Chapter 5

The Kensington news was scrubbed within days. I didn't have to guess who was behind it.

I didn't care. The deeper I dug, the more my blood ran cold. That anonymous letter—every word was true. The Kensingtons were the reason my family was dead.

Before I could move, Remy called.

"Aria! The auction house tonight—there's an antique globe and telescope set. The one your dad used to teach you the constellations. You going?"

I closed my eyes. The memory came soft and light.

That spring. My father wrapped my hand around the globe. His finger landed on a continent. "Getting lost is normal. You just have to learn to find your own star in the dark."

The night we went bankrupt, the liquidation crew came too fast. I never got to see that study one last time.

I'd been searching for those old things for years. Never thought this set would be the first to surface.

"Okay. I'll be there tonight."

Nightfall. The auction house blazed with lights.

Items lined up. That globe set sat in the middle. Easy to miss.

I placed my bids smoothly. My eyes caught the scratch on the globe's base—the one I'd made by accident as a kid.

The auctioneer's gavel was coming down for the third time. A woman's voice cut from the second floor.

"Wait."

I looked up. In the glow of the chandelier, Quinn stood there. Hunter behind her.

I pulled my eyes back. Lifted my paddle again.

Back and forth. Then Hunter called the max bid. Just like that, the globe was gone.

"Miss Aria." Quinn wore that smile. "Beg me. And I'll give it to you."

The triumph in her eyes was too loud.

I unclenched my fist. Set my paddle on the seat. Stood.

"Since you love it so much, I won't take what belongs to someone else."

Quinn blinked. She hadn't expected me to drop it. Just like that.

I walked out the auction house doors. The night wind hit me. Bone-cold. I tilted my head up at the black sky. No tears came.

That globe held too much. Every latitude line carried the warmth of his fingers. I would have given anything to bring it home.

But I knew my father better than that. He would never want me humiliated for a dead object.

I thought losing the globe was Quinn's revenge.

Then my mother's research paper hit the trending page.

**Renowned Pharma Researcher's Drug Caused Liver and Kidney Failure. Data Falsified for Approval.**

My father's charitable foundation got branded as a money-laundering front. Insider trading.

Overnight, two people dead for a decade were spit on by the whole internet.

**You care about your parents' reputation more than anything, right? I'm going to crush it under my heel.**

Anonymous text. I didn't need to guess who sent it.

I pulled out the evidence files I hadn't made public yet. Ten years ago, when they smeared my parents, I could do nothing. This time, I would lay the truth bare.

The press conference was set for the day before my flight out.

Nine a.m. start. By eight-thirty, the room was packed. I plugged in the USB. Drew a breath. Began.

"Thank you all for coming. Regarding the recent false statements circulating about my parents and Aria Pharmaceuticals—I will present evidence that this was an organized smear campaign—"

I clicked the file.

Empty.

I froze. The folder I had checked and double-checked. Every piece of evidence. Gone.

The crowd stirred. Shutters clicked. Murmurs. Snickers.