TRASH TO TITAN

Chapter 3: The Will of the Empire

The jet touched down on a private airstrip carved into the side of a mountain in Switzerland. No customs. No delays. Just men in black waiting with silent precision.

Aiden stepped out onto the tarmac and was immediately enveloped in crisp alpine air. The snowcapped peaks stretched across the horizon like sleeping gods. Below, nestled into the cliffs like a secret, was Vallion Estate One a fortress disguised as a palace.

Veylor appeared beside him, speaking with low reverence. “This was Mr. Vallion’s stronghold. It is now yours.” Aiden barely registered the words. His mind still swirled from the dossier. The power he now held wasn’t abstract anymore. It was real. Living. Dangerous.

He was escorted into a luxury vehicle that made limousines look like toys. The road to the mansion was narrow and winding, guarded by drone surveillance and biometric checkpoints. At every turn, the empire revealed itself in pieces hints of a world invisible to most. The real world, run not by presidents or kings… but by people like Julian Vallion.

By people like him now. Inside the estate, every step echoed with weight. Marble floors imported from Egypt. Chandeliers forged from moonstone. Original art worth more than nations. Even the air was perfumed subtly with something custom-made rich, crisp, dominant.

A woman waited at the top of the grand staircase. Late 40s, tall, striking. Ice-blonde hair. A look that could freeze steel. Veylor gestured toward her. “This is Maera Vale. Chief Strategist. She ran the Board in Mr. Vallion’s absence.”

Maera extended a gloved hand. “Chairman.” Aiden hesitated, then shook it. Her grip was firm. Her eyes studied him like a threat assessment.

“You’re not what I expected,” she said.

“Neither is any of this,” he replied.

She gave the ghost of a smirk. “Good. Keeps things interesting.” Veylor led them into a vast conference room that felt more like a war chamber. Screens lined the walls, each displaying live data: stock markets, shipping routes, black-site military ops, private communications between global leaders.

Maera took her seat. “This is the Board Room. From here, you control more than half the planet’s private infrastructure. Quietly. Efficiently. No one outside this building even knows the full truth.”

Aiden took the chairman’s seat larger, elevated slightly, crafted from rare obsidian and steel. It felt cold. Heavy. Right. Maera slid a file across the table. “Today’s briefing.” He opened it.

TOP PRIORITY: Internal Threat – Codename: “Scorpion.” Intelligence suggests a leak within the upper ranks. Someone has discovered your inheritance. There has already been movement in hostile markets. One of our satellite holdings in Singapore was attacked digitally.

We believe this is only the beginning. Aiden stared at the name. “Scorpion?” “We don’t know who they are. Only that they have deep roots and aren’t afraid to strike first. We suspect they’re part of the Obsidian Circle an old rival network.”

“Rival to what?” Maera leaned forward. “To you, Chairman. They’ve tried to kill this legacy before. They failed. But now… you’re new. Unproven. They think they can scare you.” Aiden’s jaw tightened. “Can they?” She studied him. “That depends. Will you be the son of Julian Vallion? Or will you be better?” Hours later, Aiden was alone in the estate’s Hall of Memories a long corridor filled with artifacts and trophies from Julian Vallion’s secret life. Every object told a story: a gold-plated bullet from a coup in Africa, a chessboard carved from CIA stone, an oil-stained letter from a royal family.

In the center stood a life-sized statue of Julian himself. The man was sculpted like a god of power stone jaw, hawk eyes, a hand extended outward like he was offering a deal. Aiden stared at him. “You gave me all this. But you also gave me a war.”

His reflection in the polished marble looked alien. Expensive clothes. Eyes darker now. Older. He reached for a framed letter on the wall. To the One Who Will Rise. Your greatest enemy will not be a man. It will be what power makes of you. If you forget what it was like to be weak… you’ll become a monster far worse than the ones you’re trying to beat.

He placed it back and whispered, “Then I won’t forget.” That night, while reviewing encrypted communications from the Consortium, Aiden found a folder labeled: “Operation Gemini.”

Click. Access granted. Video feeds. Documents. Medical reports. And a name: JACEN. He frowned. Jacen Cross? Brother? Before he could open the file, his screen went black. An alarm beeped three times. UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DETECTED. REMOTE BREACH IN PROGRESS.

Aiden sprang to his feet. The door burst open. Maera and two guards rushed in. “You were hacked. Briefly. But they got something.” “What did they see?” She looked grim. “Your location. Your name. And your face.” Elsewhere… A man in a silk robe stood on a yacht off the coast of Santorini. His eyes gleamed as a photo of Aiden loaded on his tablet. “Found you.” He turned to a shadowed figure behind him. “Activate the Scorpion Protocol. And let the new heir know: we’re coming.”