After Rebirth, I Became My Ex's Aunt-in-Law-Chapter 23: A Shark in High Heels

Lord Sterling stared at the young woman standing behind Damien’s chair. He blinked, his brain trying to reconcile the image of the "scandalous actress" from the tabloids with the shark in high heels who had just threatened to buy him out.

Then, he laughed.

It was a wet, condescending sound that broke the tension in the room. "Buy me out? You?" Sterling looked around the table, seeking validation from the other board members. "Did you hear that? The little girl thinks her piggy bank is big enough to sit at the grown-ups’ table."

He turned his sneer back to Aria, who was still standing calmly behind her husband. "Miss Vale, your 20% of Vale Entertainment is cute. But Sinclair Corp deals in billions. Your entire net worth wouldn’t pay for the jet fuel on the company plane for a week."

Aria didn’t flush. She didn’t stammer. She simply removed her hand from Damien’s shoulder and walked calmly back to the foot of the table where she had left her purse.

She reached into the bag and pulled out a slim, black folder.

With a flick of her wrist, she slid it down the long mahogany table. It spun perfectly across the polished wood, coming to a stop right in front of Sterling’s expensive tie.

"Open it," she commanded from the end of the room.

Sterling hesitated, then flipped the folder open. As he read the first page, his face went from red to a sickly shade of grey.

"This is..." he choked.

"Financial records," Aria supplied helpfully, beginning to walk slowly back up the side of the table toward Damien. "Specifically, regarding the ’Azure Coast’ development project in the South Pacific. The one your bank invested three billion dollars in last month."

Her heels clicked a rhythmic beat of doom on the floor.

"It’s a ghost project, Lord Sterling. The land is sinking due to erosion. The environmental permits were forged. And as of 8:00 AM this morning, the international regulatory commission launched an investigation into fraud."

Aria stopped behind Damien’s chair again, resting her hand back on his shoulder as if she had never left.

"When that news hits the market at noon, Sterling Bank stock will plummet by at least 15%. Your assets will be frozen. You won’t have the liquidity to buy a sandwich, let alone challenge my husband for control of this company."

The boardroom was deathly silent. The other directors were frantically checking their phones, verifying the news.

"She’s right," one of the directors whispered, looking pale. "The investigation just hit the wire."

Sterling slammed the folder shut. His hands were shaking. "How... how did you know this? This is insider information!"

"It’s called doing your homework," Aria lied smoothly.

In reality, she knew because in her past life, the ’Azure Coast’ scandal had destroyed the Sterling family two years from now. She had simply tipped off the regulators a little early using an anonymous encrypted email the night before.

"So," Aria said, her voice turning pleasant. "I ask you again, Lord Sterling. Do you want to continue questioning my husband’s mental stability? Or would you prefer we discuss your resignation before the SEC knocks on your door?"

Sterling looked at Damien.

Damien was leaning back in his chair, looking utterly relaxed. He hadn’t said a word during the entire exchange. He was just watching Aria with a look of dark, intense pride. It was the look of a man who had brought a panther to a dog fight and was enjoying the carnage.

"I think," Damien said, his voice low and vibrating with power, "that Lord Sterling has a sudden need to check on his assets. Isn’t that right, Elena’s father?"

The mention of his daughter was a subtle, final twist of the knife.

Sterling stood up. He grabbed his briefcase, his movements jerky and panicked. He didn’t look at Aria. He didn’t look at the board. He practically ran out of the room.

The heavy doors slammed shut behind him.

Aria turned to the remaining eleven board members. She smiled. It was the same smile she had used on the film set—the smile of a predator who had just eaten.

"Now," she said sweetly. "Does anyone else have concerns about the Matriarch’s qualifications?"

Heads shook rapidly around the table.

"Excellent," Aria said. She tapped Damien’s shoulder. "I believe you have a company to run, darling. I’ll be in your office. Don’t be long."

She turned and walked out, her exit as dramatic as her entrance.

As the doors closed, Damien finally looked at his stunned board members.

"Well?" he asked, arching a silver eyebrow. "You heard the lady. Get back to work."

Ten minutes later, Damien entered his private office.

It was a cavernous space of glass and steel, overlooking the entire capital. Aria was standing by the window, looking down at the city. She looked small against the vast skyline, but her reflection in the glass looked ten feet tall.

Damien walked over to her. He didn’t stop until he was standing right behind her, his chest brushing her back.

"You were terrifying," he murmured, his hands coming up to rest on her waist.

