Zosia: Quick Transmigration System
Chapter 137 - 135- ARC 4 {BEHIND THE SCENE}

Damian's grip on the steering wheel tightened as he navigated the winding road back home.

His mind raced, replaying the confrontation he had just witnessed in the garage.

The tension in the car was so thick. The silence between him and Aisha felt like an invisible wall.

Aisha sat stiffly in the passenger seat, her gaze fixed out the window. Her usual air of superiority seemed subdued, as if the exchange with Auriel had rattled her more than she wanted to admit.

For Damian, the silence was suffocating. He couldn't ignore what he'd overheard—or the venom in Aisha's tone.

He had never heard Aisha use such tone before and today was the first for him.

He glanced at her briefly, catching the slight tremor in her hands as she clenched and unclenched them in her lap.

The realization that Aisha might be hiding more than just petty grudges gnawed at him.

The drive felt both endless and too short. As the car rolled into the garage, Aisha didn't wait for Damian to open her door as she usually did. Instead, she bolted the moment the car stopped, her heels clicking hurriedly against the concrete as she disappeared into the house.

Damian stayed behind, gripping the steering wheel with enough force that his knuckles turned white.

The image of Aisha and Auriel confrontation replayed in his mind.

He suddenly remembered what Auriel had said to him:

"You know? It's surprising how despite being the eldest, you have the brain of a fly."

It was the same words his father had said to him when he had pressed him about why he was letting Auriel off the hook.

Now, thinking about it, maybe his father had known something.

Clenching his fist, he decided to clear his head first and decide on what to do later.

------

Aisha's heart pounded as she entered the house.

She did not look back, only heading to her room.

Upon entering her room, she slammed the door behind her and leaned against it, trying to steady her breath. Her mind raced, replaying Auriel's cryptic warnings.

"What does she know? How does she know?" She muttered under her breath, her chest heaving.

The thought of Auriel discovering her secret made her stomach churn. She couldn't let that woman ruin everything she'd built.

But the doubt Auriel had planted lingered, festering like an open wound. Could the Queens already suspect her? And if they did…

"No," she whispered to herself, pushing away the thought. "She's bluffing. She has to be."

Not still feeling assured, she rushed to her table drawer. Using the key to unlock the last drawer, she brought out a burner phone.

Aisha's fingers hovered over the burner phone, hesitating for a moment.

She couldn't afford mistakes—not now, not ever.

Her uncle was the only one who could calm the storm inside her, the only one she trusted or could trust.

She clicked on the only number in the contact list, her pulse pounding in her ears as each ring echoed through the line.

The first ring. Silence.

The second. Her heart sank, thinking the call might not go through.

On the third, the connection clicked, and a familiar voice, deep and thick, filled her ears.

"Aisha, what is it?" The words were soft but carried an edge of concern.

Hearing his voice immediately eased the tension in her chest. She closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath.

"Uncle, I think Auriel found out." Her voice wavered despite her efforts to sound calm.

There was a pause on the other end, "What do you mean?" he asked, his tone careful and measured.

Aisha swallowed hard. "I met Auriel today… she said things—things that make me think she knows more than she should." Her words tumbled out, her earlier composure crumbling.

"Tell me everything."

She recounted the garage encounter, leaving nothing out—the accusations, the veiled threats, the piercing look Auriel had given her that seemed to strip away every layer of pretense she'd built, she also included her own replies.

When she finished, silence stretched between them, so heavy that it felt like another weight pressing on her chest.

Finally, her uncle spoke. "Calm down and don't do anything rash," he said, his voice steady but firm. "Hope no one else is aware?"

"I don't think so," she replied, though uncertainty crept into her tone.

"Good. Don't give anyone any reason to suspect something is wrong. And as for Auriel…" His voice turned cold, almost dangerous. "Leave her to me. Focus on your task. The Queens' young masters are your priority. Nothing else matters."

Aisha nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "Okay," she murmured.

"Good. And Aisha—hide the phone better this time. If someone finds it, it's over for you. Understand?"

"Yes, Uncle."

The line went dead before she could say more.

Aisha stared at the phone for a moment, her mind swirling.

She switched it off, as instructed, and sat motionless, gripping the device like a lifeline.

She exhaled a deep breath, deciding where to hide the phone.

After hiding the phone, with the assurance given to her, she regained her lost confidence.

----

Damian on the other hand, entered the house after a while and noticed his younger brother watching something in the living room.

He approached to see what his brother was watching and noticed it was an album of pictures containing his brother and Auriel.

"What?! Do you also want to scold me for looking at her pictures?" Chris said coldly.

Seeing the cold look in his younger brother eyes, he couldn't help but wonder since when his relationship with his younger brother had strained to this extent.

Shaking his head, he said nothing and left.

