Chapter 196: Chapter 197: Who did he meet?
"That’s what we’re trying to determine. But boss...." Marcus’s expression darkened. "....Harold withdrew fifty thousand in cash from his bank yesterday morning. Large enough to be noteworthy, small enough to avoid triggering major money laundering alerts. That briefcase almost certainly contained the cash."
"So he paid someone fifty thousand dollars for something." Damien stood and walked to his windows, looking out over the city. "Given Harold’s current situation....facing federal prosecution, completely isolated, his empire destroyed....what would he be buying?"
"Information," Marcus said immediately. "Or services. Maybe both."
"Information about what? He’s already been exposed. His crimes are public knowledge. What else could he possibly need information about?"
Marcus hesitated. "Boss, I think he’s targeting Miss Chen."
Damien turned sharply. "Explain."
"Think about it. Harold knows or at least strongly suspects that Aria was responsible for hacking his company. He reached out to your grandfather for help and was refused. He’s facing prison time with no way out. But he still has resources....money, connections, the ability to hire people who operate outside legal boundaries."
"You think he hired someone to investigate Aria."
"Or worse. To find leverage against her. To dig up anything from her past that could be used to damage her reputation or her relationship with you." Marcus pulled up another file. "The warehouse where they met is owned through a series of shell companies that I’m still tracing, but the location itself is significant. Red Hook is where you go when you want privacy. When you want to meet someone without surveillance, without records, without witnesses."
Damien felt cold rage beginning to build in his chest. "Who did he meet? Did your team get any identification?"
"Negative. The individual arrived before Harold, was already inside the warehouse. Left after Harold departed through a different exit. We have partial footage...." Marcus turned his tablet to show a grainy image of a tall figure in dark clothing. "....but nothing clear enough for facial recognition. Height approximately six-one to six-three. Male. Athletic build. Moved with the kind of awareness that suggests either military or law enforcement background."
"So a professional."
"Definitely a professional. This wasn’t some random investigator Harold found in the yellow pages. This was someone with serious skills and serious resources."
Damien studied the blurry image, his jaw tight. "And we have no idea what information this person provided?"
"Not yet. But boss, I recommend we increase security around Miss Chen immediately. If Harold has hired someone to target her....whether through investigation or more direct action....we need to make sure she’s protected."
"She already has Seb following her everywhere."
"Seb is good, but he’s one person. I’m recommending we expand her security detail. Add at least two more shadow guards, maybe three. Cover all approaches to the hospital, her mother’s apartment, anywhere she regularly goes."
Damien considered this. Aria would hate it if she knew. Would hate feeling like she was being watched constantly, would resist the restrictions on her freedom.
But her safety was more important than her comfort.
"Do it," Damien said. "But keep them invisible. I don’t want Aria to know she has additional security unless absolutely necessary."
"Understood. I’ll have the team in place by this afternoon." Marcus hesitated. "There’s something else."
"What?"
"Harold’s legal team has been unusually quiet the last two days. No new filings, no press conferences, no public statements. For a man fighting federal charges, that’s strange. Usually defense attorneys are working the media angle hard, trying to shape public opinion."
"You think the quiet means he’s planning something."
"I think it means he’s accepted that he’s going to prison. And when a man accepts that outcome, when he has nothing left to lose....." Marcus met Damien’s eyes directly. "....that’s when he becomes most dangerous. Because consequences don’t matter anymore. Prison doesn’t matter anymore. All that matters is revenge."
Damien turned back to the windows, his hands clenching into fists. Harold Ashford was desperate, isolated, and apparently willing to spend significant money on some kind of operation targeting Aria.
"I want to know everything about that meeting," Damien said quietly, his voice deadly calm. "I want to know who Harold met, what they discussed, what information changed hands. Use whatever resources necessary. Tap whatever sources you have. I don’t care about the cost."
"Already on it, boss. I have people working on tracing the warehouse ownership, analyzing the surveillance footage, checking Harold’s phone and email records...."
"His phone records?" Damien interrupted. "You have access to his phone?"
