Brother , or Betrayer

Location: Tavara – Secret Estate, North Ridge

Damien stepped further into the room, his black overcoat trailing behind like the shadow of a ghost long thought buried. Every eye at the table darted between him and Victor, waiting for the tension to shatter.

Victor rose slowly from his chair, his voice razor-sharp.

"I buried you. I saw the flames consume the convoy."

Damien's lips curved into a cynical smile. "And yet, here I stand. Alive. Watching as you took my name, my network… even my unfinished vengeance."

The old man at the head of the table lifted a hand. "This reunion was necessary. The Kane brothers must lead together—or fall divided."

Victor's jaw tightened. "Lead together? You expect me to trust a ghost who disappeared when I needed him most? Who left mother to die in poverty while he played dead?"

A flicker of pain passed across Damien's eyes, but it vanished quickly.

"You weren't the only one who lost her," Damien said quietly. "I watched from the shadows. I had to vanish… for both of us. For the war coming."

Victor moved closer, now toe-to-toe with his brother. "What war?"

Damien turned to the others. "The Obsidian Circle isn't the only force rising. There's a new alliance forming in Eastern Europe. Old enemies with new power—funded by the same syndicates that killed our father. They've already infiltrated Tavara's economic councils."

Victor's mind raced. If Damien was telling the truth, they were facing an unseen threat bigger than any one family.

But his instincts screamed betrayal.

"You want to lead beside me?" Victor asked. "Then start with the truth. Where were you during the blood purge in Geneva?"

Damien hesitated.

"I was inside," he said. "Feeding intel to the inside man—trying to save who I could. But someone tipped them off. And I think… it was someone in this room."

Gasps broke out. Chairs scraped back. Fingers curled toward hidden triggers.

Victor didn't move. He locked eyes with Damien.

"Then prove it."