The Invitation

Aria stood on the sidewalk for a long time after reading Ethan’s message.

The wind cut through her coat, but she did not feel it. Her eyes were fixed on the words glowing on her screen. The truth about how she really died. Elena had died of cancer. That was what Liam believed. That was what everyone believed.

But Ethan was suggesting something else. Something that made her stomach turn.

She looked up at the penthouse. The windows were dark. Liam was inside, probably opening the flash drive, reading his father’s evidence, learning the truth about his brother’s crimes. She could not tell him about the text. Not yet. Not until she knew what Ethan meant.

She typed back to Ethan: I will come. Alone. But if you are lying, I will make sure you spend the rest of your life in prison.

His response came instantly. I am not lying. Eight o’clock. Do not be late.

Aria slipped her phone into her pocket and started walking. She had six hours.

She went back to Sofia’s apartment. The divorce papers were still on the coffee table, signed but not yet filed. Marcus would handle that tomorrow. Tonight, she had other business.

Sofia was in the kitchen, making tea. She took one look at Aria’s face and set down the kettle.

What happened? Sofia asked.

Aria told her about the text. About Ethan’s claim. About the house.

Sofia’s face went pale. You cannot go, she said. It is a trap.

I have to know what he knows.

You do not have to do anything. Call Liam. Tell him. Let him handle it.

Aria shook her head. If Ethan has something on Elena’s death, Liam will lose his mind. He will do something reckless. He will walk into Ethan’s trap and get himself killed.

Then call the police.

And say what? My ex-husband says he knows something about his brother’s wife who died three years ago? They will not do anything.

Sofia grabbed her arm. Then I am coming with you.

No. He said alone.

Then do not go.

Aria looked at her sister. At the fear in her eyes. At the love she had never deserved.

I have to, she said. This is the only way to end this. If Ethan has something on Elena, I need to know what it is. And if he is lying, I need to know that too.

She pulled her arm free. She walked to the door.

If I am not back by ten, call Liam. Tell him everything.

Sofia nodded. Her eyes were wet.

Aria walked out.

The house looked the same as it had the night she left. Iron gates. Stone drive. The front door that had closed behind her five years ago, then again six days ago.

She parked her car at the curb. She did not want to be trapped inside the gates. She walked up the drive alone, her heels clicking on the stone, her breath clouding in the cold air.

The front door was unlocked. She pushed it open.

The foyer was dark. The chandelier was unlit. The photographs on the walls watched her pass—generations of Cresswells, their eyes following her like they knew what was coming.

The study door was open. Light spilled out into the hallway.

Ethan was sitting behind Victor’s desk. He was wearing a gray suit, his hair perfect, his smile the same smile he had worn the night he married her. He looked like a man who had already won.

You came, he said.

You said you had information.

He gestured to the chair across from him. Sit.

She did not sit. She stood in the doorway, her arms crossed, her coat still buttoned.

I am not here to play games, Ethan. Tell me what you know about Elena.

Ethan leaned back in his chair. He steepled his fingers. His smile did not falter.

Elena did not die of cancer, he said. That is what the doctors told Liam. That is what the death certificate says. But it is not the truth.

Aria’s heart pounded. What do you mean?

I mean someone killed her.

The words hung in the air. Aria felt the floor shift beneath her feet.

Who?

Ethan stood. He walked around the desk. He stopped in front of her, close enough that she could smell his cologne.

That is the question, is not it? Who would want Elena dead? She was young. Healthy. The cancer diagnosis came out of nowhere. The doctors could not explain it. They ran tests. They found nothing.

Then how do you know it was murder?

Because I made sure of it.

Aria’s blood turned to ice.

Ethan’s smile widened. You see, Aria, Elena was in the way. She was the only thing holding Liam together. As long as she was alive, he was untouchable. He had something to live for. Something to fight for.

He stepped closer.

But if she died, he would fall apart. And he did. He fell apart beautifully.

Aria backed away. Her hand found the doorframe.

You killed her, she whispered.

Ethan shook his head. I did not kill her. I just... accelerated things. A little something in her IV. Something the doctors would never notice. She was already dying, Aria. I just made sure she died faster.

Aria’s stomach lurched. She thought she might be sick.

Why are you telling me this?

Because I want you to understand, Ethan said. I want you to understand what I am capable of. I destroyed my own brother. I killed his wife. And I will do whatever it takes to keep what is mine.

He reached out. His fingers touched her chin.

You are mine, Aria. You have always been mine. And I am not letting you go.

She slapped his hand away.

I am not yours, she said. I have never been yours.

Ethan’s smile finally faltered. His eyes went cold.

Then you leave me no choice, he said.

He walked back to the desk. He picked up his phone. He held it so she could see the screen.

One call, he said. One call to the police, and I tell them everything. I tell them that Liam killed his wife. That he has been threatening me. That I have been living in fear of my own brother.

