Mag-log inDamien stood in front of him and looked at him for a moment. The guard brought a chair and set it down. Damien sat on it, leaning forward slightly.He reached for the sack cloth.Jules stepped forward immediately. "Sir. I strongly advise against that."Damien's hand did not stop. He pulled it off, ignoring Jules.The man's eyes took several seconds to adjust, blinking severally. His face, fully visible now, was worse than the rest of him. Both eyes were swollen, one nearly shut entirely. His nose had been broken. His lips were cracked and pale.He squinted, trying to make out the figure in front of him.Damien reached forward and took a handful of the man's hair. He tilted the man's face upward until their eyes met."George Sterling."George blinked."The next time you think about laying your hands on my wife," Damien said, his voice low, "it will be the last time you ever make use of those hands." He held his gaze. "I hope this past week has taught you enough."He released him. Georg
Damien noticed the other figure in the room. Ryan, Emilia's eldest son, standing near the window with his arms folded, trying to look like his presence was coincidental."Hey, cous." Ryan offered it with a half smile."Let's skip the greetings." Damien did not look at him for long. "I'm sure your mother has already briefed you on what she did."Ryan's smile disappeared from his face almost immediately. "Do you have proof that my mum was responsible? Because walking in here and making accusations …..""I didn't mention any names," Damien said.Ryan paused."Your presence here is proof enough.""I came to see my mother at her place of work. That is not proof of anything."Damien turned slightly and looked at Jules.Jules stepped forward, opened the briefcase on the edge of the desk, and brought out a thick folder and a small voice recorder. He set both in front of Ryan without a word and stepped back.Ryan picked up the folder. He opened it. He turned pages slowly, his eyes moving acros
The man at the hotel room sat deeply focused. He had been watching the press conference on his laptop, sipping on a glass of red wine.Just as the news showed Damien walking off the podium after making his statement, he crushed the wine glass he held in his hand, the wine glass cut him badly, blood trickled down his hand from the injury.The woman with him in the room rushed to him quickly, her face filled with panic."What have you done?" She reached for his hand, already seeing the blood pouring out, running in thin lines between his fingers. "You have hurt yourself." She grabbed a cloth from the table and pressed it to his hand. "Let me see it, let me ….."He pulled his hand away."I'm fine.""You are not fine, you are bleeding …..""I said I am fine." His voice was not loud, but it closed the conversation completely.She stepped back.He stood and reached for his phone. The screen lit up before he could unlock it.It was boldly written ‘Mum’.He stared at the name for one second,
The side door opened for the second time.The room changed immediately, the one person everyone had been waiting for finally arrived. Conversations died mid-sentence, cameras shifted to him.Damien Carrington walked in.He had changed into a new set of clothes from what he wore at the airport. His hair was neat, brushed back with a clean precision. He wore a charcoal grey suit, it was tailored to his size. His tie was a deep navy, pinned with a small silver clip. His shoes were dark and polished. He looked in every measurable way, like a man who had not been affected one bit by the video.That was the point.He walked to the podium without rushing. When he reached the microphone, he adjusted it slightly, lowering it to suit his height, tapped it twice, and looked up.For a moment, the room became rowdy, the reporters scrambled to take a good shot. It was not every time the Carrington had scandals, for some of them present in the room it would be a life changing experience for themDam
Everyone in the Carrington family had seen the news. Olivia, Gerald, Amira and Adrian called and sent messages but Damien only responded to his wife only. Gerald was not comfortable with the situation. He dialled Emilia."Father ….""What exactly are you doing to manage this situation?!!" His voice cut Emilia off immediately. Emilia pulled the phone from her ear the moment the volume rose. When his voice dropped, she brought the phone back to her ear."Father, my team is working on it. But this has spread quickly. You know how the public responds to anything involving our family. They feed on it.""Do your best to control the situation, I did not build this name for so long to let it be stained.""I know that.""Do your best and I might grant your request concerning Luca."The line went dead.Emilia squealed in excitement. She was surrounded by her crisis management team.She turned to face her team."Everyone," she said, "get busy. I want counter narratives on every platform within
Damien and Jules were still on the private jet coming back to their city not knowing the chaos that had been released. They had not gotten enough rest due to the board meeting and late nights they spent investigating the source of the problem and how to counterattack. They had switched their phones to airplane mode before takeoff and had not looked back.Both of them had put their phones on airplane mode to avoid distractions, they were deep asleep.Their flight soon landed. As soon as the flight landed, the flight attendant touched Damien's arm gently. She hesitated before doing it again, firmer this time."Sorry to wake you, sir," she said softly, "but we have arrived at our destination."Damien opened his eyes slowly. He rolled his neck, feeling the stiffness. Jules stirred on his own, sitting upright and fixing his glasses."Already?" Jules muttered, looking at his watch."Apparently," Damien said, his voice rough with sleep.The jet door opened. Damien buttoned his jacket and sm
Across the city, in the elegant Carrington family estate where Damien had grown up, chaos was already brewing.Amira Carrington sat on the couch, her phone glued to her hand as her long fingers scrolled endlessly.She was halfway through her morning coffee when a video started playing on her social
As Damien's car approached the Blackwood family, passing through the familiar tree-lined drive of his childhood.The mansion loomed ahead, and Damien steeled himself for the confrontation to come. His mother would want answers. His father would demand explanations. Amira would probably make inappro
Back at E Atelier, the conference room buzzed with low conversations. The space was designed to intimidate—floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city, a massive glass table surrounded by leather chairs, walls adorned with her mother's original fashion sketches. Everything in this room was meant
Elena gently extracted herself from Ethan’s embrace, careful not to wake him again. She pressed a soft kiss to his forehead before slipping out of the race car bed.As she walked down the hallway toward her own room, she spotted Bernard's familiar figure at the end of the corridor, supervising a ma







