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Chapter 23
Chapter 23 – Masks at the GalaThe ballroom glittered like a scene from a dream—if dreams came with thousand-dollar champagne and calculated smiles sharpened to a knife’s edge. Crystal chandeliers bathed the room in a warm gold glow, bouncing off polished marble floors and the shimmer of couture gowns. The string quartet played something elegant and forgettable, the kind of music meant to sound expensive without distracting from the real show—the politics happening between every polite toast.Damian stood at the head of the marble staircase, one hand resting lightly on the rail, the other holding a glass of champagne he hadn’t touched. From up here, he could see the entire crowd—bankers, senators, tech moguls, and royals who had flown in from across the globe for his “Save the Future” charity gala. The event was ostensibly about funding next-gen clean energy initiatives. In reality, it was about reminding the world—and certain enemies—that Damian Kane was still in control.He had been
Chapter 22
Chapter 22 – The Return to the ThroneDamian Kane returned to Kane International the way a ghost might return to the living—silent, deliberate, and carrying with him the chill of somewhere far colder than the city’s autumn air.The revolving glass doors spun open, and the lobby froze. Conversations cut mid-sentence, phones paused mid-scroll, and the clicking of heels against marble seemed to vanish. For weeks, the media had speculated about his disappearance—car accident, secret rehab, a hostile takeover. Now he was simply here, standing in a tailored charcoal suit that looked like it had been cut from shadow, his face composed into that CEO mask the world knew so well.But his eyes—Elara noticed first—were sharper than before, harder. They moved through the crowd like a scalpel, assessing, calculating.A single voice broke the silence.“Mr. Kane?” It was the young receptionist, barely more than an intern, her voice trembling as if speaking to a ghost. “We… we weren’t expecting—”“I c
Chapter 21
Chapter 21 – Ghosts in the SnowThe mining station rose out of the white like the skeleton of some great beast, jagged steel bones jutting from the snow in rusted defiance. The roof sagged inward under decades of winter weight, its warped panels creaking in protest each time the wind swept across the barren plateau. From a distance, the building seemed abandoned by both man and nature, but as Elara trudged closer, she swore the wind whistling through its gaps sounded almost like a low, mournful breath.Cole was the first to reach the door — a slab of corroded metal hanging crooked on its hinges. He swept the barrel of his rifle over the threshold, breath fogging into quick bursts. “Clear,” he said after a long moment, though his tone carried the caution of a man who’d learned never to trust appearances.The air inside was stale and dry, tinged with the metallic bite of rust and something older, something like dusted coal. Elara stepped in behind Cole, her boots crunching over scattere
Chapter 20
Chapter 20 – The ShotThe clone’s finger tightened on the trigger.Elara’s breath caught—her last thought was Damian’s name—A thunderclap exploded in the narrow corridor.The clone’s expression froze mid-sneer, confusion flickering in his eyes. For a fraction of a second, it was almost human. Then a spray of crimson fanned out across the white-walled bulkhead, his knees buckled, and he collapsed sideways with a heavy, wet thud.Elara blinked, half expecting to see her own blood. Her chest still rose and fell—no burning hole, no sudden collapse. She looked up.Standing at the far end of the corridor, framed by the lingering haze of gunpowder and the harsh overhead lights, was a woman in matte-black tactical gear, her long rifle still smoking. Her blonde hair was tucked under a snow-hood, goggles pushed up onto her forehead.The Huntress.“Target down,” she said, her voice steady, like she’d just finished a routine shot at a range.The Arrival of The HuntressCole groaned from the floo
Chapter 19
Chapter 19 – Clone WarThe hiss of the reinforced door sliding shut echoed like a steel coffin sealing.Elara’s eyes locked on Damian—no, the impostor Damian—as the cold fluorescent light sharpened the angular planes of his face.His stance wasn’t just tense—it was predatory. The warmth that had flickered in his gaze during their mission together was gone, replaced by an expression so devoid of humanity it felt like staring into a hollow shell.Cole shifted beside her, keeping his rifle trained, but she saw his finger ease off the trigger just slightly. He was reading the situation, calculating—because Damian’s voice was different now.Flat. Deadly.“Orders are clear,” the clone said. “Kill you. Recover the boy. Deliver him to Lucian. No deviations. No hesitations.”The air seemed to compress around them.Elara’s pulse slammed in her ears, but she forced her tone to stay even. “You’re not him.”The clone tilted his head, a mimicry of Damian’s familiar motion, but it was wrong. Too exa
Chapter 18
The alarms still hadn’t stopped screaming. Red strobes painted the black-site lab in pulsing waves, every flash catching the gleam of fractured stasis tanks and the slick sheen of condensation dripping from ruptured containment lines. The smell was sharp—ozone, coolant, and the faint copper tang of blood.Lucian’s voice was absent, but his presence was everywhere—through the sterile hum of surveillance drones drifting along the ceiling rails, the biometric scanners on every exit, the armed soldiers stationed at the perimeter. He didn’t have to be here in person to be watching.At the far end of the chamber, two figures—identical in every visible way—circled each other. Both Damian. Both dangerous.Elara’s pulse hammered in her ears as she moved between shattered consoles, trying to keep a visual on them. The clone’s blows were as precise as the real Damian’s, his footwork just as disciplined, but there was something in the cadence—a fraction too measured, too… rehearsed. The real Dami
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