"To start with," Max began. “Her name is Elara Vance, And the property records...." "... The mansion was purchased seven years ago through a shell company. The shell company has three layers of other companies behind it, each registered in different countries. It took me all night to trace it back to her name.” Max paused, and Ethan could hear papers rustling on the other end. “Second, her financial footprint is almost non-existent. No credit cards, no bank accounts in her name at any major institution. The few transactions I could trace were all done through cryptocurrency and offshore accounts. She’s been moving money around like someone who knows exactly how to stay invisible.” “Third,” Max continued, “her personal history is… weird. She has a driver’s license, a passport, even a social security number. All legitimate. But when I tried to dig deeper—education records, employment history, medical records—there’s nothing. It’s like she appeared out of thin air fifteen years

Elara’s eyes glinted with something dangerous as she leaned forward slightly, the zip ties creaking against the chair.“Tell me something, Ethan,” she began, her voice deceptively casual."Do you know how obsessed your father, Magnus, was with running The Order, even though he was never King of the World? How desperate he was to make sure someone from his bloodline would end up wearing the crown? How much do you actually know about all that?“​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The question hit Ethan like a punch to the gut.He froze completely, his thoughts spinning as he tried to figure out her angle—what game she was playing with this obvious lie—while the silence between them stretched.After a long moment, he let out a harsh scoff.“You've got it backwards, Elara," he said, shaking his head with something between pity and contempt."I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised—maybe being caught has rattled you more than you’d like to admit.”He leaned forward, his voice hardening with certainty. "It was my u

"He's dead?" The words came out of Ethan’s mouth in a strangled whisper, disbelief and shock warring across his face.That’s what Elara had just told him.“What game are you trying to play with me?” His voice rose, trembling with barely controlled emotion."This is utter nonsense. Complete and total bullshit. You’re making up stories, trying to get in my head, trying to—”“Calm down,” she interrupted smoothly, her tone almost soothing despite the bomb she’d just dropped."Isn’t the first question that should be coming out of your mouth something more like ‘What happened to him?’ or ‘How did he die?’ Rather than denying he existed at all?”She tilted her head, studying him like a specimen under glass. "But I suppose denial is a natural response when your entire world view is being shattered.”He opened his mouth to respond, but she continued before he could form words.“Could you believe,” she said, her voice dropping to something almost conspiratorial, “that your father—the person you

Ethan’s mind reeled as the realization sank in.He couldn't believe his father—the man he’d idolized, the man he’d mourned, the man who’d been held up as an example of righteousness and purity his entire life—had kept a secret lover and had fathered a child outside his marriage.He didn’t want to believe Elara.But even as he tried to convince himself of that, he couldn’t ignore the conviction in her voice and the way her eyes held that haunted quality of someone who’d lived through hell.However, he still refused to believe her and forced himself to take a breath to push back against the tide of shock that threatened to drown him.Then he scoffed, clapping slowly.“Impressive,” he said, a smile stretching across his face, though it didn’t reach his eyes."Bravo, really. I actually didn’t expect that twist. The performance, the emotion, the detail... truly masterful.”He stopped clapping and leaned forward, his expression hardening. "So tell me, Elara. What would be your excuse if I a

The air outside the warehouse hit Ethan hard as his mind spun from everything Elara had said.He’d been in there for over an hour, and every minute had felt like watching his entire world crumble piece by piece.The conversation had left him suffocated, drowning in revelations that he couldn’t unsee, couldn’t unhear, couldn’t ignore.He stopped walking and braced himself against the side of one of the vehicles, his head hanging low as he tried to catch his breath."Who am I?" The questions circled through his mind like vultures over a corpse.Everything he knew about himself—everything he’d been told about his purpose, his destiny, his father—it was all contaminated now. Poisoned by the truth of what Magnus had really been.Not a holy man. Not a devoted father. Not someone worthy of respect or admiration.A snake. That’s what Magnus had been. A vicious, dishonorable snake who’d worn a mask of righteousness his entire life while committing atrocities behind that facade. Who’d seduced a