic gesture Marcus had done, and every discussion on their future together.
But Aria started to see patterns in Bella's inquiries as she responded with well-chosen answers. They were not the curiosity of a friend vicariously living through romantic events. Instead, they were targeted, designed to gather a particular kind of information.
Every question seemed to be a probe looking for flaws and weaknesses.
Bella said, gracefully sipping a cup of tea, "You're so lucky to have Marcus. He is really competent and committed to looking after you. You needed someone strong enough to manage all the stress you have been under since your parents..."
Bella's sudden pause was filled with the kind of sympathetic silence that encouraged trust.
'Academy Award for Best Supporting Fake Friend,' Aria thought, keeping her appreciative smile while she classified Bella's act as professional-level manipulation.
Aria replied, deciding to test the waters, "He really is wonderful. Although occasionally I worry I am depending too much on him for commercial decisions. Yesterday he said some of my loved ones might not be motivated by my best interests."
Bella's teacup stopped halfway to her lips, just for a moment but long enough for Aria to see.
"Oh, really? Did he refer to anyone particularly?" Bella's voice had the right note of worried inquiry.
"Not very precisely. Just basic worries about trusting the wrong people." Aria studied Bella's face very carefully. "You know how protective husbands can be."
Bella nodded. "Absolutely," but her posture had changed. "Although Marcus would never want you to feel cut off from people who love you. Like family friends with lifetime knowledge of you."
The comment felt like a warning wrapped in reassurance, and Aria filed it away for future analysis.
As the afternoon progressed, Aria began implementing her own subtle manipulations. She shared carefully crafted "concerns" about certain business associates, mentioning fictional late-night phone calls from Marcus and expressing mild confusion about business meetings she "couldn't quite understand."
Each piece of information was designed to travel back to Marcus, giving Aria the chance of potentially sowing seeds of distrust between the conspirators.
"I have to ask," Aria said during a lull in conversation, "do you remember that business meeting Marcus mentioned last month? The one with the Taiwan investors? I'm still trying to understand how that deal works."
Bella nodded knowingly. "Oh yes, that was such a complex negotiation. Marcus was so stressed about the timeline pressures."
Aria's blood chilled. The Taiwan investor meeting was fictional—a test to see how much Bella really knew about Marcus's business activities. The fact that Bella had responded as if she knew specific details about a meeting that never happened proved she was either getting detailed briefings from Marcus or...
"Wait," Bella said suddenly, her face going pale. "I mean... didn't he say that was the Singapore deal? I think I'm confusing it with something else I heard..."
But it was too late. The slip had been made, and they both knew it.
Aria maintained her confused but trusting expression while her mind raced with implications. Bella wasn't just feeding information to Marcus about their conversations. She was involved deeply enough in his business planning to know details about deals and timelines.
Possibly even from the very beginning.
"Oh, you're probably right," Aria said with a light laugh. "I get all these international deals confused. Marcus is always so busy with something."
But as Bella forced a matching laugh, Aria realized that her father's warning about trusting no one might have been even more insightful than she'd imagined.