Aiden looked at her sleeping form and then at the audio files on his screen. He’d already heard them and now knew why Serena had been so shocked. It had taken him ages to get her to settle down and just fall asleep. And now he could guess why that was.
Serena had spent so much of her ti fighting the unseen enemy—fighting for her grandmother, fighting for her father—both of whom she had believed were the pillars that held her up. They were the two people she credited with shaping her into the person she had beco. And now, to learn that Edwina Dawn, the woman Serena had trusted most, the one she had considered a hero figure, could possibly be responsible for the death of her own daughter-in-law? The betrayal was staggering.
Aiden rubbed a hand over his face, a deep sigh escaping him. He couldn’t believe it, couldn’t process how such a revelation had gone unnoticed for so long. All of this ti, Serena had been walking around, fighting against an invisible enemy, unaware of the truth. The audio files were damning, sure, but sothing still didn’t sit right. It felt too... convenient, too clean. The voices, the timing—it was all too perfect, almost like a well-crafted story. His instincts told him there was more to the picture than just these recordings.
He needed to dig deeper. First, he would have his team run a thorough check on the tapes. They needed to confirm the authenticity of the voices, make sure the conversations hadn’t been manipulated or pieced together. It wasn’t just about finding out if the voices were truly Edwina and Edward, he needed to confirm whether this was a calculated attempt to fra Edwina. If the tapes were genuine, then it ant that Edwina Dawn was... he shook his head. Serena was in shock but he needed to keep a clear head.
The woman who had dared to hand over the USB drive, knowing full well that they would have it checked for authenticity.Which ant she was sure they would check out.After all, Nvidia Corrick was no fool. She’d know the stakes. If the tapes were truly as incriminating as they seed, then it ant there was more at play here. Aiden couldn’t shake the feeling that Nvidia wasn’t just a ssenger in all this, happy to share that Edwina was a bad person.Nvidia had definitely had a role to play in this entire fiasco, and he needed to figure out what it was.
Serena stirred in her sleep and then shot up, looking around in consternation as she woke up from the nightmare. She stared wide eyed at Aiden, trying to tell herself that it was all a nightmare. But she could not shake off the image. Her grandmother standing there, in front of her, with a large knife in her hand, ready to strike at her and kill her.
Aiden left the laptop and hurriedly walked to her, holding her," Serena, honey, everything’s going to be okay."
Serena looked at Aiden and shook her head, asking softly, "Did you hear? My grandmother killed..."
Aidne shook his head as Serena trailed off, rubbing her arms as he tried to stop her from going into a full blown panic attack.
He gently cupped her face, his thumb brushing over her cheek, trying to calm her racing breath. "Serena, it’s not true. You don’t know that for sure. I know this is hard, but we’re going to figure it out, together."
Her eyes were wide, glistening with unshed tears, and her breath was shallow as she pulled away slightly. "But Aiden—what if it is true? What if everything I thought was real, everything I trusted, was a lie?" Her voice cracked, and she wiped her face, as though trying to brush the nightmare away. "I never imagined... she could do sothing like that. My grandmother..." She trailed off, her words turning into a whisper of disbelief as she looked at Aiden in confusion.
"Serena, you need to calm down first, honey. Decide, who you trust more, your grandmother or Nvidia Corrick, who you know is out to destroy you?"
That single question seed to centre her and she looked into his eyes, letting herself fell the calm he was emanating. Yes. She’d known that Nvidia would defintitely try to stir so trouble. She’d just not expected this. But she could not let her sow the seed of doubt in her at this point. Not without a thorough investigation.
Suddenly, Serena felt as if a shroud had been lifted off her. She looked at Aiden and cupped his face, kissing him squarely on the lips,"I don’t know what I would have done without you."
Aiden smiled and returned her gesture similarly," Thankfully, you won’t have to find out."
Serena grinned at that and then looked around eagerly, "Where is this place? Where did you bring ?"
"You don’t rember this place?"
Serena widened her eyes as she looked around before her eyes widened," This is the house that you first sent to, isn’t it?"
Hmm. This is my bachelor pad, you know, where I used to bring all the girls..."
Serena rolled her eyes, catching on to his attempt to shift her focus. She let herself be distracted anyway, the corner of her mouth twitching. "Bring all the girls here? What, for sacrificial rituals? Black magic?"
"Nah," he said with a lazy grin, leaning back. "More like Hawk Magic."
Serena raised an eyebrow, intrigued but amused. "Hawk magic? What’s that?"
He leaned over her, his hands bracing on the bed as he hovered just above her. His lips brushed the side of her ear as he rubbed his nose against hers. "Hawk magic is when you forget everything else in the world except for ."
Serena’s grin spread, her eyes sparkling. "Really? How does this magic work?"
Aiden’s eyes glinted with mischief, his voice lowering. "Simple. You just have to be in my presence and let have my own way with you."
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