After Rebirth, I Became My Ex's Aunt-in-Law

Julian Cross’s apartment was exactly what Aria expected: a museum of minimalism, chrome, and expensive loneliness. Or at least, it usually was. Right now, it looked like a crime scene investigator’s wet dream, dusted for prints and smelling faintly of shame.

Aria walked in, still wearing her street clothes from the studio—jeans and a leather jacket—clutching her bag.

”Don’t say it,” Julian warned from the kitchen island. He was leaning over a laptop, looking less like a legal shark and more like a man who had been chewed up by a guppy.

”I wasn’t going to say anything,” Aria said, walking over to inspect a dusting of fingerprint powder on a sculpturesque vase. ”Although, I am surprised. You have excellent taste in art. I assumed your taste in women would be... safer.”

”They were safe!” Julian snapped.

From the living room sofa, a loud slurp broke the tension.

Kai Vane was sprawled across the white leather, digging a spoon into a glass jar of what looked like extremely expensive artisanal yogurt.

”They played you like a fiddle,” Kai said, pointing the spoon at him. ”The great Julian Cross, taken down by sex workers. You don’t even know which one did it. I guess you’re not so perfect after all. You’re a degenerate like the rest of us.”

Kai winked at Aria.

”He’s been trying to file a lawsuit against the agency for ’Breach of Contract’ for the last hour.”

”It is a breach!” Julian argued, slamming his hand on the counter. ”The Velvet Room guarantees discretion and security! They vet their employees! If one of them is a thief, the agency is liable!”

”Legal action takes too long,” Damien said. He was standing by the window, looking out at the city skyline, his silhouette dark and imposing. ”By the time you get a subpoena, the ledger will likely be destroyed.”

He turned around.

”We do it my way. I send a team. We pick up the women. We extract the location of the book and who hired them.”

”Kidnapping?” Aria grimaced. ”Damien, that’s a felony. Three felonies!” She looked between Damien and Julian as she continued, ”If these women did this against their will or were bought, then their lives are in danger. We already know Lydia isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty to protect her secrets. And the Vipers no less.”

She looked at Julian. ”So, definitely no lawsuits.”

Then she looked at Damien. ”And no kidnapping.”

”So, what do we do then?” Kai asked, scraping the bottom of the yogurt jar.

”We infiltrate,” Aria said.

The three men looked at her.

”The Velvet Room isn’t just a brothel,” Aria reasoned. ”It’s a high-end agency. They rely on reputation. If they hired a thief, they might not know it. Or... they might be the ones running the operation.”

She walked to the center of the room.

”I’ll go in. I’ll pose as new talent. A new recruit. I can get inside the office, access their files, and see who really signed off on the thief.”

”No,” Damien said instantly, leaving no room for argument, but his wife was stubborn.

”It’s the fastest way,” Aria argued. ”I am an actress. I can play the ’naive girl looking for quick cash’ role in my sleep.”

”Over my dead body,” Damien growled, walking toward her. His eyes were blazing. ”You are not walking into a brothel and selling yourself, even as a cover. Absolutely not.”

”It’s acting, Damien!”

”It’s dangerous,” he countered, stopping right in front of her. ”And I don’t like the idea of men looking at you like you’re on a menu. Find another way.”

Aria huffed, stubbornness burning in her emerald eyes, but Damien looked like he was ready to murder or contemplating tying her up in his bed.

She tapped her chin.

”Fine. No recruit.”

A slow, wicked smile spread across her face as she wiggled her eyebrows.

”If I can’t be the product... I’ll be the supplier.”

”You want to hire an escort?” Kai choked on his yogurt. ”I don’t think Damien is going to approve of that either, Sister-in-law.”

”No,” Aria corrected. ”I don’t want to buy. I want to partner.”

She turned to Damien.

”I’ll go in as a Madam. A rival agency owner from... let’s say, Los Angeles. I’m looking to expand my territory. I want to propose a partnership with The Velvet Room. We share resources, we share profits.”

Damien narrowed his eyes. ”A partnership?”

”It gets me a meeting with the management,” Aria explained. ”It gets me into the back room. And it gives me an excuse to ask about their ’security protocols’ and their ’staffing lists’.”

”And what about us?” Julian asked. ”You know we’re not going to let you go in there alone.”

”Of course not,” Aria said, looking at the three of them.

Damien, the terrifying CEO. Julian, the regal lawyer. Kai, the chaotic information broker. They were all objectively beautiful men. Expensive. Dangerous.

”A Madam doesn’t walk into a partnership proposal meeting empty-handed,” Aria purred, walking up to Damien and straightening his collar. ”She needs to show off her inventory. Her best products. To prove she has high-quality goods.”

She patted Damien’s chest.

Then Aria turned to Kai and Julian.

”You’ll wear bright colors. Tight, gaudy spandex. You’ll wear sunglasses indoors. You won’t speak unless I tell you to. You will look sexy, expensive, and completely obedient.”

Kai’s spoon clattered into the jar. ”Wait. Are you saying...”

”Yes,” Aria grinned. ”I am saying exactly what you think I’m saying.”

She gestured to all three of them.

”You are my most beautiful bitches.”

A stunned silence fell over the room. Kai stared at her, mouth open. Julian looked affronted. Damien just stared at her with his brows raised. They collectively assumed she must be joking.

The front door opened.

Ken walked in, carrying a tray of coffees and a stack of fresh files, looking tired but efficient.

”I have the security reports,” Ken announced, stepping into the room.

He stopped, sensing the strange energy in the room.

Aria pointed a finger at him, a gleeful smile on her face.

”You too, Ken.”