Everything that has happened today just made him feel weak.

Entering his room, he immediately entered the bathroom. He needed a cold shower to calm his mind and think things through.

====

Night Time at the Queens....

After a thorough thinking and still unable to come up with something, Damian decided not to talk to Aisha but meet his father.

Despite what his father had said before, he was still his father son, so he belived his father would help him clear the confusion he had.

Leaving his room, he headed to his father's study, when he suddenly noticed his brother Chris was still watching the album.

Clenching and unclenching his fist, he didn't even know what or how to feel.

Taking a deep breath, he continued with his steps to his father's study.

Damian knocked firmly on the study door, pausing as his father's deep voice granted him permission to enter.

He pushed the door open, stepping into the spacious room. His eyes swept over the study, noting the dark mahogany shelves lined with books, an antique globe in one corner, and the faint scent of leather and aged paper hanging in the air. The heavy desk dominated the room, papers and files neatly arranged in disciplined stacks.

His father, Ashton, sat behind it, the glow of a desk lamp casting sharp shadows across his features.

Damian moved to the chair opposite and sank into it.

Ashton glanced up from the document he'd been reviewing, his eyes sharp beneath his furrowed brows.

"What is it?" Ashton asked, his tone clipped.

Damian hesitated, gathering his thoughts. "Father, do you think Aisha's sudden appearance in the family is… strange?"

Ashton's eyes narrowed slightly. He set the document down and leaned back, studying his son. He couldn't help but wonder where the question was coming from.

"You finally grew a brain," Ashton remarked dryly.

Heat climbed up Damian's neck at the jab, and his face flushed red. "I'm serious."

"As am I," Ashton replied. "Of course I thought about it. Receiving an anonymous text with a DNA report tying Auriel, Aisha, you, and me together? Anyone would find that suspicious. Naturally, I tried to trace its source, but I came up empty-handed. Then Auriel started lobbying for the company to offer a scholarship to Aisha. It was peculiar, but I chose to wait and watch."

He folded his hands, resting them on the desk. "I didn't plan to act immediately, but then you brought her home and sent us your own DNA report. I assumed you were the one who'd sent the initial message. Or were you not?" Ashton's gaze sharpened, making Damian shift uncomfortably.

"No," Damian admitted, his voice low. "I received the text and report out of the blue. I didn't believe it at first, so I ran a test at our hospital. It came back positive."

Ashton raised an eyebrow, genuine surprise flickering across his face. "And the assassin evidence? Same source?"

Damian nodded, his discomfort evident. He clenched his hands together, the realization dawning on him. "Someone's been pulling strings from behind the scenes. Every move I've made, it feels like they anticipated it. They're manipulating us, and I fell right into their plans. Could my estranged relationship with Chris also be their fault?" He thought inwardly.

Ashton observed him quietly before speaking. "Auriel suspected something too. She started her own investigation but hit a wall. Then your grandfather intervened."

"Grandfather?" Damian echoed, his brows furrowing.

"He ordered me to send Auriel away. At the time, I thought it was a harsh decision, but later I realized it was his way of protecting her. If she'd stayed, she might've been killed or abducted by whoever's behind all this."

"But Auriel doesn't see it that way," Damian said softly.

Ashton sighed, the weight of past decisions evident in his voice. "I reached out to Killan, hoping he'd watch over her, but they'd already broken up. He refused to get involved. I still don't know what happened between them."

Damian hesitated before revealing, "I saw Auriel today."

Ashton straightened in his seat, his expression unreadable. "How is she?"

"It wasn't a pleasant conversation, but I learned she's been working as an underground boxer in Killan's brother's ring. She retired today."

Ashton blinked, clearly taken aback. "Boxing? Of all things… Still, it's good. It means she's capable of surviving on her own."

"But, Father," Damian pressed, "why did we help Aisha suppress Auriel in so many ways?"

Ashton's face darkened. "Once we started, we had to follow through. Pulling back would have exposed us, and we couldn't afford that." He didn't share the other truth lingering in his mind—they already had an idea of who was orchestrating everything, but the evidence wasn't solid enough yet.

"You need to keep close to Aisha," Ashton continued, his tone firm. "Maintain appearances. If there's anything that can lead us to the mastermind, you're our best chance of finding it."

Damian nodded, though unease twisted in his gut. "What about Chris?" he asked after a moment. "He misses Auriel. A lot."

Ashton sighed again, rubbing a hand over his face. "Chris… He's struggling. But until this is resolved, we can't risk dragging him into it."

Damian clenched his fists. Whoever was behind this chaos had torn their family apart piece by piece.

Thinking of his relationship with his younger brother, he felt the need to fix it before it became unrepairable.

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Thank you all for your constant support and all. I really appreciate.

Have a nice day and enjoy your day.