Chapter 11: Shifting TidesMorning sunlight filtered through the glass walls of Foster Tower, but it did little to warm the tension that had begun to settle over the empire. Every corner of the building seemed to hum with low murmurs, rumours, and shifting loyalties. Lucas could feel it in the air each time he walked down the corridor—eyes that lingered too long, smiles that vanished too quickly. Power was moving in silence.He had expected Julian to react. His brother’s pride would not allow him to stay quiet for long, but the silence was worse. It meant Julian was thinking, planning, and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.Lucas entered the boardroom where the senior executives were already seated. The table gleamed beneath the lights, a symbol of wealth and control. He set down his briefcase and scanned the room. Among the familiar faces, a few new ones stood out—men and women Julian had quietly brought in during the past few weeks. They looked at Lucas with polite expression

Chapter 13: The Edge of ControlThe photograph lay on Lucas’s desk long after the office had emptied for the night. The building’s hum had faded, the city lights beyond the glass pulsing faintly like distant warnings. He sat in silence, the image in front of him a weight heavier than any document or threat.Emily’s face was calm in the photo, unaware, captured under the cold lens of surveillance. It was not a message.It was a declaration. Julian was no longer playing at a distance.Lucas exhaled slowly and set the photo aside, forcing his hands to stay steady. Fear was what Julian wanted. Fear clouded judgment, and Lucas could not afford that. He locked the photo in his desk drawer and stood, the decision already forming in his mind.He called Reginald.The old man’s voice answered after a single ring. “I assume you’ve seen it.”“I have,” Lucas said.“And you understand what it means?”Lucas stared at the reflection of the city in the window. “He’s drawing boundaries. Showing me what

Chapter 15: Shadows of the PastLucas sat in his office long after the city had gone quiet, the glow of the skyline reflected in the glass wall behind him. The papers scattered across his desk looked less like business reports and more like fragments of a life he no longer recognised. For days, he had replayed the message that had come with the hacked file, the same name appearing again and again across the documents: Aurelius Grey.Every time Lucas saw it, something inside him tightened. Reginald had told him little about the man, only that Aurelius had been exiled from the Foster empire decades ago for reasons no one discussed. But now, his name had reappeared in the company’s confidential archives, linked to money transfers and hidden subsidiaries that predated even Godfrey Foster’s reign.Lucas turned the page, studying a signature. The penmanship was neat, deliberate, almost artistic. It carried the same fluid style as the signature on a letter Reginald once gave him, supposedly

Chapter 17: Shadows of the PastThe city was still half-asleep when Lucas returned to New York. The skyline gleamed against the morning mist, glass towers catching the first light of dawn. To most, it was a symbol of progress. To Lucas, it looked like a battlefield made of steel and ambition.The car ride from the private airport was silent. Clara sat beside him, her gaze fixed outside the window. The discovery in Boston had changed something between them. There was a fragile understanding now — not trust, but an awareness that their fates had quietly tangled.When they arrived at the Foster estate, Reginald was waiting at the front entrance. His face was unreadable, but his eyes flickered toward Clara with caution.“You were gone longer than expected,” he said evenly.Lucas stepped out first. “We found what we needed.”Reginald’s gaze narrowed. “And what was that?”Lucas handed him the sealed envelope. “Proof that my father’s war with Aurelius Grey was not what we thought.”Reginald

Chapter 19: The Shadow AgreementThe night air outside the Foster Tower was colder than usual, sharp and metallic. Lucas stood by the glass window of his office, the city beneath him alive with a thousand restless lights. He felt none of their warmth. His reflection stared back at him, older somehow, harder. The man who once begged for help had vanished. What stood now was someone moulded by betrayal and power.Julian’s warning echoed in his mind: “In this family, power is never given. It is taken.”He had learned that lesson too well.The door creaked open, and Reginald entered without knocking. The older man’s face was unreadable as always, but his presence carried a heaviness that filled the room.“You called for me,” Reginald said, closing the door softly.Lucas turned, folding his arms. “Yes. We have a problem.”Reginald waited.“Someone’s been feeding information to the Tang Conglomerate. Financial details, merger plans, internal communications. I traced it to someone close to t