Jare's POV:
The glass-and-steel monolith of Mariano Enterprises always felt less like a corporate headquarters and more like a high-tech fortress. Walking into the primary executive boardroom on the top floor, the rhythmic click of my boots felt heavy, echoing the tense knot tightening in my chest. I adjusted the collar of my suit, smoothing down the front to ensure my posture betrayed absolutely none of the sleepless nights Jay and I had endured.
I took my seat at the head of the table, deliberately leaving the chair to my right conspicuously empty.
Directly across from me sat Aunt Katrina. Clad in a tailored, pristine cream suit with every silver hair perfectly in place, she looked every bit the elegant matriarch. But to me, she was a viper waiting in plain sight. Flanking her were the primary board members, their expressions sharp, calculating, and impatient.
"Mr. Mariano," the lead compliance officer began, opening a thick leather folder. He glanced at the empty seat beside me, then up at me, his eyes narrowing slightly. "We were under the impression that your sister, Jay, would be spearheading this logistics review today. The structural changes to the offshore accounts require both signatures."
"My sister couldn't attend today," I said, my voice smooth, cold, and utterly professional. I didn't bat an eye. I couldn't let them see a single crack. "She is currently managing a critical server migration on our private network. You will have to settle for me. I hold full power of attorney for her shares, so we can proceed without delay."
Katrina leaned forward, resting her manicured hands on the polished mahogany table. A faint, knowing smile played on her lips. "A server migration? How convenient. Jay always did prefer hiding behind a screen when the real work needed to be done."
I ignored the bait, keeping my gaze locked on the compliance officer. "Let's look at the quarterly routing files. We've noticed a series of overlapping data packets in the logistics spreadsheets—specifically around the Mediterranean shipping lanes. We need an explanation for the data anomalies."
"The anomalies are a result of our updated security protocols," I replied smoothly, sliding a flash drive across the polished wood. "Jay implemented a new encryption layer to mask our high-value transport manifests. If you look at row forty-two of the ledger on your screens, you'll see the corresponding hash keys. It's a closed-loop system. The data looks fragmented to outside sweeps, but it's completely intact on our end."
For the next two hours, the meeting was a grueling battle of wits. I countered every financial inquiry, buried their suspicion in technical jargon, and firmly defended the logistics structure Jay and I had built, all while Katrina watched me like a hawk, absorbing every word. By the time the legal counsel finally closed his laptop and nodded in approval, the back of my shirt was damp with tension.
the compliance officer conceded, rising from his chair. "We will draft the final approvals based on these hash keys."
"Thank you, gentlemen," I said, standing up and buttoning my jacket.
The board members filed out of the room one by one, their voices fading down the corridor, until only two people remained in the heavy silence of the boardroom.
Me and Katrina.
I gathered my files, ready to make a swift exit, when Katrina stood up. Her heels clicked softly against the hardwood border of the room as she moved around the massive table, stepping directly into my path and cutting me off from the exit.
"Jare, darling," she murmured, her voice dripping with a practiced, maternal warmth that made my skin crawl. She stopped just a few feet away, her sharp, dark eyes scanning my face with terrifying precision. "You look absolutely exhausted, sweetheart. Tell me, how are you? Truly? I worry about you so much, carrying the weight of this entire company on your shoulders."
"I'm fine," I replied shortly, my hands gripping the edge of my briefcase a fraction tighter. "Just busy."
"Of course you are," Katrina sighed, a look of profound, engineered pity crossing her features. "You're always the one doing the heavy lifting, aren't you? It breaks my heart to watch it, Jare. You out here in the trenches, defending the family name, while Jay..." She trailed off, shaking her head with a look of deep disappointment.
I remained completely still, my pulse beginning to thud aggressively in my ears. "What about Jay?"
"She's playing house, Jare," Katrina said, her voice dropping into a conspiratorial, venomous whisper. She looked at me, her eyes boring into mine, weaponizing our shared history. "She's wrapped up in her little romance with Keifer, completely detached from the reality of the danger we are all in. She's selfish. She always has been. While you are destroying yourself to keep the monster at bay, she is relying on a man who cannot possibly protect her, leaving you entirely exposed to the fallout."
My fists curled tightly inside my pockets. My knuckles turned white against the fabric, the tension radiating up my arms. A dark, hollow numbness began to spread outward from my chest, freezing my veins. The sheer weight of the secrets, the terror of our stepfather, and the exhausting burden of playing the protector finally fractured something deep inside me. Her words molded around my deepest, most unspoken insecurities like clay.
"She is leaving you behind, darling," Katrina continued, pressing her advantage as she saw the stiffness in my posture. "She expects you to be her shield, just like you were when you were children. But she won't be there to shield you when everything burns. She'll be safe in Keifer's arms, and you will be left to face him all alone. Don't you see it? She's using you, Jare."
The manipulation poured over me, heavy and suffocating. The exhaustion of fighting a ghost, the fear for our lives, and the bitter reality that Jay was indeed wrapped up in Keifer's safety while I stood on the front lines crashed down on me. The numbness took over completely, drowning out my twin instinct, leaving only a bitter, icy resentment in its wake.
I looked at Katrina, my features smoothing out into a cold, unreadable mask. I forced my hands to relax, letting the anger settle into a dark, calculated stillness.
"You're right," I whispered, the words sounding hollow, cutting through the silence of the room like a blade.
Katrina's eyes gleamed with a predatory, victorious satisfaction. She tilted her head, watching me closely. "I know it's hard to admit, sweetheart. But deep down, what do you really feel when you look at her?"
I stared directly into my aunt's eyes, letting the toxic numbness rewrite my loyalty in that exact second.
"You're right about everything, Aunt Katrina," I said, my voice deadpan, cold, and completely flat. "I hate her. I hate her for leaving me to fight this alone."