Lu Empire Strategic Operations Room – Midnight
The digital clocks on the wall ticked ominously toward zero. Twenty-nine days left.
Damian sat at the head of the massive conference table, his fingers tapping a deadly rhythm against the polished surface. His usually calm eyes were bloodshot, a storm brewing beneath the surface.
Selina stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, fingers digging into her arms hard enough to leave crescent-shaped marks. Her lips pressed into a thin line, but the tremble in her shoulders betrayed her calm facade.
This wasn't just a battle for power anymore. It was a battle for survival. For the future of their son. For their very souls.
Damian finally broke the silence.
"There's a mole in this room."
The words dropped like a guillotine.
The senior board members exchanged uneasy glances. Somewhere in this room sat the person who would sell them all out to Grandfather Lu.
The atmosphere was a powder keg, seconds away from igniting with the slightest spark.
Damian's sharp gaze landed on Selina.
"Even you have secrets, Selina. What guarantee do I have that you won't be the one to turn against me?"
The room fell into a deathly silence.
Selina's eyes snapped toward him, wide with disbelief. Her fists clenched tighter, her chest rising and falling with rapid, shallow breaths.
How could he say that? After everything they'd been through? After the nights she spent fighting to keep their son safe, believing he was dead, mourning him alone in the dark?
Tears burned behind her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
"If you believe that, Damian…" Her voice was low, trembling, but each word laced with bitterness. "…then you don't deserve to win this war."
Before Damian could respond, a sudden alarm blared through the room.
The main screen lit up with a single, chilling message:
"Your time is running out, Damian. The first pawn falls at dawn."
At that exact moment, the live security feed switched—showing their son's bedroom.
Empty.
Selina's heart stopped.
Damian's chair clattered to the floor as he stood abruptly, his voice thundering through the room.
"Seal the estate. FIND HIM!"