The First Blow

"You don't warn wolves before you bite. You just bare your teeth—and strike."

It began with a letter.

Elegant. Legal. Ruthless.

Addressed to Adrian Navarro and the Navarro Holdings Executive Board, delivered at 9:00 a.m. by three court messengers and copied to every business publication in the country.

Re: Intent to Sue for Estate Fraud, Conspiracy, and Attempted Murder.

A single line stood out in bold.

"You buried me once. Now I'm digging up everything." — Lyra Reyes

Dominic was in the conference room when Lucas entered with a folder.

"She did it," he said, trying not to smile. "She filed it. Publicly."

Dominic set down his pen.

"Good."

Lucas handed him the printout. "Navarro Holdings' stock dropped four points in an hour. Reporters are at their gates. Adrian hasn't made a statement."

Dominic glanced at the clock.

"He will soon. But it'll be the wrong one."

Lyra stood in the center of the Velasco estate's operations floor, watching everything unfold on-screen.

She wore black today.

A tailored power dress, sharp-shouldered, cinched at the waist, paired with the black diamond ring that had once symbolized nothing—and now meant everything.

Her name was trending again.

But this time, not with whispers.

#LyraStrikesBack

#ReclaimingReyes

She had been called a ghost.

A liar.

A survivor.

Now they were calling her what she always was.

A threat.

Dominic joined her at the monitors.

Their eyes met in the glass's reflection.

"Any regrets?" he asked.

"Only that I waited this long."

He nodded.

"She won't go quietly," she added, referring to Adrian's mother—the shadowy matriarch of Navarro Holdings. "I'll have to hit her next."

Dominic said nothing at first.

Then: "You're not just dismantling a family empire. You're disrupting an entire ecosystem."

Lyra smirked. "Good."

By noon, Adrian Navarro had released a statement.

A pre-recorded video on a rooftop.

He looked calm.

But Lyra saw the twitch in his jaw.

The way he avoided saying her name directly.

"These allegations are baseless. Designed to draw attention away from past trauma. I deeply sympathize with Ms. Reyes—but we cannot allow legacy disputes to damage shareholders."

A long pause.

"Navarro Holdings stands by its record—and will pursue legal defense with full force."

Lyra closed the video.

She didn't flinch.

Didn't even blink.

"Let him defend," she said. "It'll make the takedown more satisfying."

Later that evening, Dominic found her in the rooftop garden.

She was barefoot, hair loose, staring out over the city like a general surveying her battlefield.

"You look like someone who's won something," he said.

"I look like someone who's just beginning."

She turned to him.

There was something different in her gaze tonight.

Not just steel.

Not just vengeance.

But purpose.

"You've given me room to rise," she said. "Even when you didn't understand why I needed it."

Dominic stepped closer.

"Because I saw you," he said. "Even when you were still hiding from yourself."

They sat together in the open air, silence between them as the sky darkened.

Then, without warning, Dominic spoke.

"There's something I haven't told you."

Lyra turned. "What is it?"

His jaw tensed. "My father… didn't just ruin our family name. He didn't just lose money."

He paused.

"He tried to sell the company. Illegally. To Navarro Holdings. As part of a personal debt settlement."

Lyra's eyes widened.

"When I found out, I threatened to expose him. He vanished before I could. Left the country. Changed names. Left us with ruin."

She reached for his hand.

"You blamed yourself."

He nodded.

"For a long time, I thought I was the one who made him run. But now? I think he always planned to. I just happened to be in the way."

Lyra squeezed his hand.

"You weren't the cause, Dominic. You were the cost."

The moment hung between them.

Heavy.

Unsaid.

Shared.

Then Dominic reached into his jacket pocket.

Pulled out a second black folder.

And handed it to her.

"What's this?" Lyra asked.

"Your next move," he said. "Navarro Holdings' hidden funding chain—three levels deeper than even you've gone."

She flipped through the pages.

Bank transfers.

Shell companies.

One name caught her breath.

Her mother.

"You had this the whole time?" she whispered.

"I was waiting to be sure you were ready."

She looked up.

And for once, she didn't have words.

Only the crushing, thrilling realization that she wasn't alone in this anymore.

She had power.

She had proof.

And now… she had him.

That night, Lyra stood before her war board again.

She moved one red thread.

Shifted one pin.

And added a new label beside Adrian's name.

Phase Two: Collapse.

The first blow had landed—but Lyra Reyes was only just beginning to fight. And this time, she wasn't swinging alone.