449: Threads of Betrayal

Location: Kane Holdings Global HQ, Tavara – Midnight

The towering skyscraper of Kane Holdings shimmered against the Tavaran skyline like a blade of glass piercing the heavens. Inside, in the uppermost chamber reserved only for strategic emergencies, Damien sat at the round obsidian table, surrounded by a storm of silence.

Across from him were his most trusted inner circle—Lance, the stoic ex-military strategist; Aria, the hacker prodigy with eyes like midnight code; and Chancellor Veylor, a diplomat so skilled he could negotiate with ghosts.

"I want names," Damien said, voice low but lethal. "The ones leaking information. The ones playing both sides."

Lance laid down a thin black folder. "There's no doubt now. Someone in this room—or close to it—is feeding intel to the Syndicate. Two convoys rerouted. One safehouse compromised. We lost six agents in the last ten days."

Aria added, "They're using a layered proxy web. Old school tactics masked behind quantum encryption. Took me hours just to narrow the point of origin—Keshmir province."

Damien clenched his jaw. "Dominus."

Veylor raised an eyebrow. "The brother who shouldn't exist?"

"He does exist," Damien snapped. "And he's not hiding anymore. He's targeting our people, our infrastructure… our family."

Aria paused. "Then there's something you need to see."

She tapped her tablet and projected a grainy surveillance video. The footage showed a shadowy figure planting an encrypted device beneath one of the Kane-owned armored vehicles. The moment he turned slightly, Damien's breath hitched.

It wasn't just the figure's face. It was his face.

"Impossible," Lance muttered. "That's you."

"No," Damien whispered. "That's him. Dominus."

The room fell into stunned silence.

"But there's more," Aria added, switching to a confidential transmission. "This message was intercepted en route to the Tavaran Parliament."

She played it aloud.

> "Phase Two commences in seventy-two hours. Nora Kane must be separated from the Alpha. The child must be taken. Without them, Damien Kane is but a man. And men can be broken."

Damien stood abruptly, his chair screeching back.

"They're after my family."

Lance placed a pistol on the table. "Give the word."

"No," Damien said coldly. "This isn't a war we'll fight in boardrooms and shadows anymore."

He looked toward the window, where the city stretched infinitely below.

"It's time I reminded the world who I am."

He turned to the group, his presence like a rising storm.

"Prepare the Helix Protocol. Activate Falcon Squad. And Veylor…"

"Yes?"

"Call the Tavaran Council. I want emergency sovereignty granted."

Veylor blinked. "You're invoking Imperial Clause 9?"

Damien nodded. "Effective immediately… I am the law."