Aria dropped all pretence of the courteous hostess and went grimly back to her father's study when Bella's car vanished down the driveway. Though it had been exhausting, the afternoon's performance had been informative. Bella's slip about the fictional Taiwan meeting proved that the conspiracy ran deeper than simple theft—it was a coordinated operation that had been planned with military precision.
Now it was time to understand exactly how deep the rabbit hole went.
Aria locked the study door and activated her phone's privacy settings, ensuring that any digital traces of her investigation would be properly concealed. If Marcus had installed monitoring software on their shared computers, she needed to be smarter about covering her tracks.
She began with the banking systems that Marcus didn't know she could access—administrative privileges her father had established years ago that allowed her to monitor all family accounts from a secure portal.
What made Aria's stomach clench with growing dread was the timing correlation with events in her personal life. Every major withdrawal seemed to coincide with important family moments—her graduation from university, her parents' anniversary parties, even her mother's birthday celebrations.
Someone had been gathering intelligence about her family's financial activities and personal schedules for years before Marcus officially appeared in her life.
'Could it be Bella?' , Aria thought.
'The family that steals together,' she mused grimly, 'stays together until someone gets murdered.'
As she delved deeper into the financial records, a more complex picture emerged. The theft operation involved multiple shell companies registered in various countries, each one designed to obscure the money trail through layers of seemingly legitimate business transactions. Properties purchased with her assets were immediately used as collateral for loans that funded other ventures, creating a house of cards built entirely on her family's wealth.
Most disturbing were the professional accomplices. Lawyers who had facilitated unauthorized contracts. Accountants who had prepared false financial statements. Investment advisors who had recommended transfers that primarily benefited Marcus's hidden enterprises. Even her father's longtime banker appeared to have been compromised, approving transactions that should have required additional authorization.
'So many trusted professionals, all dedicated to providing excellent customer service. Just not to the actual customer.' Aria thought with bitter sarcasm.
The conspiracy had astonishing coverage. This was corporate espionage, permeating every level of her family's company operations. People her father had trusted for decades had been systematically betraying that trust while presenting themselves as loyal advisors.
But the most shocking discovery came when she accessed her parents' personal accounts from the months before their death. Large withdrawals had been made just weeks before the car accident—transfers that her father had clearly initiated in a hurry, moving money to accounts that probably Marcus or someone else couldn't access.
Her father had known. He'd discovered the theft and had been trying to protect the family assets when he was killed.
The timeline painted a chilling picture: Her father uncovering the conspiracy, moving money to safety, writing the warning letter, and then dying in a convenient "accident" before he could expose the truth.
Aria's hands shook as she calculated the total amount stolen over the years. The number was astronomical—enough to fund multiple business empires, purchase luxury properties around the world, and maintain lifestyles that would make royalty envious.
She needed to act first.
Working quickly, she began implementing emergency asset protection measures. Critical funds were transferred to accounts that Marcus couldn't access, using security protocols her father had established for extreme circumstances. She activated trust funds that had been dormant since her parents' death, creating legal barriers that would require court orders to breach.
International accounts were established through legal firms that specialized in protecting assets from corporate espionage. Emergency liquid funds were secured in multiple currencies and jurisdictions, ensuring that she would have resources available regardless of what legal challenges Marcus might bring.
'If they want to play corporate warfare, they're about to discover that Richard Chen's daughter learned more than charity work and social graces.' she thought grimly.
Each protective measure was documented and secured in multiple locations, both physical and digital. Evidence of the theft was compiled into comprehensive files that could support criminal prosecutions and civil litigation. Legal contacts were established with firms that specialized in financial crimes and hadn't been compromised by Marcus's network.
The work was meticulous and exhausting, requiring hours of careful documentation and strategic planning. But as the afternoon wore on, Aria felt a grim satisfaction settling over her. She was being proactive rather than reactive, building defenses instead of only spotting attacks, for the first time since her reincarnation.
Marcus's car which sounded in the driveway set off a rapid panic in her heart. She quickly minimized the banking windows and scattered innocuous business documents across the desk, but something felt wrong about the room's energy.
Had she left something out of place? Moved a chair differently than before? The papers could pass the message that she was going through the documents as she told Marcus she would, but there was an almost imperceptible difference in the atmosphere that made her skin crawl with paranoia.
The front door opened with Marcus's confidence, followed by his voice calling through the house.
"Darling? I'm home early! I brought dinner from that little Italian place you love."
Aria's blood turned to ice. Early was an understatement—he wasn't supposed to return for another two hours. Had someone warned him about her activities? Was this coincidence or surveillance?
She heard his footsteps approaching the study, each one bringing him closer to discovering her investigation. Think fast. Act natural. Pretend everything was normal.
The study door handle turned just as she managed to compose her expression into something resembling innocent productivity.
Marcus arrived with his customary friendly smile, but his eyes started to scan the room with the kind of methodical assessment implying professional training.
His voice carried just enough curiosity to seem casual as he asked, "What have you been doing in here, darling? You look... guilty."
The word hung in the air between them like a loaded weapon, and Aria realized that her afternoon of investigation might have just taken a very dangerous turn.