The atmosphere inside Nexus Global was different from Vane Corp. It was quieter, more focused, and pulsed with a hidden power that Julius was only just beginning to understand.

​He sat at a desk in the corner of Harrison’s massive office, his laptop open. The transition had been easy. There were no arguments about where he should sit or what he should do.

​Harrison simply moved a few things, cleared a space, and told him, "This is yours."

​Julius was looking over some recovery files when the calm was shattered. He heard a commotion out in the hallway—shouting, the sound of heavy footsteps, and a woman’s voice screaming his name.

​The office doors burst open.

​Helen stood there, but she wasn’t the polished woman Julius had known for months. Her expensive dress was wrinkled and stained at the hem.

​Her hair, usually perfect, was a mess of tangles. Her eyes were red and swollen, and the confident glow she used to carry was gone.

​She looked small and broken.

​"Julius!" she screamed, rushing toward him.

​Harrison stood up from his own desk, his body shifting into a protective stance. He didn’t say a word, but his scent filled the room like a warning.

​Helen didn’t care. She threw herself onto the floor at the edge of Julius’s desk, her knees hitting the carpet with a thud.

​She reached out, trying to grab his hand, but Julius pulled back.

​"Julius, please," she sobbed, her tears leaving tracks through her makeup. "You have to help us. The bank took everything. My father... is with nothing."

​"They took the house, the cars, everything. We have nowhere to go."

​Julius looked down at her. He expected to feel something—anger, maybe, or even a little bit of pity.

​But there was nothing.

​He looked at the woman he had almost married and felt like he was looking at a complete stranger.

​"You knew, didn’t you?" Julius asked. His voice was cold and flat.

​"I didn’t!" Helen cried, shaking her head violently. "I didn’t know about the fraud or the hidden accounts."

​"I thought we were a team, Julius. I thought you loved me. You can’t just let them throw me onto the street. Please, tell Harrison to stop. Tell him to give us back our shares."

​Julius leaned back in his chair.

​"You stayed with me because your father told you to. You wanted my name and my money to cover up the holes in your own life."

​"You weren’t a partner, Helen. You were a parasite."

​"That’s not true!" 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

​Harrison stepped forward, his shadow falling over her. He didn’t look at her with anger; he looked at her like she was a bug he was about to crush under his shoe.

​"You’re wasting your breath," Harrison said. His voice was low and lethal.

​"You and your father tried to play a game with something you didn’t understand. You tried to trap an Enigma’s bond in a contract. That was your first mistake."

​"Harrison, please—"

​Harrison didn’t let her finish. He pressed a button on his desk.

​"Security. Get this trash out of my office and out of this building. If she sets foot on this block again, call the police."

​Two large men in black suits appeared at the door. They didn’t hesitate.

​They grabbed Helen by her arms and hauled her to her feet.

​She kicked and screamed, calling Julius’s name, begging him to look at her, but Julius just turned back to his laptop.

​"Julius! You can’t do this! I loved you!"

​The doors shut, muffling her screams.

​A moment later, the hallway went quiet.

​Harrison walked over to Julius, his hand resting on the back of his neck.

​"Are you okay?"

​"I’m fine," Julius said, letting out a long breath. "I just can’t believe I almost tied my life to that."

​"You didn’t," Harrison reminded him. "I wouldn’t have let you."

​Just then, Julius’s phone began to vibrate on the desk.

​He looked at the screen. It was his mother.

​He looked at Harrison, who nodded once.

​Julius swiped to answer and put it on speaker.

​"Hello, Mom," Julius said.

​There was a long silence on the other end. He could hear the sound of her pouring a drink.

​"I saw the news," she said. Her voice was surprisingly calm. "The Millers are finished."

​"And I saw the photos of you two arriving at the office this morning."

​Julius looked up at Harrison. Harrison was watching him, his thumb rubbing the nape of Julius’s neck.

​"So," his mother continued. "You finally accepted him? You finally stopped fighting what was always meant to be?"

​Julius didn’t hesitate this time. He didn’t feel the need to argue or defend his pride.

​"Yes," he said. "I did."

​He heard his mother let out a soft, tired sigh.

​It sounded like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders after twenty-five years.

​"Good. About time you came home, Julius. Don’t let him out of your sight again."

​She hung up without another word.

​Julius set the phone down, feeling a strange sense of peace. The approval from his mother felt like the final piece of the puzzle.

​The bond was where it was supposed to be.

​"She’s right, you know," Harrison whispered. "I’m not letting you out of my sight."

​The peaceful moment was broken by a soft knock at the door.

​Harrison’s assistant, a young man who looked terrified to be interrupting, stepped inside.

​"Sir? This just arrived by courier," the assistant said. He held out a plain, heavy white envelope.

​"It’s marked for Mr. Vane’s eyes only."

​"From who?" Julius asked, standing up.

​"There was no name, sir. Just a seal."

​Harrison took the envelope and dismissed the assistant.

​He looked at the back of it, and his entire body went stiff.

​He didn’t open it. He just stared at the symbol pressed into the wax—a simple, empty circle.

​"What is it?" Julius asked, walking over to him. "Is it more from the Millers?"

​"No," Harrison said. His voice was grim, the warmth from moments ago completely gone.

​"This isn’t the Millers. This is from the people who planned the accident.

​He handed the envelope to Julius.

​Julius felt a cold chill run down his spine as he took it. He broke the seal and pulled out a single piece of paper.

​There was only one sentence written in neat, black ink:

​The debt hasn’t been paid yet. We are coming for the son.

​Julius looked at Harrison, the reality of the war hitting him all over again.

​They had discarded the trash, but the real monsters were finally stepping out of the dark.