LOGINThe estate was quieter than usual that evening. Outside, the sky had turned a soft gray as the sun slipped behind distant clouds. The gardens were calm again after the storm two nights earlier, but inside the house, the tension hadn’t faded. It had only grown. Evelyn stood in her office, staring at the tablet in her hands. The message on the screen had arrived only twenty minutes earlier. Encrypted. From Damian. She had already read it three times. Helix Biogenetics Consortium is actively investigating Aurora again. We need to talk. Her fingers tightened slightly around the device. Helix. The name alone made something cold settle in her stomach. She had heard it before. Years ago. Back when the hospital investigation was still fresh. At the time she hadn’t paid much attention. It had been buried among dozens of corporate partners and research sponsors connected to Edward Blackwood’s medical programs. But now the name had resurfaced. And it was connected to Aurora. T
The meeting took place two nights later. Victor chose the location carefully. Not one of his offices. Not any building connected to Kane Holdings. Instead, a private members’ club tucked behind a quiet street near the river, the kind of place where powerful people preferred discretion over attention. The exterior looked unimpressive. Inside, it was silent, expensive, and designed for conversations that were never meant to leave the room. Victor arrived first. He always did. Control began with timing. He sat at a small corner table in a dim lounge overlooking the water. The lights were low, casting soft reflections across the glass walls. Outside, the river moved slowly under the city’s night glow. A waiter placed a single glass of whiskey in front of him. Victor didn’t touch it. His mind remained focused on one thing. Aurora. And the man he was about to meet. Ten minutes later, the lounge door opened. Victor didn’t turn immediately. He watched the reflection in the gla
Victor Kane hated waiting. Yet tonight he had done little else. The lights inside his penthouse office were dim, the glass walls overlooking the city glowing with distant traffic and the slow shimmer of skyscrapers under the evening sky. Rain from the previous night still clung to the streets below, reflecting the restless pulse of the city. Victor sat behind his desk, one hand resting against his chin. The tablet in front of him played a silent video feed. Evelyn’s estate. Security cameras from multiple angles. He had watched the same footage three times already. And each time the same image made his jaw tighten. Damian Blackwood. Still there. Still inside her house. Victor tapped the screen, switching to another camera. The angle showed the kitchen. Earlier that morning. Evelyn stood near the counter, coffee cup in hand. Silas sat at the table. And Damian sat across from him. They were playing chess. Victor watched the boy move a piece across the board. He couldn
The estate felt different the next morning. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, warming the marble floors and quiet hallways. The storm from the night before had passed, leaving the air fresh and the gardens bright outside. But inside the house, everything still felt fragile. Like the balance between them could break with the wrong word. Damian sat at the dining table, a cup of coffee untouched in front of him. He had been awake for hours, replaying the previous night in his head. Silas’s question. The confusion in the boy’s eyes. The way he ran upstairs afterward. Damian had faced corporate wars, hostile takeovers, and billion-dollar negotiations. None of it had ever made him feel as uncertain as a five-year-old child. Footsteps sounded in the hallway. Damian looked up. Silas appeared first, walking slowly into the room. Evelyn followed a few steps behind him. The boy paused when he saw Damian. For a moment neither of them spoke. Then Silas said quietly, “Hi.
Morning arrived quietly after the storm. Sunlight pushed through the tall windows of the estate, soft and pale after the violent night before. The gardens still glistened with rain, droplets clinging to every leaf and branch. Inside the house, the atmosphere felt fragile. Like the entire estate was holding its breath. Evelyn stood outside Silas’s bedroom door for a long moment before knocking gently. “Silas?” No answer. She opened the door slowly. The room was bright with morning light. Toys sat scattered near the carpet, a small stack of books beside the bed. Silas sat on the floor near the window. His knees were pulled up to his chest, his chin resting on them. He didn’t look angry. Just quiet. Too quiet. Evelyn stepped inside. “Good morning.” Silas didn’t look up immediately. “Morning.” She sat beside him on the floor. “You ran away pretty fast last night.” He shrugged slightly. “I was tired.” Evelyn studied him. “Were you upset?” Silas kept looking out the
The word hung in the room long after Damian said it. “Yes.” Silas didn’t move. For a moment the boy simply stood there, staring at him. The storm outside had softened to a quiet rain, but the silence inside the living room felt heavier than the thunder that had shaken the house earlier. Evelyn’s heart pounded painfully in her chest. She hadn’t been ready for this. Not like this. Not with the truth falling into the room so suddenly. Silas looked from Damian to Evelyn. Then back again. His voice came small, uncertain. “You’re… my dad?” Damian took a slow breath. “Yes.” The boy’s brow furrowed slightly as he tried to understand. He looked down at the floor for a moment, processing the words in the way children do—slowly, carefully, trying to fit new pieces into a world that had always seemed simple. Then he looked up again. “But… Mom said my dad wasn’t here.” Evelyn stepped forward quickly. “Silas, sweetheart—” Silas held up a small hand. “Wait.” His eyes returned t
Night had settled quietly over Evelyn’s estate. The house was dim except for the warm light spilling from the study near the back garden. Beyond the glass doors, the lawn stretched into darkness, guarded by silent security lights and distant figures posted along the perimeter. Inside, Evelyn sat
The meeting was arranged without assistants, security briefings, or records. That alone made it dangerous. Evelyn chose the location carefully. A neutral space neither connected to Blackwood Industries nor Kane Holdings. A private art gallery closed for renovation on the edge of the financial dis
The tension inside Blackwood Tower no longer hid behind polite corporate language. It breathed openly now. Screens across the executive floor glowed with falling stock indicators, financial news banners looping endlessly beneath market analysis panels. The Blackwood name, once synonymous with sta
Morning sunlight filtered softly through the tall iron gates of St. Aurelius Academy, turning the polished stone driveway gold. Security vehicles discreetly lined the entrance, their presence subtle enough not to alarm parents yet unmistakable to anyone paying attention. For the first time since l







