Aria had seen fear in Dominic's eyes before—but never like this.
He didn't panic. He didn't flinch. But she saw it in the set of his jaw, the tension in his fists, the way he stared at the message Daniel had left on the wall.
"Either you burn it… or I will."
The server room was a wreck—cables ripped, guards down, hard drives missing. Someone had moved with precision.
Daniel.
Dominic turned on his heel. "Get Felix. I want every system re-encrypted. Now."
Aria followed as he stormed out. "Where are you going?"
"The vault," he muttered. "If he's touched it—"
"You think he's after your secrets?"
"I think he wants to destroy the last piece of who I was."
The elevator to the executive level climbed in silence. As it neared the top, Dominic reached beneath his jacket and drew his firearm.
Aria's breath caught. "You really think he's already here?"
Dominic didn't answer.
The elevator doors opened into the office. It was quiet—too quiet.
They stepped inside. Everything looked untouched.
But Dominic knew better.
He crossed the room and pressed his palm to the wall panel behind his desk. A hidden door hissed open, revealing the private vault: a steel room filled with files, devices, cash, and relics of his rise to power.
He froze.
One box was missing.
"No," he muttered. "No, no, no."
Aria stepped inside. "What was in it?"
"A drive. A real one. Not a decoy. It had the only unedited footage from the night Daniel disappeared."
Her stomach sank. "The truth?"
"Yes," Dominic said. "And now he has it."
Miles away, in a dim hotel suite, Daniel watched the footage again. The full version. Raw. Unfiltered.
Dominic, surrounded by fire. Daniel, bloody and screaming. Marlowe barking orders.
But the ending was different than Aria had seen.
Dominic had tried to free him.
He had shot one of the captors.
He had screamed Daniel's name, dragged him through the fire.
But then came the final frame: Marlowe, placing a hand on Dominic's shoulder. Whispering something.
Dominic walked away.
Daniel paused the video.
His hands trembled.
He didn't know what Marlowe had said. But he knew the truth now wasn't as black and white as he had believed.
Back in the vault, Aria sat on a bench, her voice quiet. "You tried to save him."
Dominic didn't reply.
She touched his hand. "You left to protect him, didn't you?"
"I thought if I stayed, they'd kill him anyway. I thought if I walked away, he'd live."
"And instead, he thinks you abandoned him."
Dominic nodded. "And now he wants to erase me the way he thinks I erased him."
Aria exhaled. "Then it's not just about revenge anymore."
"No," Dominic said. "It's about rewriting the past."
A chime echoed through the office. A new message blinked on the monitor.
From: Daniel Blackwood
Subject: Two Brothers. One Crown.
Attachment: Public Press Conference Invitation
A single line in the body of the message read:
"Let's tell the world what really happened… together."
Aria stared at the screen.
"He wants to go public?"
Dominic narrowed his eyes. "He's playing with fire."
Aria looked at him. "Will you do it?"
Dominic met her gaze.
"If this is how it ends—then I'll be the one holding the match."