"Sarah," Aria said carefully, her voice steady despite her racing heart, "I'm in a business meeting. Can you just give me the essential details?"
"Mrs. Chen-Stones, the doctor your husband met with..." Adrian leaned forward in his chair as Sarah's professional voice carried a faint urgency. "I am aware of his name. Dr. Harrison Vex. He's been investigated multiple times."
Adrian's entire posture changed, his gray eyes sharpening with alarm as he watched Aria's carefully controlled expression.
"Investigated for what, precisely?" Aria queried, though Aria thought she already knew the response.
"Always ruled natural causes, but the pattern suggests... expertise in untraceable methods," Sarah continued. "Mrs. Chen-Stones, this man specializes in making deaths appear accidental or natural. Your husband isn't consulting him for justifiable medical needs."
"I see," Aria said with amazing calm. "Sarah, I'll give you a call back soon. Please continue surveillance and document everything."
"Mrs. Chen-Stones," Sarah's voice carried a note of professional concern, "be very careful. If they suspect you know..."
"I understand. Thank you for the information."
Aria hung up and discovered that Adrian was looking at her in an attitude of suppressed panic.
"Mr. Blackwood," Aria said, meeting his worried look, "the situation is more urgent than I initially indicated."
"If your husband is consulting someone who specializes in making death seem natural..." Adrian paused, the implications hitting him fully. "Mrs. Chen-Stones, you cannot return home without protection. This isn't about business partnerships anymore."
Aria appreciated his concern, but she needed to maintain control of the situation. "I appreciate your worry, but I need to keep my cover intact to gather evidence. If Marcus suspects I know anything..."
"There are ways to protect yourself while continuing investigative activities," Adrian interrupted, his protective instincts in full force. "Professional security measures, legal protection, emergency protocols."
"What kind of security measures?" Aria asked, recognizing that she genuinely needed his resources.
Adrian took his phone. "I have contacts with discrete security firms, legal teams specialized in financial crimes, and communication systems unable to be tracked or watched."
Within minutes, Adrian had called up his head of security to show Aria advanced surveillance tools and emergency protocols. The man who came into the office moved with the subdued efficiency of a military trained person.
"Mrs. Chen-Stones," the security specialist said, "I understand you need professional-grade recording equipment and safety protocols."
"I recently put in some surveillance in our home."
Adrian said, "The most important thing is that you promise to use the emergency protocols if anything feels wrong."
"Mr. Blackwood," Aria said, slightly smiling, "I have been planning this longer than you know."
But even as she said that, Sarah's disclosure about Dr. Vex disturbed her.
* * *
It was dusk by the time Aria was at home. She felt the house was different now that she knew the facts of Dr. Vex, when it appeared to be the same as it was that morning when she left it.
"How was your day, sweetheart?" Marcus was in the living-room, calling to her as she entered. "Productive shopping trip?"
"Very productive," Aria replied, hanging her jacket in the closet while mentally cataloging where she would place Adrian's recording devices. "I even looked at some investment prospects, just as you advised."
Marcus showed up in the hall, his face ablaze with delighted surprise. "Excellent. Nothing too complex, I hope?"
"Just some basic market research," Aria said, leaning up to kiss his cheek while internally fighting revulsion. "I have so much to learn."
*If only you knew what markets I'm really researching*, she thought as Marcus wrapped his arms around her waist.
"That's my sensible girl," he said, his voice bearing the patronizing approval she had once found appealing. "What sort of investment possibilities drew your eye?"
As they moved toward the kitchen for dinner, Aria launched into a carefully prepared story about conservative mutual funds and bond portfolios—investments that would bore Marcus enough to avoid detailed questioning while making her seem appropriately naive about financial matters.
"Very wise to start with basics," Marcus said, opening a bottle of wine with practiced ease. "Too many people jump into complex investments without understanding the fundamentals."
*Like jumping into murder without understanding I'm recording everything*, Aria thought while arranging the flowers he'd brought home.
Dinner conversation flowed with Marcus discussing his day in vague terms while Aria asked appropriately innocent questions about business terminology. But beneath the surface performance, she was planning her surveillance setup for after he went to bed.