No one will believe you.

They will believe the evidence. And I have plenty of evidence. I have been planning this for three years, Aria. I have documents. Witnesses. A confession signed by a man who will say anything for enough money.

He set the phone down.

You have two choices, he said. You can come back to me. Call off the divorce. Pretend the last week never happened. And I will let Liam live.

Or you can walk out that door. And by tomorrow morning, your lover will be in prison for a murder he did not commit.

Aria stared at him. The man she had married. The man she had loved. The man who had killed his brother’s wife and felt nothing.

She thought about Liam. About the scars on his body. About the way he had held her while she cried. About the pearl earring still sitting on his bathroom floor.

She thought about Elena. The woman in the photograph. The woman who had died with Liam’s name on her lips, not knowing that her own brother-in-law had been the one to end her life.

I need time, Aria said.

Ethan shook his head. You have until midnight. Then I make the call.

He walked to the door. He held it open.

I will be waiting, he said. I have always been waiting.

Aria walked out of the house. Her legs were shaking. Her hands were shaking. Everything was shaking.

She got into her car. She sat in the driver’s seat, her forehead pressed against the steering wheel, and tried to breathe.

Ethan had killed Elena. He had admitted it. He had smiled while he said it.

And now he was going to frame Liam for the murder.

She had two choices. Go back to Ethan and let Liam live. Or walk away and watch Liam go to prison for a crime he did not commit.

There was a third choice. She could go to the police. She could tell them what Ethan had said.

But she had no proof. It was her word against his. And Ethan had been planning this for three years. He had evidence. Witnesses. A confession.

She started the car. She drove.

She did not know where she was going. Her hands moved on the wheel, turning left, turning right, taking her through streets she did not recognize.

She ended up outside Liam’s penthouse.

The lights were on. He was awake.

She sat in the car for a long time, staring up at the windows, trying to decide what to do.

She could tell him the truth. She could warn him. But if she told him, he would go after Ethan. He would kill him. And then he would go to prison for real.

She could not let that happen.

She took out her phone. She typed a text to Liam.

I need to see you. It is urgent.

His response came fast. Come up.

She got out of the car. She walked to the elevator. She rode up.

The doors opened. Liam was standing in the doorway, his face worried, his hair disheveled. He had been pacing.

What is wrong? he asked.

She walked past him into the penthouse. She stopped in the center of the room. She turned to face him.

Ethan killed Elena, she said.

Liam went very still. His face drained of color.

What did you say?

Ethan killed her. He admitted it. He put something in her IV. He made it look like the cancer.

Liam stared at her. His hands were shaking.

How do you know this? he asked.

Because he told me. Tonight. At the house.

Liam’s face twisted. His hands clenched into fists. He was going to the door.

Aria grabbed his arm. You cannot, she said. If you go after him, he wins. He has been planning this for three years. He has evidence. Witnesses. He will frame you for her murder.

Liam stopped. He turned to look at her. His eyes were wild.

What do you expect me to do? he asked. Just let him get away with it?

I expect you to trust me, she said. I expect you to let me handle this.

How?

She reached into her pocket. She pulled out her phone. She held it up.

I recorded everything, she said. Every word he said. Every confession. It is all here.

Liam stared at the phone. His eyes widened.

You recorded him?

I knew he would not let me leave without saying something incriminating. I turned on the recorder before I walked into the house.

She played the recording. Ethan’s voice filled the room.

I did not kill her. I just accelerated things. A little something in her IV. Something the doctors would never notice...

Liam listened. His face went through a series of emotions. Shock. Rage. Grief.

When the recording ended, he was crying.

She killed her, he whispered. He killed her.

Aria took his face in her hands. She made him look at her.

We are going to take this to the police, she said. We are going to give them the flash drive. We are going to tell them everything. And then we are going to watch him fall.

Liam stared at her. His eyes were red.

What if it is not enough? he asked. What if they do not believe us?

Then we make them believe us.

She kissed him. Soft. Slow. A promise.

We do this together, she said.

He pulled her against him. His arms wrapped around her. He held her so tight she could not breathe.

Together, he said.

Her phone buzzed. She looked at the screen.

A text from Ethan.

Midnight. Do not be late. Or he dies.

She typed back: I am not coming. And you are not going to hurt him. I have a recording of everything you said. The police will have it by morning.

A long pause. Then: You are making a mistake, Aria. A very big mistake.

No, she typed. I am finally doing something right.

She turned off her phone. She looked at Liam.

We need to go, she said. Now.

Where?

To the police station. Before he destroys the evidence.

Liam grabbed his coat. They walked to the door.

Aria paused. She looked back at the penthouse. At the place where she had first felt alive in five years.

She would come back. They both would.

But first, they had a monster to destroy.