From Ex-Convict To General

Chapter 5

"Walk with me."

Alder Mark’s voice carried like a command, yet it wasn’t shouted. It didn’t need to be. The authority in it was heavier than any raised tone.

The entire restaurant froze. Forks hovered, while conversations died, and even the music seemed to dull. All eyes turned between the powerful Alder Mark and the man everyone believed to be a disgraced convict.

Dorian rose with calm ease, his chair scraping softly against the marble floor. His eyes didn’t leave Alder’s. For a long heartbeat, they stared at one another, recognition and power passing between them, invisible but undeniable.

Then Dorian nodded once. "Lead the way."

The two men walked toward the private lounge at the back of Alvero’s, waiters scrambling to open the doors, their heads bowed low. Not a soul dared to breathe too loudly until the doors clicked shut behind them.

The lounge was quiet, lit only by a chandelier’s soft glow. Alder moved with the quiet confidence of a man who had stood in the halls of presidents and kings. He poured himself a glass of water, then gestured to Dorian.

"You carry yourself as though you never left the field," Alder said evenly.

Dorian’s lips curved faintly. "Some battles never leave you."

Alder studied him, eyes sharp and weighing. "Your silence in prison has been... remarkable. Not once did you break cover. Not once did you reach out. Even when your name was dragged through the mud, even when your wife cast you aside, you stayed silent. That was discipline."

Dorian leaned back slightly, his tone calm but laced with steel. "Orders were clear. The mission demanded I vanish. I don’t get to pick what that costs me."

For the first time, Alder’s expression softened, if only slightly. "And yet here you are, face-to-face with those who wronged you."

Dorian’s jaw flexed, but his eyes stayed steady. "I’m not here for revenge. Not yet. I’m here because the rot runs deeper than the surface, all of it ties into the leaks across our borders."

Alder’s gaze sharpened, his voice dropping lower. "Careful. Even walls have ears."

Dorian gave the faintest smirk. "Then let them listen. They’ll only hear mist."

Alder finally raised his glass, toasting silently. "Good. Stay patient. Your time will come. But know this, General Ford, the city is watching and power is shifting. Everyone wants to see if you rise... or burn."

****

Back in the restaurant, Olivia sat stiffly, her wine untouched now, and her appetite gone. She tried to convince herself she didn’t care, that she wasn’t shaken. But her hands told another story, her fingers clenched too tightly around her napkin, her jaw aching from being pressed shut.

She had spent years convincing herself Dorian was nothing. A convict, a shame, a closed chapter. So why had Alder Mark, the man her mother called untouchable, chosen to acknowledge him?

Why him?

Across from her, Leonard Kane was no longer smiling. His polished mask had cracks. His hand tapped the table rhythmically, eyes dark as he stared toward the lounge doors.

"He ignored me," Leonard muttered, almost to himself.

Olivia blinked. "What?"

Leonard’s jaw flexed. His voice came louder now, weakened. "Alder Mark. He walked past me like I was hidden. Do you know how many doors I’ve knocked on, how much I’ve spent, how much I’ve done to earn just a word with him? And yet..." He slammed his palm against the table, the silverware rattling. "He chose your ex-husband."

Olivia’s cheeks burned, shame and anger mixing. "Don’t call him that," she snarled before she could stop herself.

Leonard’s head turned sharply, eyes tightening. "Why not? That’s what he is. Or do you still feel something for him?"

Olivia swallowed hard, forcing her voice steady. "I feel nothing. He’s nothing. He’ll always be nothing.”

But even as she said it, her chest betrayed her, tight, uneasy, betraying the lie.

Leonard leaned back slowly, his intense gaze studying her as though he could see through every layer of pretense. His lips curled into a cold smile.

"Olivia."

Her mother’s voice cut through the tension. She walked into the restaurant like she owned it, her diamond necklace catching the light. Heads turned, whispers followed, but she paid them no mind. She walked straight to their table.

"Mother," Olivia breathed, trying to contain herself. "What are you doing here?"

Margaret’s eyes flicked briefly toward the lounge where Dorian and Alder had vanished, then back to Olivia with sharp disapproval. "I heard whispers. Imagine my shock, him, of all people, walking free, making a scene." Her lips squeezed thin. "He’s an embarrassment you should have erased long ago."

Olivia’s throat tensed, shame and anger warring inside her.

Margaret turned smoothly to Leonard, her expression warming into something closer to approval. "Mr. Kane. I trust my daughter is being gracious?"

Leonard’s smile returned, though his eyes still burned. "She is... spirited."

Margaret gave a thin smile, resting a hand on Olivia’s shoulder, squeezing with subtle tension. "Good. She needs a strong hand to guide her. Someone with ambition. Someone who knows what power means in this city."

Olivia hardened under her mother’s grip. "Mother..."

Margaret’s voice cut snappily. "Enough. I will not have you clinging to the ghost of a man who is beneath you. Leonard Kane offers stability, strength, future. You would be wise to see it."

Olivia’s lips parted, but no words came. Her chest rose and fell too quickly, her thoughts were tangled in knots.

At that moment, the lounge doors opened. Alder Mark stepped out, Dorian walking quietly behind him.

The restaurant fell silent again. Alder gave no attention to anyone else, simply leaving the way he had come, the importance of his presence trailing behind him like a storm cloud.

But Dorian paused. Just for a second. His eyes went toward Olivia, then to Leonard, unreadable. Then he walked on, vanishing into the night.

Olivia’s pulse battered. She hated that a single glance from him could still shake her. She hated it more that Leonard noticed.

Leonard leaned close, his voice low, cold, meant for her ears alone. "He thinks he can walk in here and steal my moment. He thinks he can steal your attention?"

Olivia forced herself to meet his eyes. "You’re imagining things."

Leonard’s smile was harsh, cruel. "No, Olivia. I see things clearly now. That man, your ex-husband, has just made himself my enemy."

Olivia’s breath caught.

Leonard leaned even closer, his whisper brushing against her ear, churning her insides.

"And I always destroy my enemies."