Aria leaned back into him instinctively. The adrenaline was fading, leaving her knees a little weak. "I was bluffing about buying him out. I don’t have that much cash."

"But you weren’t bluffing about the fraud," Damien noted. "You destroyed a banking empire in three minutes to protect my chair."

"He annoyed me," Aria shrugged. "And he insulted you. Only I get to do that."

Damien chuckled—a low rumble that she felt in her spine. He turned her around so she was facing him.

"You defended me," he said, searching her face. "Why? Clause 9 only requires you to be present. It doesn’t require you to commit corporate assassination."

"We’re partners, Damien," Aria said softly, reaching up to straighten his tie. "If you fall, I fall. And I don’t plan on falling ever again."

Damien looked at her. Really looked at her. For years, people had only wanted two things from him: his money or his power. But Aria... she had her own claws.

"Clause 3," Damien whispered, his voice rough.

Aria paused. "What about it?"

"I think we need an amendment," he said.

He leaned down, capturing her lips. It wasn’t a desperate kiss like the one in the safe house. It was a kiss of acknowledgment. Of respect. And of a possessiveness that was rapidly becoming an obsession.

Aria kissed him back, her hands resting on his chest, feeling the steady, strong beat of his heart.

Beep!

They broke apart, breathing heavily.

"If that’s Ken," Damien growled, resting his forehead against hers, "I’m going to fire him."

"Mr. Sinclair," a female voice chirped from the intercom. "Sir, there is a Miss Zoe Chen in the lobby. She claims to be Miss Vale’s best friend. She... refused to leave until she saw Miss Vale with her own eyes. She threatened to livestream a protest in the foyer if we didn’t let her up."

Aria’s eyes widened, and then a genuine, warm smile broke through her composed mask. "Zoe."

She pulled away from Damien. "Let her up. Please. She’s harmless. Mostly."

Damien hit the button. "Send her up."

Two minutes later, the elevator doors slid open.

Zoe Chen stormed into the office like a whirlwind in combat boots and cargo pants. Her short black hair was spiked with purple gel, and her camera bag looked heavy enough to bludgeon someone.

She stopped dead when she saw Aria standing by the window.

"Aria!" Zoe shouted, dropping her bag and running across the expensive carpet. She grabbed Aria by the shoulders, shaking her slightly. "You’re alive! You’re actually alive!"

"I’m okay, Zoe," Aria laughed, hugging her friend back.

Zoe pulled back, looking her up and down with critical eyes. "I’ve been texting you for a week! You vanished! Bella was going around telling everyone you were in a mental break or kidnapped by a gang! And then I turn on the TV and you’re wearing Valentino and slapping people with bodyguards?"

Zoe took a breath, her eyes wide. "Also, you’re trending. Like, everywhere. Who are you? Because the Aria I know apologizes to furniture when she bumps into it."

Aria smiled, a touch of sadness in her eyes. "I stopped apologizing, Zoe. It wasn’t getting me anywhere."

Zoe stared at her for a moment, seeing the steel in Aria’s posture that hadn’t been there a week ago. Then, she grinned. "Well, I like the new upgrade. Vicious suits you."

She finally noticed the towering man standing behind Aria. Zoe froze. Her eyes went wide as she took in the silver hair and the golden eyes.

"Holy shit," Zoe breathed. "He’s real. I thought the 8K video was CGI."

"Zoe, this is Damien Sinclair," Aria introduced them. "Damien, this is Zoe. She’s the only person in this city I trust."

Damien nodded once, his expression guarded but respectful. "Miss Chen. I hear you threatened my security team."

"They were in my way," Zoe shrugged, though she looked a little terrified of him. She turned back to Aria, her expression serious. "Look, I came because I was worried. I saw the press conference, but... I needed to see you. To make sure you weren’t actually being held hostage in a penthouse."

"I’m not a hostage," Aria promised. "I’m a partner."

Zoe looked between them. She saw the way Damien stood close to Aria, protective but not controlling. She saw the way Aria leaned into his space without fear.

"Okay," Zoe said, picking up her camera bag. "Partner. I can work with that."

She pulled out her phone.

"So," Zoe said, tapping the screen. "Now that I know you’re not tied up in a basement... can we talk about how we’re going to bury your sister? Because I have a lot of dirt, and I’ve been dying to use it."

Aria looked at Damien, then back at her friend. The team was assembling.

"Let’s talk," Aria said. "I have a few ideas myself."