CHAPTER 57 – The Blood Oath

Eve's hands trembled as she flipped through the stack of documents, her stomach twisting at the horrors detailed within. It was worse than she ever imagined. Worse than even Alexander had prepared her for.

The ledger was filled with names—victims, business partners, buyers, and enforcers. But the transactions that made her blood run cold were the ones detailing human lives traded like commodities. Smuggling, black-market organ trade, child trafficking—every atrocity imaginable, orchestrated by Alexander's father.

Alexander stood behind her, silent as a grave. When she turned to face him, his expression was unreadable. But she knew him well enough to recognize the storm brewing beneath his calm exterior.

"This is it," she said quietly, handing him the files. "The proof you needed."

Alexander took the papers with a slow, deliberate movement. His jaw was tight, his shoulders coiled like a predator ready to strike. "No," he murmured. "This is just confirmation."

Carver leaned against the desk, shaking his head as he scanned the files. "Your old man isn't just a criminal, Voss. He's a damn emperor of rot." He tossed one of the pages back onto the desk. "This? This isn't business. This is goddamn genocide."

Eve swallowed hard. "This needs to be exposed. If we can get this to the right people—"

Alexander cut her off with a bitter laugh. "You think anyone in power doesn't already know?" He shook his head. "They turn a blind eye because they profit from it."

Eve refused to back down. "So what do we do? Just let him keep running his empire of corpses?"

"No." Alexander's voice was ice. "We burn it down."

The message came that night.

Carver was the one who answered the call, but the moment he heard the voice on the other end, his entire demeanor changed. His usual arrogance faded, replaced by something grim and dangerous.

He handed the phone to Alexander. "You need to hear this."

Alexander pressed the phone to his ear, his fingers tightening around the device. "Who is this?"

A slow, rasping breath came through the receiver, followed by a chilling chuckle. "You still think you can win, boy?"

His father's voice sent a cold blade of rage down his spine.

Alexander's grip on the phone turned bone-white. "I'm coming for you."

His father ignored the threat. "You've been busy. Digging where you shouldn't. But you should know by now—every action has a consequence."

There was a pause, then a click.

The image arrived on Alexander's phone seconds later.

Eve's sharp inhale told him she had seen it too.

A body. One of their allies. Or what was left of him. Skinned, burned, mutilated beyond recognition. A warning.

Alexander barely breathed. He stared at the image, the violence carved into the corpse like an artist's signature. His father's signature.

Carver swore under his breath. "That son of a—"

Eve turned to Alexander, her expression stricken. "We have to stop him."

Alexander set the phone down slowly, methodically. His entire body was coiled, but his face was eerily calm.

"He's not just a man," Alexander murmured, his voice void of emotion. "He's a god in his own kingdom of corpses."

Eve placed a hand on his arm, grounding him. "Then we tear down his kingdom."

A slow exhale left Alexander's lips. His gaze met hers, something dark and resolute flickering behind his eyes.

"We don't just tear it down," he said. "We bury him in it."

The oath was made. The blood war had truly begun.