Location: Tavara – Damien's Underground Operations Suite
The digital command center beneath Damien's estate pulsed with quiet energy. Monitors lined the walls, each displaying live feeds, maps, and data trails sourced from every corner of Tavara's corporate and political web.
Julian adjusted his glasses and turned to the main screen. "We found him."
Damien stood at the center, arms crossed, Nora seated beside him with a tablet in hand. Micah hovered in the background, coordinating communications.
"Arden Vos," Julian began, "isn't a real name. It's a codename used in offshore investment files — mostly through a Singapore-based shell company called Virex Holdings. It's been quietly acquiring stake in Tavara's mid-tier media, logistics, and pharmaceutical firms."
Nora's eyes narrowed. "Controlling the narrative, movement, and medicine. That's not business—it's siege warfare."
Julian nodded. "Exactly. And here's the kicker: all funding traces back to a dormant account once linked to the Kane family's overseas vaults. That name shouldn't exist here, not in this narrative."
Damien's jaw tensed. "Someone's either reviving ghosts or intentionally contaminating the battlefield."
Micah spoke next. "There's more. Virex Holdings funded a new media house—The Tavara Standard. Guess who their lead investigative journalist is?"
He tapped the screen. A photo appeared: a woman in her late thirties, sharp features, piercing gaze, press badge clipped to a vintage leather coat.
"Rebecca Vale," he said. "Former government liaison. She's been on your family's trail for over a year. She wrote that exposé on Blackthorn's industrial reach."
Damien's eyes darkened. "So she's their mouthpiece."
Julian tilted his head. "Not exactly. I ran a deeper trace. Her sister... is married to Senator Alcott. And Alcott just voted against the international trade bill you supported last month. We're not dealing with one enemy. We're dealing with a coalition."
A heavy silence fell in the room.
Nora leaned forward. "So what's their endgame? Sabotage? Or are they trying to trigger a public takedown?"
"They're testing thresholds," Damien replied. "Waiting to see how far they can push before I strike."
He turned toward Nora. "We need to get ahead of them. Before they create irreversible noise."
She nodded. "I'll call Elise. She has contacts in The Standard. If Rebecca Vale is using that platform, we'll either negotiate with her… or bury her story before it breaks."
Damien looked to Julian and Micah. "You two—prepare a public counter-narrative. I want a controlled leak about a humanitarian project. Something real, something powerful. A diversion that puts us back in the public's good graces."
Julian grinned. "Redemption arc? Bold."
Damien's voice was steel. "Necessary."
The hum of servers intensified as commands were issued, lines of code cascading across screens.
From the shadows of silence, war was being waged with bytes, headlines, and surgical precision.
But the enemy wasn't the only one with secrets.
Damien had survived worse. And with Nora beside him — calculating, unflinching — they would not lose.
This time, they wouldn't just protect what was theirs.
They would dominate the narrative.