The day had begun like every other day, but not to Eli, today was one of the best days he could wish for since finding out he was the heir to Aurelius. He was lying on his back, his eyes fixed on the movie Elara had cajoled him to watch which was playing on her ipad, a gift she had also gotten, from one of the numerous admirers that had tried to convince her to marry him – he knew this because she had told him. His mind wasn’t on the movie, he was more concentrated on the head that rested lazily on his belly, and the hand that brushed his from time to time. Every once in a while she will tilt her head to smile at him, making his heart flutter. He was completely and totally happy and content, till he remembered the dna report he had been with on the day he had been shot. The happy smile resting on his face, washing off his face at once.He felt his heart pulse increase in worry, and quiet reprimand for forgetting the report, as he jerked up from the position in which he lay.Elara fro

“Seriously Eli, tell me what’s going on?”“Did you get into some shady deals? Is that what all this hiding and tiptoeing and avoiding my call is about?, or is it something worse?” Elara could barely control her agitation and worry that Eli was slipping from her hands as she watched him come into the hotel room, after three days of not showing up, and giving the same excuse over and over again.“It’s not what you think Elara, but I really can’t tell you the details right now – I also feel it would be best if you return to New York, I can’t promise you that my life is out of danger and that whoever attacked me, wouldn’t come for you too.” Eli responded, taking off his coat and placing them neatly in the tiny wardrobe they had to share..“I am sorry for sending you away that day Eli…, I miss you and I love you. If this is a way for you to punish me, please stop it El, I can’t handle it anymore.” Elara spoke finally, her words breaking at the edges, silent tears streaming down her face, a

Eli climbed out of the hidden passage, his hands stretched out in front of him to shade the light -pale and soft, filtering through the tall windows of the study. He closed the secret panel behind him, his mind still heavy with what he’d read. The drive sat cold in his palm, small and, yet it felt like it carried the weight of a thousand unspoken truths.He set it gently on the desk and leaned back in Leonhart’s chair. The leather creaked under his weight, making a loud sound that disrupted the quiet of the study. His eyes roamed over the shelves — the ledgers, the sealed files, the fragments of a life that had almost been seized from him .Leonhart Aurelius. Father. Visionary. Stranger.The thought made Eli’s chest tighten.He’d spent the last few months trying to live up to a shadow he barely understood — and now, even in death, Leonhart was still testing him. Still guiding him through puzzles wrapped in riddles.He rubbed a hand over his face and reached for another journal from th

The room felt heavier once the door shut behind Marek. No one spoke for a while. The hum of the overhead lights was the only thing breaking the silence. Eli sat there, steadying his breath, his mind already moving through the next step.Finally, he looked at them — Karim, Lucia, Bruno, Carlos, and Aiden — people who had dropped everything the moment he called. He owed them more than orders.“I need to tell you the truth,” he said quietly. “All of it.”Lucia frowned, glancing up from her laptop. “About what?”Eli drew in a slow breath. “About who I am.”That got everyone’s attention. Even Karim, who rarely showed emotion, straightened.“I didn’t just stumble into this,” Eli continued. “I’m not just some analyst from a dead-end firm. I’m… the new heir to Aurelius.”For a few seconds, no one moved. The name hung in the air like static. Aurelius — the largest multinational conglomerate in the world. Untouchable. Legendary. And suddenly, one of them was sitting across from its heir.Aiden

Eli spent the next few days rotating between resting, exploring Rome, considering he never had the chance to do so the previous weeks because of the fog that had settled in his mind. But with Aurelius completely in his grasp, he could finally allow himself to breathe and enjoy the landscape and unique design of Rome.The PR team had done as he requested, had done a very good job, and nothing that had happened that day in the office had come out. With the removal of Kepler, Fontaine and Tomas, every other official and staff had aligned and was now sticking to the real rules that bound and made Aurelius. No one wanted to be displaced.Being a mere staff at Aurelius was a big deal, having that honour stripped from you was something none of them was willing to try so Eli was having the best time since he showed up at the headquarters as the heir of Aurelius.He rose from his bed, a smile on his face as he went to prepare for the meeting scheduled that day.Eli stood at the front of the l