로그인Michael chose a place neutral by design.
It has no Devereaux crest nor a Valtieri influence.
The place is a quiet restaurant overlooking the river. It is usually frequented by men who negotiated borders and buried consequences beneath polite conversation. A place where privacy was bought with silence, not money.
Michael arrived first and as a habit etched deep from a lifetime of calculated exposure, took the seat with his back to the wall.
He ordered a cup of coffe
The flight back to Blackstone was in complete silence not because each of them has nothing to say. It’s more like there was too much to talk about.The sea stretched endlessly beneath the helicopter.Dark blue water.White foam.Grey skies.Normally Ulysees would have complained about something like the weather, the prison, the atmosphere or just anything.However, after they went out of Blackgate, he remained unusually quiet.That alone told Dominic how much the meeting had affected everyone.Across from him, Sebastian stared out the window.Vincent is looking on his phone while Roberto sat with his arms crossed, his face solemn.Ulysses looked thoughtful.While Enzo, looked annoyed.Not angry or frustrated.He looked completely annoyed, the kind that appeared when he couldn’t solve a problem.Dominic knew the feeling because he felt exactly the same way.Aurelio had told them almost nothing. Yet somehow, he had managed to leave them with more questions than answers.The first fractu
"Which dead?" Ulysees asked."The important ones." Came the response.Antonio buried his face in his hands."This man is impossible."Aurelio looked delighted.Dominic leaned forward."What fractures, Aurelio?!" He asked coldly.Aurelio's smile disappeared instantly.The change startled everyone because for the first time, something real appeared.Pain.Raw pain.Buried deep."Alessandro." The name escaped quietly from him.Dominic didn't interrupt and neither did anyone else. They all just waited for Aurelio as he just stared at the table for a long while."The first fracture." Aurelio finally muttered. His jaw tightened. “Dad is the second.”Then his eyes lifted, returning to Dominic."And you."The hatred returned immediately and violently."The third."Dominic's expression hardened."What does that f8cking mean?" He demanded intently.Aurelio smiled again, this time coldly."You're still alive." He pointed.Sebastian frowned."You wanted him dead."Aurelio laughed out loud."No."
The prison sat on an island.However, the island is not the romantic kind found in postcards or the picturesque kind that tourists or locals would photograph.The island was little more than black stone rising from dark water.A fortress.A cage.A warning.It has been built decades earlier by several powerful families to house individuals that are too dangerous, too influential, or too connected for ordinary incarceration.Its official name was the Blackgate Detention Complex.Most just simply calls it Blackgate.Because once someone entered its walls, very few ever walked free again.The structure emerged from the sea like something ancient.Concrete.Steel.Stone.Layers upon layers of security surrounds the complex with watchtowers overlooking waves crashing with each other. Floodlights lined the perimeter outside along with armed patrols moving across elevated walkways.Even from the approaching helicopter, the place felt oppressive.Like a tomb waiting patiently for its occupant
Twenty minutes later, Dominic entered the dining room.Most of the men were already there, drinking their coffee and eating their breakfast that the staff has prepared for them.The familiar sound of conversation, life returning to normal.Enzo looked up first."There he is." He drawled as he placed down his cup of coffee.Antonio immediately pointed."Blackstone’s escaped patient."Dominic sat down and glowered at them."I was cleared." Dominic snapped lightly."I don’t think so." Enzo answered."Mostly cleared.""Think again, boss.""Partially cleared." Dominic finally scoffed with a scowl.Antonio nodded with a grin."There it is." He said and laughter spread around the table.Sebastian shook his head."All I can say, Althea's influence is terrifying." He chuckled as he leaned back on his chair and reached for his coffee. “I don’t want to cross her when she’s in a mood.”"Agree on that."The doors opened and they turned and saw Michael entered with August following behind.The fath
Dominic woke slowly the following day.For the first time in weeks, there was no pain sharp enough to pull him from sleep.Only warmth and peace.Only Althea.He looked down and saw her curled against his side, one arm draped across his chest, her hair spread across the pillow. Morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, painting soft gold across the room.For a long moment, Dominic just simply watched her.No Axis.No bloodlines.No hidden vaults.No enemies.Just this.Just her.His wife.The woman he had almost lost.The woman who had nearly lost him.Althea stirred slightly."You're staring again." She murmured as she snuggled closer to him."You’re supposed to be sleeping.” He teased with a smile."I can feel you staring." She answered as she finally opened her eyes, looking sleepy and beautiful. As well as entirely too perceptive. "You do it often.""I like looking at you." Dominic responded.That statement immediately ruined whatever complaint she had prepared.A smile tugg
The library finally grew quiet late in the evening.For the past hours, the room had been filled with maps, blueprints, theories, and questions.Questions about the hidden level beneath the Valtieri estate, about Alessandro, the Axis that seemed to lead to new questions every time they will find an answer.Now, however, the corridors of the estate had fallen silent.The grandfather clock chimed softly within the halls of Blackstone.Midnight had come and gone and everyone had retired for the evening.Everyone had retired for the evening.Nicholas, who begged to stay a little longer with them, had eventually fallen asleep on a couch in the library after exhausting himself by pointing out inconsistencies in century-old architectural plans before his nanny took him to his room.Dominic still couldn't decide whether he found that amusing or terrifying.Perhaps both.The image lingered in his mind as he and Althea walked slowly through the quiet halls toward their bedroom.Neither spoke.N
The study had fallen into a heavy silence even of the files still lay open across the desk. The pages inside the folder had been spread like remnants of a storm that just passed.The handwriting of Dominic’s father stared up from the margins, looking cold and clinical as though the past had finally
The earlier laughter in the war room had faded as Nicholas and Althea stepped away from the table. The boy had insisted on bringing the wooden knight with him, holding it carefully as though it were part of the game, he had just helped design.Before leaving, Althea had stopped in the doorway and l
The war room was alive again the following day with Blackstone returning to its operational rhythm.Maps covered the central table, showing the coastal routes, financial channels, transport grids, satellite overlays. Screens flickered with surveillance feeds and data streams.Voices moved in contro
Morning arrived at Blackstone, the early light slipping through the tall windows of Nicholas’ room. The light brushed across the bed where the three of them had fallen asleep in the deep hours of the night.Dominic woke first as he always does since his body had learned long ago how to wake up even







