The message glowed on Kai's phone."Meet me. Tomorrow. The old pier. Midnight. Come alone."He had read it a dozen times since it appeared. The words hadn't changed. The number was still blocked. The sender was still a mystery.Kai set the phone down and stared at the ceiling. Someone wanted to meet him at the same pier where he had met Marcus. The same place where everything had started to change. Could be a trap. Could be Samuel Cross himself, finally revealing himself. Could be someone else entirely.He thought about telling Damien. About showing Margaret. About calling Walter.But the message said come alone.And something in Kai's gut told him that whoever sent it wasn't lying.He closed his eyes. Tomorrow night, he would go.The day passed slowly.Kai moved through the mansion like a ghost, his mind elsewhere. He sat through breakfast without tasting anything. He walked through the gardens without seeing the flowers. He nodded at servants without registering their faces.Margare

The address sat on Kai's desk like a loaded weapon.He had been staring at it for two hours. Samuel Cross. The man who helped cover up his father's murder. The man who had been hiding for twenty-five years. The man who was now within reach.Kai's jaw tightened. His hand hovered over the paper, then dropped.He had waited too long for this. Cross had escaped justice for a quarter of a century. He had run, hidden, survived while Julian Mercer rotted in the ground. And now, finally, there was a chance to end it.Damien entered without knocking."You've been staring at that for two hours."Kai didn't look up."I've been thinking."Damien leaned against the doorframe. "Thinking about what?""What I'm going to say to him.""You're not going to say anything." Damien's voice was flat, matter-of-fact. "You're going to find him. You're going to hand him over. That's it."Kai finally looked up. "You make it sound easy.""I make it sound simple. It's not the same thing."Margaret appeared in the

Dawn broke over the estate like a wound.Kai sat on the edge of his bed, the photograph of his grandfather still in his hands. He hadn't slept. He had been sitting here for hours, staring at the image of Alistair Mercer shaking hands with the man who had orchestrated his father's murder.The sun crept across the floor. The shadows shortened. The day was beginning.Kai stood.He pocketed the photograph. He walked to the door. He didn't look back.The study was quiet when he entered.Damien was already there, standing near the window. Margaret sat in the corner, her hands wrapped around a cup of tea that had long gone cold. Walter stood near the desk, his face pale, his hands clasped in front of him.Kai closed the door behind him."I know the truth about my grandfather. He orchestrated everything. He gave Edward permission to kill Julian. He protected the empire over his own son."Margaret's cup clattered against its saucer.Kai turned to Walter. "You knew."Walter's face went pale."Y

The morning light was cold and gray.Kai stood at the window of his study, watching the gardens below. The hedges were wet with dew. The fountain murmured in the distance. Everything looked peaceful. But nothing felt peaceful.His phone buzzed on the desk.He didn't move.It buzzed again.Kai walked toward it. He picked it up. Damien's name flashed across the screen."Tell me you found something."Damien's voice was urgent. "I found him. Someone saw him at a train station three hours ago. He's heading north."Kai's hand tightened around the phone. "Where?""A small town called Ashford. He was buying a ticket.""Send me the address."The line went dead.Kai grabbed his jacket and walked out of the room.Damien was waiting in the driveway, the engine running. Margaret sat in the back seat, her face pale.Kai climbed in. "Let's go."The car pulled away from the estate. The gardens disappeared behind them.The drive was silent. Kai stared out the window, watching the city disappear into fl

The letter trembled in Kai's hands.His mother stood beside him, her hand resting on his arm, her presence steady and warm. The box sat open on the desk, its worn edges catching the lamplight. The room was silent except for the soft hum of the heating system.Kai read the letter again.I was wrong about everything. But I was right about one thing. You are the future. You are the best of us. Don't let my mistakes define you. Don't let the past destroy you. Build something better.He read it a third time.I love you, Kai. I have loved you since the moment I learned you existed. I was just too afraid to show it.Kai closed his eyes. The words settled into his chest like stones dropped into still water. Heavy. Permanent. Unchangeable.His mother's voice was quiet. "Kai?"He opened his eyes. His vision was blurred."He loved me," he said. His voice cracked. "He actually loved me."His mother reached up and touched his face. "He did. I could see it every time he looked at you. He just didn't