Mag-log inThe boardroom was quieter than Lyra expected.Around the mahogany table, directors stared down at the files spread before them. Damian occupied his usual seat at the head, though his authority had begun to slip. Ashley sat beside him, dressed impeccably, her posture composed, and neither had expected Lyra to return to Vance Biotech and challenge them so openly.Now Lyra stood across from them with Hayden at her side, while the company’s legal counsel sat near the chairman.“Before we begin,” Damian said, “I want to know why this meeting was called without my approval.”The chairman adjusted his glasses. “Because your approval is no longer required for every decision made here.”Damian’s jaw tightened. “You are addressing the chief executive.”“And you are subject to the board's authority,” the chairman replied, “especially while your management decisions remain under investigation.”A director cleared his throat. “We are here to review the independent audit and determine lawful owners
By nine the next morning, the Vance Biotech boardroom was full. The directors had gathered to decide how much control Damian Kade could retain while the company's disputed assets were investigated.Damian Kade sat at the head of the table, his composure tightly held, fingers resting beside a pile of financial statements. Ashley sat to his right, perfectly dressed, watching the directors file into their seats. Neither had slept.Yesterday’s clash had shattered Damian’s greatest advantage: the quiet assumption that Arora Vance was dead and her father’s legacy was his alone. But she was alive, armed with evidence, legal claims, and an identity no one could bury.The double doors swung open. Lyra stepped inside, Hayden half a pace behind her. Conversation died instantly.Wearing a tailored black suit with her dark hair swept back, she moved without hesitation. She took the seat directly across from Damian and set a leather folder on the wood.“Good morning,” she said.Silence hung in the
Lyra studied Ashley for a long beat.She had imagined this confrontation a hundred times in the dark, bracing for fury or outright denial. She had even prepared for Damian to turn the tables on her. But she hadn't anticipated how jarringly ordinary the boardroom would feel as the past finally crashed down.The polished mahogany table was covered with neat stacks of files. The directors waited for a verdict, while Damian sat among them, still clutching the illusion that he could steer what came next.Lyra popped her case open and pulled out a faded photograph, sliding it directly beside Ashley's print.The image captured a younger woman standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Richard Vance. The resemblance was absolute.Damian stared at it, the colour completely draining from his face.“No,” Ashley whispered, her voice cracking.Lyra kept her gaze locked on them both. “You've been hunting for Arora Vance.”Damian slowly raised his eyes to meet hers, stripped of whatever defence he had rehea
At eight fifty-five, Lyra received a final text from the janitor: Everything is ready.She read it once, slipping her phone beside her handbag. Hayden stood by the bedroom door, cuffing his watch. He had caught the sudden shift in her mood, but he didn’t ask questions.“It's time,” she said.He met her eyes. “Are you certain you want to play this card today?”“Yes.”“Damian won't go quietly.”A faint smile touched her lips. “I'd be disappointed if he did.”Hayden crossed the room and took her hand. “Whatever happens in that boardroom, don't let him bait you into a rash call.”She squeezed his fingers. “I've thought this longer than you realize.”“I know.”She searched his face. Last night, they had carved out a few hours where shadows of the past didn't dictate every breath. She intended to protect that fragile peace by not letting Damian keep what was rightfully hers.“Let's go.”Vance Biotech occupied a sleek monolith on the city's eastern fringe. Its name gleamed in silver above th
The city looked different when Lyra wasn't trying to conquer it.For once, she wasn't studying buildings from behind tinted glass, tracing ownership records, or wondering which man in a tailored suit was hiding a secret. She wasn't thinking about Damian Kade, Ashley, Richard's files, or the loose threads of her past still waiting to surface.She was simply sitting across from Hayden.The restaurant overlooked the sea, its terrace quiet beneath the evening sky. A soft breeze drifted through the open windows, carrying the scent of salt and grilled seafood from the kitchen.Lyra looked at the table, then up at him.“You planned this.”He lifted his glass. “I arranged it.”“That sounds suspiciously like something a man says when he doesn't want credit.”A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Would you prefer I admit I spent two days making sure you couldn't find out?”“You managed to keep something from me for forty-eight hours?”“I've had practice.”Lyra laughed. It came out natural
Lyra had spent months deciding how long she could keep hiding. After reading Richard’s letter, she finally knew the answer.Richard's letter lay open on her mahogany desk, his final warning still burning in her mind: Do not trust Damian with the file.She had spent enough time trying to understand why her father had feared the Kade family. She had traced the money, dug through sealed archives, uncovered the hidden security network, and learned that Richard had been investigating something long before Damian ever crossed her path.Now, Damian was hunting her.And for the first time, Lyra wasn't going to evade him by vanishing into the shadows. This time, she wasn’t going to stay ahead of him by running. She was going to let him closer.Her desk phone buzzed sharply.“Ms Moretti, Damian Kade's office is on the line.”Lyra picked up the receiver. “Put him through.”“Lyra,” Damian's voice came through, steady and controlled.“What do you want?”“We need to talk.”“About what?”“Richard V







