The night had settled fully over campus by the time Darius pulled into the parking lot, the drive back from Orania having drained something out of him that exhaustion alone couldn't explain. He killed the engine and sat there for a moment, hands still resting on the wheel, replaying everything he'd seen inside Vanguard's walls, every detail he needed to keep straight before it slipped away from him. Finally, he pushed the door open and stepped out, tugging his jacket straight, his mind already halfway up to his suite, to a few hours of sleep he probably wasn't going to get before resuming to his shifts tomorrow. He'd barely taken three steps toward the entrance when a voice called out behind him, familiar in a way that made his entire body go still before his mind had even placed it. "Darius." He stopped walking. For a moment, he genuinely considered pretending he hadn't heard it — quickening his pace before whatever this was could catch

Charlie was still slouched on the couch, one leg bouncing restlessly, when Darius's phone lit up on the table between them. Darius glanced at the screen. Rhea. A small, involuntary smile touched his mouth — the kind that only she could put there, even after everything else that had happened that night — and he picked up on the second ring. "Hey, darlin'," he said, his voice softening. "Babe," Something in her tone made the smile vanish instantly. He sat up straighter. "What's wrong?" "I just—" She exhaled shakily on the other end. "I just received something at the hospital. An envelope. And I don't know why, but it's freaking me out a little." Darius's whole body went still. Charlie, catching the shift in his posture from across the room, sat up too, brows drawing together in silent question. "What kind of envelope?" Darius asked, keeping his voice level with an effort that cost him more than he let show. "Just this heav

"I will send you the file through Dr. Drey once it's ready." The familiar voice came in from the side of the reception. Darius turned, and there he was — Dr. Kane, tapping a young man on his shoulder as he walked down the lobby toward the desk. Dr. Kane looked up from the tablet in his hand, and he slowed as his eyes landed on Darius, a frown carving itself deep into his forehead. "You?" Dr. Kane said slowly, recognizing. "Aren't you that Reginald's new trap?" "I believe that's me," Darius said evenly, holding the older man's stare without so much as a flicker of hesitation. "What are you doing here?" Dr. Kane's frown deepened. "I need to have a private word with you," Darius said. "Won't take long. I have to return to campus." Dr. Kane let out a scoff, adjusting the tablet under his arm. "I'm afraid that's not possible. I have a full schedule today, and I don't entertain walk-ins, private word or not. You'll have to book an appointmen

"Take? No! That sounds like I'm just being resentful. I decided to earn it," Dr. Kane corrected. "Reginald trusts me completely. Has for years. Every prescription, every treatment plan, every so-called 'health scare' that's kept him weakened just enough to stay dependent on me, compliant, easy to steer — all of it, my design." "Nothing that would ever show up as suspicious on a standard panel. A man his age, with his history, declining gradually? No one questions that. No one looks twice. That's basically the point." Darius's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly, and he had to force his breathing to remain even and swallow down the surge of rage clawing up his throat at the sheer, casual monstrosity of what he was hearing laid out so plainly, so proudly. "And once he's gone," Darius said, keeping his voice steady and admiring, like someone who is already considering his options, "what then? The empire doesn't just fall into your lap, Dr. Kane. There's a bo

"That was smooth," Darius clapped, embracing his grandfather. "You did well." It didn't take long. Barely four minutes passed before Darius's phone lit up, Dr. Kane's name flashing across the screen. "He's calling me," Darius said, letting it ring for a few seconds before answering. "Dr. Kane. I was just about to call you." "Darius! I just got off the phone with Reginald as well." Dr. Kane's voice was practically bursting through the speaker, giddy. "I don't know what you said to him, or what you didn't say, but I want to thank you. You've restored my dignity in that man's eyes, and it wasn't a small thing to ask." "I told you I keep my word," Darius said evenly. "Once I decide something, I don't waste time second-guessing it." "That's exactly the kind of certainty I was hoping to hear from you." A pause, and then, more probing, "Still, I have to ask — how did you manage it? Reginald doesn't strike me as an easy man to walk back an accus