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Chapter 28
Chapter 28 – A Clone in the FamilyThe rooftop terrace of the Saint Aurelia Children’s Hospital glimmered with gold-toned evening light. Waiters in crisp white jackets navigated the crowd, balancing trays of champagne and artfully arranged hors d’oeuvres. The board’s charity visit had been meant to be a PR balm—proof Damian Hale could still be the beating philanthropic heart of his empire despite the recent whispers about missing meetings, erratic leadership, and “unconfirmed personal scandals” the press kept hinting at.Elara moved through the guests with calculated ease, her cocktail dress doubling as a concealment for the comms gear and compact sidearm holstered at her thigh. She had eyes everywhere tonight—Damian’s security detail, Cole’s remote overwatch, and The Huntress’s “shadow presence” via encrypted link.Damian stood at the heart of the terrace, every inch the composed CEO in tailored charcoal, shaking hands with a governor, smiling for a child’s photo. But Elara could see
Chapter 27
Chapter 27 – The Photograph LieThe photo lay between them on the glass coffee table, its edges curling slightly as if time itself had tried to erode it but failed. The image—so crisp it almost gleamed—showed Damian and Lucian side by side in an upscale lobby, champagne flutes in hand. Damian’s smile was tight but present, and Lucian’s was a predator’s grin dressed in charm. The date stamped in the corner was exactly two years ago.“I’m telling you, it’s a fabrication,” Damian said, his voice sharper than he intended. He leaned back in his chair, putting physical distance between himself and the accusation in Elara’s eyes.Elara didn’t speak immediately. Her gaze flicked from the photograph to Damian, then back again. She had spent enough time with him to recognize when he was lying—his control was immaculate, but there was always a fraction-of-a-second pause, like a shadow slipping behind glass. She saw that pause now.“Then why,” she asked finally, her voice low, “do you look like y
Chapter 26
Chapter 26 – A Deal With the DevilThe contract lay on the table like a blade waiting to be drawn.Black ink. Heavy vellum paper. Eight pages of sterile legal jargon hiding the fact that, if he signed, Damian would be cutting out one of the most vital arteries in his empire.Kovax International—publicly a global logistics giant, privately the invisible framework that kept his network untouchable. Its fleets moved everything from legitimate cargo to encrypted data drives to assets Lucian would kill to intercept. Losing it wouldn’t just hurt—it would cripple.And yet… Elara’s face, pale under the harsh light of that video feed, was the only thing he could see.The clone sat opposite him, perfectly at ease. “It’s not complicated, Damian. You sign, she leaves unharmed. You don’t sign, she doesn’t leave. At least… not breathing.”Damian’s voice was a low growl. “You think I can’t find her without this?”The clone’s faint smile said he’d anticipated the pushback. “Oh, I’m sure you could try
Chapter 25
Chapter 25 – The Knife Behind the SmileThe Executive Vault was the only place in the tower Damian trusted completely—and even then, only because he’d designed it himself.Six floors below street level, accessible only through a biometric airlock and an elevator without buttons, it was a room made to keep the world out. No windows. No signals. No eavesdropping. The walls were matte black acoustic panels, the air scrubbers whispering faintly overhead.It was where deals were sealed, enemies were cornered, and wars were won without firing a shot.Today, it was where Damian intended to rip the mask off the man who had infiltrated his boardroom—and, if the Huntress was right, wasn’t even human.He sat at the head of the table, a lone chair positioned opposite him. His watch told him he was four minutes early. That was deliberate. He wanted to own the room before his guest stepped inside.The Huntress’s warning replayed in his mind: One of them isn’t human. Passes every biometric scan, eve
Chapter 24
Chapter 24 – Paper Cuts Can KillThe boardroom felt colder than the rest of the tower. Not in temperature—Damian knew the climate control kept it at an unshakable twenty-two degrees—but in atmosphere. The kind of cold that seeped through a man’s suit and into his bones, born not of winter but of sharpened smiles and veiled hostility.He stood at the head of the obsidian conference table, shoulders squared, scanning the faces around him. Twelve board members sat in the high-backed leather chairs, a perfect arrangement of wealth, influence, and—today—betrayal.The revolt was already in motion.Margaret Kline, a shipping magnate with a voice like crushed ice, slid another motion across the table. “In light of recent instability within our leadership and… external security breaches… I believe the time has come to vote on appointing an interim CEO.”Damian didn’t blink. “Your concern for the company’s welfare is noted, Margaret. Your timing, however, is curious.”“Curious?” Her smile was p
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
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