Marcus smiled slightly. "Boss, after what he tried to do to Miss Chen, I took the liberty of implementing comprehensive surveillance on Harold Ashford. Phone, email, bank accounts, physical movements....we’re monitoring everything. Not legal for court purposes, obviously, but extremely useful for intelligence gathering."
"Good. That’s exactly what I want. If Harold so much as sends a text message about Aria, I want to know about it immediately."
"Understood. Though boss...." Marcus’s expression turned more serious. ".....there’s a limit to what surveillance can tell us. If Harold is smart, he’ll use encrypted communications, burner phones, face-to-face meetings that we can’t monitor. He knows his communications are probably compromised."
"Then we work with what we can get. And we prepare for the worst." Damien’s voice was cold, controlled, but underneath was a river of protective fury. "How long until you can identify the person Harold met?"
"Hard to say. Could be hours, could be days. I’m running the partial footage through every database I have access to....law enforcement, private security firms, military records. If this person has ever been photographed in any official capacity, we’ll find them eventually."
"Make it sooner rather than later."
"I’m doing my best, boss. But you need to prepare for the possibility that we won’t identify them in time to prevent whatever Harold is planning."
Damien nodded slowly. "Then we focus on protection. Aria doesn’t leave the hospital without security. Doesn’t go anywhere without us knowing about it. And we monitor Harold’s every move until we understand what he’s planning."
"What about telling Miss Chen? She deserves to know that Harold might be targeting her."
Damien considered this. Aria would want to know. Would be angry if she found out he’d kept this information from her. But telling her would also worry her, would make her feel hunted and unsafe.
"Not yet," he decided. "Not until we have more concrete information about the threat. Right now, all we know is that Harold met someone and paid them money. That’s not enough to justify alarming her."
Marcus looked skeptical but nodded. "Your call, boss. But if the threat becomes more specific, more immediate...."
"Then I’ll tell her immediately. And I’ll make sure she’s protected at all costs." Damien’s voice was steel. "Harold Ashford is a desperate man, Marcus. Desperate men do stupid things. And if he’s stupid enough to actually try to hurt Aria.....physically, emotionally, reputationally....he’ll discover exactly what happens when someone threatens what’s mine."
"I’ll keep you updated on everything we learn.
After Marcus left, Damien returned to his desk but couldn’t focus on the contracts. His mind was on Aria....at the hospital right now, seeing patients, completely unaware that a threat was circling.
He pulled out his phone and called her.
She answered on the second ring, her voice warm and slightly breathless. "Hey, baby. Is everything okay?"
"Everything’s fine. I just wanted to hear your voice." He kept his tone light, casual, giving no hint of the dark thoughts churning in his mind.
"That’s sweet. I’m between patients right now, just finishing up some notes. How’s your day going?"
"Productive. Boring meetings and contract reviews. The usual." He paused. "What time do you finish today?"
"Around six. I have one more consultation this afternoon, then some paperwork to complete. Why?"
"I was thinking I’d pick you up. We could have dinner together."
"You don’t have to pick me up. I can drive...."
"I want to." His voice was firm.’’
There was a pause, and he knew she’d heard the underlying intensity in his request. "Okay. Six o’clock at the main entrance?"
"Six o’clock. I’ll be there."
"Damien? Are you sure everything’s okay? You sound... tense."
He forced himself to relax, to sound normal. "I’m fine. Just missing you. Is that a crime?"
Her laugh was soft and warm. "Not a crime. Just unusual for the middle of a workday. But I like it."
"Good. I’ll see you at six. And Aria?"
"Yes?"
"I love you."
Another pause, then her voice came back quieter, more intimate. "I love you too. See you tonight."
Damien ended the call and sat back in his chair, staring at nothing.
Harold Ashford was planning something. Something that involved a mysterious professional and fifty thousand dollars in cash. Something that almost certainly targeted Aria.
And Damien was going to stop it. Whatever it took. Whatever resources were necessary. Whatever lines needed to be crossed.
Because Harold had made one critical mistake: he’d underestimated just how far Damien Blackwood would go to protect the woman he loved.
And that mistake was going to cost him everything.
