Location: Tavara – Damien's Private Estate, East Wing
The tension in the air was dense—so thick, it seemed to press down on every surface in Damien's private study. The East Wing, once a haven of privacy, had become a quiet war room where every whisper meant something, and every file carried the weight of another truth uncovered.
Nora stood by the massive window, her arms crossed tightly as she stared at the rain tracing lines on the glass. She wasn't just watching the storm outside—she was thinking, analyzing, calculating the next move in a game that had grown far more dangerous than anyone had expected.
Damien set the leather folder down on his desk with a soft thud. "It's confirmed. The arms deal wasn't just a misfire—it was orchestrated. And not by a random cartel."
Nora turned slowly. "Then who?"
He leaned back, fingers steepled beneath his chin. "Your uncle. Harold."
Her eyes darkened instantly. "No. He wouldn't. He—"
"He did," Damien interrupted gently. "I had Ashford run an independent trace. Offshore transfers from Harold's dummy account in Zurich were used to finance the smuggling operation. And worse—he's been feeding intel to one of the Western competitors."
Nora inhaled sharply, the betrayal slicing deeper than she'd expected. "All this time... I thought he was the only one still loyal to my parents."
"He was. Until your father's death. After that..." Damien hesitated. "Something changed. Greed or desperation—whatever it was, it turned him."
She sat down across from him, her face a mixture of grief and steel. "Then we expose him. Publicly. Quietly. I don't care—he's not dragging my family's name through mud."
Damien shook his head. "We don't move yet. Not until we know who he's working with."
At that moment, Logan entered the room with two sealed files. "Update from the team at the port. We've intercepted another communication from the same network. This time... they mentioned the Falcon Protocol."
Damien's expression shifted. "That protocol was buried years ago."
Logan nodded. "Someone's digging it up."
Nora's gaze hardened. "If they're looking to activate that... it's not just a business play. It's an all-out assault."
Damien stood, his voice low and cold. "Then we hit first."