Franz visited Arianne a few days after the funeral.
Arianne was seated by the window, a cup of untouched coffee in her hands, her eyes fixed on the cityscape outside her hotel room. Since her return, she has already received a few phone calls and emails asking for a eting, but Franz is the only one she has entertained so far.
The news of her return was now publicly known, and since Alex and Layla’s funeral, she didn’t dare step out of her hotel room. She considered accepting Gilbert’s offer of the villa, which would give her enough freedom to move around.
"I won’t ask you to take responsibility for the Rochefort Group, Aria," Franz said after a long silence between them.
She looked at him.
"Not for the company," he continued, "And not for anything you don’t want."
Arianne studied him for a mont. She understood Franz’s circumstances and the troubles he faced as the CEO of Rochefort Group following his brother’s passing. The job itself was too much for an inexperienced actor like him.
He couldn’t think of anyone who was qualified to help him at the mont but Arianne.
Franz t her gaze without flinching. He had learned long ago that sweet words and persuasion did not work on her.
"Then what are you asking?" she asked.
"I want to hear your perspective, Aria," Franz replied, "Only that. To sit in, review what cos across my desk, and tell if sothing is wrong."
"How long?" Arianne pressed him.
Surely, she would hear an earful from Gio after this. She only said that she would stay in Montclair for a month. Extending her stay was out of the question.
"Temporarily," he replied, "until we find a sustainable solution in the long run. I know I’m not qualified to run the company."
Arianne said nothing. Franz wasn’t looking down at himself; he was rely stating a fact. He ca here, asking if she could work as a consultant for him, not for the Rochefort Group.
She set her cup aside.
"I’m not interested in reclaiming a position, Franz," she said calmly, her tone purely professional. "Aren’t you afraid that my reputation might harm you?"
"What’s the point of being a Rochefort if I cannot protect you, Aria?" Franz countered.
Silence settled between them once again.
"Alright." Arianne exhaled, "I’ll look, but won’t decide. I won’t represent the company publicly, nor will I stay if this turns into sothing else.
Franz inclined his head, a smile curling his lips. "That’s all I’m asking, Aria."
—
Gilbert noticed the delay and sudden change.
It wasn’t dramatic. There was no rejection, no warning, or outright resistance—just a sudden delay where there shouldn’t have been. A regulatory check arrived a week later than usual. An investor eting was suddenly postponed.
On its own, it ant nothing. Together, it was unusual.
Coincidence was not sothing he believed in.
Gilbert leaned back in his chair, fingers lightly tapping as he stared at the email flashing on his screen. As the CEO of Pemberton Corporation, he was accustod to changes, sudden demands, and scrutiny. It wouldn’t have been the first ti he faced it.
"Did we miss sothing?" Martin, his assistant, asked carefully.
"No," Gilbert replied. "We didn’t."
Gilbert suspected soone, but the information wasn’t sufficient to prove his assumption.
That evening, he returned ho and found Samantha sulking on the couch, munching on chips that she shouldn’t even be eating, given her profession as a runway model.
"What’s wrong?" Gilbert asked, removing his coat from his shoulders before joining her on the massive couch. "I thought you wouldn’t be ho today."
"The photoshoot was postponed," Samantha grumbled.
A brand she had worked for years suddenly requested a "schedule adjustnt. One told her they would revisit the contract terms that had already been finalized. Another one chose not to renew her contract and signed a newbie model instead.
There were no accusations, no explanations.
Samantha couldn’t understand.
Gilbert looked at the television, not bothering or understanding what was being played. His mind was already reeling, trying to make sense of the possible reasons for their sudden problems.
One na kept repeating in his mind.
"Sothing is going on." He said after a long silence.
Samantha stopped eating and looked at her brother in confusion.
"What do you an?"
Gilbert then explained the unusual number of delays and problems arising from the partners, investors, and suppliers of their company.
Samantha frowned. She might not be as smart as Arianne, but she understood why Gilbert ca to that conclusion.
"This started after Arianne ca back," she said quietly.
Gilbert nodded. "It only worsened when she started working as a consultant for Franz."
They didn’t bla Arianne for the troubles coming their way. Instead, the Pemberton siblings were annoyed that soone was deliberately trying to hurt Arianne through them.
"We should tell her," Gilbert suggested.
Samantha agreed.
They didn’t waste ti; they visited Arianne the next day. Unsurprisingly, they found Franz already in her hotel room.
Arianne was surprised by their sudden visit, but accepted them anyway.
"What brings you here?" She asked.
When they told Arianne of their situation, the Pemberton siblings chose their words carefully.
"We aren’t asking you to fix anything, Aria," Gilbert said. "We aren’t blaming you, too. We just thought you should know."
Arianne listened without interruption.
It wasn’t the first ti sothing like this had happened. Five years ago, it had started the sa way. Polite distance from business partners, professional hesitations, and invitations that failed to arrive. How can she not know?
Like her, Dominic Blackwood preferred thods that required no confrontation.
"I see," she finally said after a mont.
Arianne didn’t want to bla herself, but wherever she looked, all things pointed at her as the reason.
Across the city, Dominic reviewed the reports he received with mild interest.
Arianne Sumrs had returned, but didn’t reclaim any power. Instead, she had done sothing far more dangerous.
She had stepped close enough to influence it.
Franz trusted her wholeheartedly. The Pembertons stood beside her. Alexander’s shadow lingered where it always had.
Dominic smiled faintly.
He didn’t need to touch her. No, there was no need for that.
He only needed to remind everyone what it cost to stand near her.
And for the first ti since her return, Arianne understood sothing.
She had beco a liability again—whether she liked it or not —long before she found her footing and the power to protect anyone.
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