LOGINThe alarms kept going outside.The new enemy was in cuffs now.But the brothers could not stop shaking.And the war had just gotten louder.Damien’s father sat in the police car, hands cuffed behind his back, but his voice still carried through the open window. “I’ve been feeding Victor everything. The reforms. The changes. The board votes. I’ve been on his side the entire time. He’s my brother. We always protected each other. Even when you were kids.”Security slammed the door. Sirens screamed down the street. The hospital hallway filled with noise again. Kai lay back on the bed, arm in cast, ribs tight, heart still racing from the bullet that missed him by inches.“Dad shot at us,” Kai said, voice flat. “Right there. In this room. The man who was supposed to protect us. He’s been secr
The room felt smaller. The news was still playing on the TV in the corner. Victor’s face on the screen, declaring war.“Victor declares war on ValeTech publicly,” the reporter said. “He says Damien Vale’s father has been working with him the entire time. Secret payments. Board members. He has proof. The company is in danger.”Damien looked at Kai, then at his father. “We’re not losing this. Not like this.”Kai squeezed his hand. “We’ve got each other. That’s what matters now.”They sat there, the three of them, listening to the news, the father who wasn’t gone, the enemy who was free, and the new war just starting outside the hospital windows.A knock came at the door. Not loud. Just one tap, like someone asking if it was okay to enter.Damien looked up. “Who is it?&rdqu
The hospital room felt too bright, like the lights were shining straight into Kai’s skull. He was sitting up in the bed now, IV drip still going, one arm in a cast, ribs taped tight under the gown. Damien sat on the edge, holding his hand like it was the only solid thing left in the world.“We’re staying right here,” Damien said, voice low but steady. “All night if we have to.”Kai nodded, eyes still half-closed from the pain meds. “Good. Because I’m not going anywhere. Not without you.”Outside the room, Kaicen talked to the cops. Lila was called in. But the secret was out. Victor was in cuffs. The accomplice too.The door opened quiet. A nurse came in with fresh clothes. “He can go home tomorrow,” she told them. “But rest first. No big calls.”Damien waited till she left. Then he leaned
Victor’s laugh filled the warehouse like a knife in the ribs.“You think you know her?” he said, pointing the gun at Kaicen’s chest. “Lila’s been feeding me every meeting. Every change you two pushed. She’s been inside the company for years. And now she’s even closer— she’s dating your dead son, Damien. Full circle.”Kai’s face went white. “Lila? Your daughter? That’s not—”The accomplice stepped up, knife already out. “She told me everything. The shooting. How you almost left him. How you wanted space. She’s been laughing behind your back the whole time.”Damien moved fast. He grabbed the accomplice’s arm, twisted the knife away, and slammed him against the wall. “You’re done talking.”But Victor just smiled wider. “Too late. Lila’s already signed the papers with me. She’s my girl now. And your brother’s boy she loves him. They’ve been together ten years. She never told you because you’re too busy with your cold heart.”Kaicen looked at Damien, voice cracking. “Lila… she helped me. S
The drive to the police station felt like it took forever.When they finally reached the station, Damien told the officers everything. The hidden camera. The photo. The accomplice’s name.They called Victor’s right-hand man in immediately.The man denied everything.Until they showed him the photo.Until they showed him the live feed.Until they showed him the hidden camera in Kaicen’s apartment.He broke fast.He was the accomplice.He had worked for Victor the entire time.He had helped Marcus kidnap Kaicen.He had been feeding Victor information about the company for months.He had been the one who told Victor about the ethical changes.He had been the one who had been watching them.He had been the one who had Kaicen right now.The police took him in.But Kai’s heart was still racing.Because the photo had shown Kaicen.And the man holding the gun had been looking straight at the camera.At them.At the brothers.At Damien.At all of them.Damien looked at Kai.His voice was low a
The phone call came at 11:47 p.m.Kai was already awake. The sound of the ringtone cut through the dark like a knife. He sat up fast, heart slamming in his chest.Damien was beside him, phone in hand.The screen showed an unknown number.Kai’s mouth went dry.Damien answered on speaker.The voice on the other end was calm. Almost polite.“Kai Lennox. Or should I say, brother of Kaicen Lennox. How sweet. I have your brother. I have both of them now. Come find him… or I start breaking him the way I broke your brother all those years ago.”The line went dead.Kai stared at the phone in Damien’s hand.His voice came out small. “He has him. He has Kaicen.”Damien was already moving. “We’re calling the police. We’re calling security. We’re going to Kaicen’s apartment right now.”Kai shook his head. “No. We don’t wait. We go now. We find him. We get him back. We do it together.”Damien looked at him. His face was calm, but his eyes were hard. “Together. Okay. Grab your keys. I’ll drive.”The
“You’re obsessed with it,” Kai Lennox said, voice husky with amusement and heat as he stood naked in the middle of Damien’s penthouse bedroom. The city lights filtered through the rain-streaked floor-to-ceiling windows, casting shifting neon patterns across his sun-kissed skin. It was well past 11:
“You think you’re the only one who gets to call the shots?” Kai Lennox’s voice was a low, dangerous rasp as he locked the service door behind Damien at 11:47 p.m. on the dot. The rooftop bar was dark except for the low amber glow behind the bottles and the rain-streaked city lights bleeding through
“You’re late,” Kai Lennox said the second Damien stepped through the service door at 11:52 p.m., voice low and edged with something that wasn’t quite anger anymore. He was already leaning against the far end of the bar, sleeves rolled high, phoenix tattoo gleaming under the low amber lights of Ecli
“You’re going to leave fingerprints on my throat tonight, aren’t you?” Kai Lennox said the second Damien’s shadow fell across the bar at exactly 11:47 p.m. His voice was already husky, half challenge, half invitation. He didn’t look up from the glass he was polishing—didn’t need to. He could feel t







