The CEO’s Jet Broke Down Again — Her Assistant Whispered, “I Think She Just Wants the Mechanic Back”
Chapter 9
Ava spent the next morning in her father’s old house.
Mason followed her.
She opened every drawer.
Every locked cabinet.
Every box.
Her father had been secretive even in life.
Now every secret felt like a warning.
They eventually found a hidden compartment beneath his desk.
Inside was a handwritten notebook.
Ava opened it.
The first page contained one sentence.
If Ava is reading this, I failed to protect her quietly.
Her hands trembled.
Mason read over her shoulder.
The next pages described Meridian.
Her father had discovered that Victor wasn’t acting alone.
Three board members had created a private network to siphon money from Sterling subsidiaries.
But there was something else.
They had been using the company to finance illegal technology acquisitions.
Her father tried to stop them.
Then he discovered that one board member was much more dangerous than the others.
The notebook never named the person.
Instead, there was a symbol.
A black circle crossed by three lines.
Mason recognized it.
“Where have you seen that?”
“On the aircraft connector.”
His expression changed.
“The sabotage wasn’t ordered by one person.”
Ava looked at him.
“It was a network.”
She turned the page.
Another note.
Never let Mason Reed know everything.
Mason went silent.
Ava looked at him.
“Why would my father write that?”
Mason read the next sentence.
Because if he learns what I know, they will use him to get to Ava.
Ava’s eyes filled with tears.
“You were protecting me.”
Mason looked away.
“I didn’t know.”
“You knew enough to stay.”
He shook his head.
“I stayed because your father asked.”
“Then why did you leave?”
Mason finally looked at her.
“Because you told me to.”
She swallowed.
“I was scared.”
“Of me?”
“Of what I felt.”
Silence.
Mason stepped closer.
“I loved you.”
Ava closed her eyes.
“I know.”
“No. I don’t think you did.”
She looked at him.
“I loved you too.”
For the first time, neither hid behind work.
Neither pretended.
Mason lifted a hand toward her face.
Then stopped.
Ava closed the distance herself.
Their kiss was brief.
Tender.
Almost painful.
When they separated, Ava whispered,
“This doesn’t change what we have to do.”
“I know.”
Her phone rang.
It was Lily.
“Ava?”
“Yes?”
“I found something.”
“What?”
Lily’s voice was shaking.
“The man who signed the first fraudulent maintenance contract wasn’t Victor.”
Ava frowned.
“Who was it?”
Lily paused.
Then said,
“Your father.”
Ava looked at Mason.
The same question appeared in both their minds.
Had they misunderstood everything?
Or had Ava’s father been hiding one final secret?
