The plane soared above the clouds, leaving behind the chaos of Barcelona and everything that had nearly destroyed them.
Aurora sat in one of the leather recliners of Damien's private jet, Noah curled against her side, sleeping for the first time in nearly twenty-four hours. The gentle hum of the engines was the only sound as the world below faded into white silence.
She brushed a hand through her son's hair, her mind a tangled mess of relief and dread. He was safe. Julian was in Interpol custody. The nightmare, for now, had ended.
And yet… she felt hollow.
Across from her, Damien watched them both. His eyes, so often guarded and unreadable, were filled with something soft. Something vulnerable.
"Thank you," she said quietly.
"For what?"
"For coming. For saving him."
Damien shook his head. "He's my son too."
Her heart clenched. The words lingered in the air, echoing with unspoken truth.
She looked down. "He still doesn't know."
Damien leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "We need to tell him. Soon."
Aurora nodded, but her stomach twisted.
Not just because of the truth she had yet to share with Noah… but because of the deeper one she had buried for too long.
---
They landed in New York late the next evening, and by the time they reached Damien's estate in the Hudson Valley, night had fallen.
Maxwell had already swept the grounds for security, and a private pediatrician was waiting to examine Noah. The boy was tired, but unharmed—a medical miracle considering what he'd just endured.
Once Noah had been bathed and tucked into one of the guest bedrooms, Aurora stepped out onto the balcony, her arms wrapped around herself despite the summer air.
Damien joined her after a moment, carrying two glasses of wine. He handed her one without speaking.
They stood in silence, the stars above scattered like broken glass.
"Do you remember the last time we were here?" Damien asked.
Aurora gave a hollow laugh. "I remember the way you kissed me under that oak tree. I remember thinking maybe… maybe we could make it work."
"We still can," he said quietly.
She turned to him, searching his face. "You really believe that? After everything?"
"Yes."
He said it with the same certainty he used to close billion-dollar deals. Like it was fact. Like he'd already decided.
But Aurora had always been the one with doubts.
"I haven't told you everything," she said.
Damien tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
"I didn't just keep Noah's existence from you," she said. "I lied about something else. Something that might change how you feel."
He waited, silent.
Aurora took a breath. "The night I left you—when I disappeared after the party six years ago—I didn't just leave because I was afraid of Julian."
Damien's body went still.
"I left," she continued, "because I thought you betrayed me."
His jaw tensed. "What?"
"I found a letter," she said, voice shaking. "In Julian's office. It was signed with your initials. It detailed how you had been feeding him intel about me—about my past, my mother, my ties to The Aegis."
Damien stared at her. "Aurora… I never wrote that letter."
Tears welled in her eyes. "I know that now. But back then—I was scared. You'd been acting distant. Julian was turning darker every day. I didn't know who to trust."
"And instead of asking me, you ran."
She flinched. "I was pregnant. I didn't even know until after I'd disappeared. By then, it felt too late."
Damien took a step closer. "So all these years… you thought I was just like him?"
"I didn't want to," she said. "But I couldn't risk it. I had to protect Noah."
He looked away, running a hand through his hair.
Aurora felt her throat tighten. "I'm sorry."
Damien turned back to her. "The letter—do you still have it?"
She hesitated, then nodded. "It's hidden in a safe deposit box in Geneva."
"Then we need to get it," he said. "Because if someone forged my name, it means Julian had help. Someone close. Someone who knew enough to tear us apart."
Aurora's pulse quickened. "You think there's another player?"
"I think," he said, "that Mateo wasn't the only traitor."
---
Two days later, they flew to Switzerland.
Geneva was quiet in the summer, its old-world charm blending with high-security banks and discreet power brokers. The kind of place where secrets went to die.
Aurora led Damien to a small private vault in a corner bank near the Rhône. The deposit box hadn't been touched in six years. Inside, along with some cash and photos, lay a thin cream-colored envelope, still sealed.
She handed it to him with shaking fingers.
Damien opened it carefully, scanning the contents.
His eyes narrowed. "This isn't my handwriting."
"I figured."
"But whoever wrote this knew details only someone on the inside would."
Aurora pointed to the letterhead. "Look at the emblem. Bottom right."
Damien held it to the light. A watermark—a phoenix in flight.
His mouth went dry. "Aegis."
Aurora's heart sank. "You think this came from them?"
He nodded slowly. "Or someone who used to work for them. Someone who wanted to ensure we stayed apart."
She sat down, heart pounding. "Why go to all this effort?"
"Because together," Damien said, "we're dangerous."
---
Back in New York, a package awaited them.
No return address.
Inside: a single USB drive and a note.
"You were never supposed to find the boy."
Damien plugged it into a secure laptop, isolating the connection.
Dozens of video files.
One of them showed a shadowed figure entering the hospital where Noah had been born. Another, surveillance of Aurora's apartment in Rome from years ago. Another: a dossier on Damien's company movements from the past two years.
But the final video chilled them both.
It showed Mateo.
Alive.
Meeting with a woman in a long coat, her face obscured.
Their voices were distorted, but one line was clear.
"Phase two begins when the heir is dead."
---
The room went still.
Aurora felt like the floor had dropped from beneath her.
Damien turned to her. "They weren't just targeting us. They wanted Noah gone."
She covered her mouth. "But why?"
"I don't know," Damien said. "But we're going to find out."
---
They doubled security around the estate. Maxwell brought in specialists, former CIA agents and cybertrackers. Aurora and Damien slept with weapons by the bed. Every time Noah left the room, he had two armed escorts.
But the threat felt closer than ever.
One night, while checking the perimeter, Damien found a single red feather tied to the gate.
Aegis calling card.
War had come to their doorstep.
And whoever was behind this wasn't done yet.
---