"I might have to travel next week," Marcus mentioned casually as they cleared the dishes.
"How long will you be away?" Aria asked, already calculating how she could use his absence to coordinate more extensively with Adrian.
"Probably three or four days. Will you be alright on your own?"
"Of course," Aria replied, adding just the right note of independence to her voice. "Maybe I'll use the time to research business fundamentals further. Really prepare for increasing involvement and spend some time with Bella."
Marcus smiled approvingly. "Excellent idea, darling."
Aria waited for the known sound of Marcus's shower later that evening before starting her monitoring scheme. She moved with great accuracy, setting Adrian's advanced recording devices—a voice-activated transmitter masquerading as a pen holder, a camera hidden inside a decorative book spine, and audio equipment concealed inside a charging station across Marcus's study.
Every gadget linked to safe servers that would automatically backup records and notify Adrian's security staff should specific keywords be found. The technology was advanced enough to tell regular business calls from those involving criminal activity.
Marcus came out of the shower to discover Aria in the living room surrounded by financial reports she had set out as props and investment pamphlets.
Settling next to her on the sofa, he asked, "Still working on those investment ideas?"
"Just trying to understand basic market principles," Aria said, gazing up from a mutual fund prospectus. "It's more complicated than I considered."
Marcus's tone softened to reflect satisfaction. At last, his wife was showing interest in relevant business activities; her questions revealed the kind of naive curiosity he favored.
Pulling her against his side, he advised, "Don't worry about mastering everything immediately. Things take time to learn properly."
An hour later, Marcus retreated to his study for what he called "evening business calls." Aria remained in the living room, ostensibly reading investment guides while actually monitoring the live audio feed from the surveillance equipment through an app on her phone.
The first call connected within minutes of Marcus closing his study door.
"The timeline needs acceleration," Marcus's voice came through clearly on Aria's hidden earpiece. "The Blackwood investigation is getting too close to our operations."
An unknown voice responded from the other end of the call, discussing "implementation schedules" and "risk management protocols" in the clinical language of professional conspirators.
Aria's pulse quickened as she realized she was finally capturing concrete evidence of criminal conspiracy. Every word was being recorded with perfect clarity and automatically transmitted to secure servers that Marcus could never access or destroy.
"What about the Chen assets?" the unknown voice asked. "The timeline for acquisition?"
"That's being handled," Marcus replied. "Bella thinks we should accelerate that timeline as well. She has been asking questions about business matters."
Aria realized they were talking about her, and her blood went cold.
"Questions about what specifically?" the voice inquired.
"Nothing serious yet," Marcus said dismissively. "Aria's harmless. More interested in charity work than real business. But Bella's concerned that someone might feed her ideas about getting more involved in corporate decisions."
*Harmless?*, Aria thought with dark satisfaction. *We'll see how harmless I am when this recording ends up in FBI hands*.
The conversation continued for another twenty minutes, revealing details about financial manipulation, market interference, and coordination with corrupt professionals. Aria painstakingly compiled data to create a case strong enough to wipe Marcus's whole criminal network.
But the conversation veered dark as the call came to an end, causing her stomach to tighten with fear.
"What about the Chen problem?" the unknown voice asked. "You said she has been asking questions."
Marcus's reply was laid back, as though he were talking about ordinary business concerns. "Aria? She's harmless. More interested in charity work than business."
"Still," the voice pressed, "we should consider accelerating her timeline as well."
Aria's hands went cold as she realized they were discussing her death timeline in real-time.
"Bella thinks it's necessary," Marcus agreed after a moment's consideration. "And frankly, the inheritance access would simplify everything significantly."
The unknown voice responded with what sounded like satisfaction. "How soon can implementation be arranged?"
"Dr. Vex suggests within the week," Marcus replied. "Bella's already laying groundwork with concerns about Aria's health. The mysterious symptoms story will work perfectly."
"Excellent," the unknown voice said. "The Peterson acquisition should align perfectly with inheritance transfer. Clean and efficient."
"That's the plan," Marcus agreed. "Bella will handle the final arrangements with Vex. Everything should be resolved within the week."