INICIAR SESIÓNBlackstone became restless the moment they returned from the monastery.The house is alive in a way war a headquarters becoming alive before something terrible. Men moved constantly through the halls. Maps changed every hour and communication lines remained open through the night.Helena’s tactical operators coordinated quietly with Blackstone’s old guards while Sebastian and Vincent reorganized transport routes around the estate.At the center of everything, the Axis Gate remained spread across the war room table like a living wound.Dominic stood over it long after everyone else dispersed.He stood in silence, thinking deeply.Althea watched him from the doorway for several moments before entering quietly.“You’re staring at it like it insulted your bloodline.”Dominic didn’t look up.“It probably did.” He scoffed dryly.That almost made her smile as she moved beside him slowly, eyes tracing the convergence lines again.Every route now felt more dangerous after understanding what th
Dominic found them by accident or maybe not entirely by accident.After the meeting ended and the others slowly dispersed into smaller discussions around the monastery, he noticed his mother disappear quietly through one of the side corridors.And without fully understanding why, he followed.Althea remained at the table, assuring Dominic that she’ll be fine as her eyes still stayed on the maps that the generals had shown them.The old monastery remained hushed around him, stone walls carrying faint echoes of distant voices and footsteps.Then finally, he saw them.Seraphina stood near the far end of one of the open archways overlooking the mountains.Esteban Reyes stood across from her.They’re not close enough to touch.Not distant enough to feel like strangers.Dominic understood suddenly and exactly what unfinished things looked like.For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The wind moved softly through the corridor, lifting strands of Seraphina’s dark hair while Reyes simply lo
The convoy left Blackstone before dawn quietly, the headlights off during the first stretch of the road. Communications were also silent as what they had discussed for the first few hours.Only the low hum of engines cutting through the darkness while the estate disappeared slowly behind them.Inside the lead vehicle, tension sat heavily between everyone.Dominic decided to drive the car himself, a sign to everyone about his mood.Althea sat beside him reviewing the copied maps again under the dim overhead light while Sebastian and Michael occupied the back seats.No one spoke for almost twenty minutes.Enzo’s voice finally crackled through the radio from the second vehicle.“So, are we all collectively ignoring the fact that Seraphina once dated a shadow intelligence general?” He asked calmly.Dominic closed his eyes briefly.“Enzo.”“What?” Enzo returned. “I’m still processing up to now.”Sebastian sighed heavily from the back seat.“Must you process out loud?” He questioned sarcast
The war room remained heavy with silence after Vincent’s final words.He controls the war before it even starts.No one said a word after that.Even Enzo remained silent, not coming up with anything to lighten the atmosphere. Because for the first time since Luca had started his move, the scale of what they were dealing with had finally become visible.It’s not a family war or revenge.Not even power alone.Luca wanted control, movement and fear.Entire systems hidden beneath the surface of society.Dominic stood motionless near the center of the table, eyes fixed on the layered maps while his mind moved rapidly ahead.Planning.Calculating.Adapting.He finally looked toward Helena.“I need a meeting with the generals.” He said in a firm tone.The room shifted immediately as it was not made a request.Helena narrowed her eyes slightly.“You’re serious.” She stated.“Yes, I am.” He replied solemnly as he straightened up. “If the Axis Gate is real, I want every remaining structure mapp
Morning arrived with tension already waiting for them when Dominic and Althea went out of their room the following day.It was not explosive or frantic but heavy and purposeful.Blackstone felt like a headquarters and no longer feels like an estate preparing for conflict.Guards moved through the halls with sharper discipline with communication lines remained active.Maps and handwritten reports had already begun piling again inside the war room before sunrise.Dominic stood beside the long table waiting for everyone to arrive, one hand resting against the edge while the other held a cup of untouched coffee that had already gone cold.He barely slept.Not after the Axis Gate.Not after realizing Althea willingly walked into the center of, it.Not after finally understanding what his father had truly been protecting all these years.The door opened behind him and Dominic looked up immediately.Althea, who went to check on Nico after breakfast, entered first.August behind her.Then Hel
Althea interrupted him this time. But not with words. She reached for the buttons of her blouse calmly and started undoing them.Dominic blinked, mid-lecture.“What the hell are you doing?!”Althea didn’t answer as she simply slipped the fabric from her shoulders slowly, her eyes never leaving his.Dominic visibly lost his train of thought.“Thea.” He warned.Still no answer as her fingers moved toward the waistband of her pants next.Dominic stared at her.Actually stared.His irritation visibly colliding with immediate distraction.“You think this is going to stop me from being angry?” He scoffed.Althea finally spoke softly.“It looks to be working.” She answered with a small smile.Dominic opened his mouth immediately then stopped because unfortunately, it is working.“Thea.” He tried warning her again, though his voice had already dropped lower.Rougher.She stepped closer.Barefoot against the floor.Calm.Dangerous in an entirely different way now.“You yelled enough already, D
After Enzo’s report, the first hour passed in controlled silence.Blackstone never panic but immediately adapted.Opened doors were quietly closed and secured. Rotations of staff shifted by two-minute intervals. The passive cameras started to switch to active tracking, their faint red indicators gl
The Valtieri estate at first hesitated but did not deny entry.The gates opened with the slow inevitability of something that understood consequence. There were no men escorting nor weapons raised.That was Luca’s style.If violence came, it would not be clumsy.Michael Devereaux stepped out of the
Seraphina Valtieri stood alone in the east corridor of the estate that evening, the marble floor beneath her heels cold and unyielding. The air around her is carrying the distant echo of voices gathering where she already knew she would be expected.The elders were assembling upon Luca’s invitation
“You’re thinking again.” Althea said softly.Dominic exhaled faintly, a ghost of a smile touching his lips.The two of them are lying on the couch inside his office, had their clothes back on with half of Althea on top of him. She was looking at him gently while he was caressing her back lightly.“







