Lucian's POV-
"Any update?", I asked Nikos.
"No, still on it.", He replied, and focused back on his computer.
I moved towards Stella.
"No update, working on it.", she said instantly.
I sat on the armchair, "Stephen, stop the chase, where ever you are, I'll find you.", I whispered.
"Lucian!!", Nikos shouted.
I ran towards him, "What happened?", I asked him.
"Stephen came back...He is near the entrance...", Nikos gulped fear, anger and anxiety.
"Wow! After all this chaos, he has guts to return!", I walked briskly towards the entrance...
Stella and Nikos followed me.
As soon as I steeped in front of the entrance, I saw Stephen, he was sweating, trembling and probably afraid.
"Mr. V-Va-Valle!", he stammered and walked towards me, but his steps were wobbling, body trembling and he had a file in his hand.
"What's going on?", I asked controlling my anger.
"I found out some of Gail Corps. recent projects they are planning to invest on, and also the alliance formed by them, including the people and companies supporting them.", He whispered softly.
"Dad, but why are you in such state?", Stella asked him...In worry, fear and sorrow.
"Probably you already know that I met a guy in the taxi stand?", he paused and looked towards me. "Like William Crowe, betrayed us, that guy was a worker in the Gail corp. he helped me with the location of their current project warehouse, and then I stole some of these papers, carefully." he breathed heavily.
Although, my anger cooled down but..."Why did you risk your life? We have several other methods to do the same!", I exclaimed.
"Yes but, we don't have time.", he answered calmly.
I don't know why... but I find that this person is the most trustworthy, responsible, composed and serious guy.
Maybe, it's true...
"Fine. I have something to tell you, follow me.", I moved to the cafeteria.
After few minutes, Stephen arrived.
He was now in a better state, his sweat dried by the cool air from the AC's and he had changed into proper suit.
"Sit down.", I instructed him...
"I have something serious to discuss, and its about my father's so-called-contract of Protection, which turned out to be a contract of death.", I looked at him...
He was uncomfortable, trying to adjust his seat, continuously wiping his sweat with the handkerchief.
I continued to speak..."He sent a letter to someone, not mentioned in it. He said that he destroyed the Crowe and then when the Crowe's went to seek help of Gail's the another man connected to them destroyed everything.", I paused because Stephen stood up...
"Let's not discuss about all this, this is not going to help us anyway. We have to stop the Gail's not to dig into the past.", He said coldly and walked away.
"Is he serious? What does that mean? The letter is indeed important. If we found out who the so-called-protector of our family is. It will lead us to easy solutions for this war, begun by my so-called-father." I whispered to myself.
I went to Nikos office...
"Nikos, what did you find?", I asked him, voice firm.
He didn't look up, fingers flying over the keyboard. "Still running the trace. Lysander's files are a mess—half of them are encoded through an old Gail network. I'm trying to filter the ones post–2007."
I nodded, leaned against the cold wall, and folded my arms. The office was quiet, except for the hum of servers and the occasional click of Stella's heels as she crossed from one desk to another. The silence wasn't peace—it was a coil, wound tight and waiting to snap.
Stella turned, "The Gail's have been investing in many expansion—offshore warehouses, unlisted partners. And one of those partners…" She paused. "Is one branch of the Blackveil Corp.."
The words landed like a blade tip pressing against skin.
"Show me."
She rotated her screen. The map glowed faintly—dots scattered across Greece, London, and northern France. One blinked red near the names—Kensington Dockyard.
"This one's recent," Stella continued. "A restricted import shipment landed here three days ago. No listed sender. Just initials—'L.V.'"
My blood chilled. L.V.—Lysander Valle.
My father.
"Track it," I said flatly.
"Already on it," Nikos muttered. "The cargo's been moved twice since arrival—currently logged under a temporary ID: Blackveil Storage 11-C."
Nikos spoke again, breath uneven, clutching another file. "Lucian, the data you asked for—one of our accounts was accessed remotely an hour ago. Location: Kensington. And whoever did it used your clearance ID."
I stared at him. "My clearance?"
"Yes. Which means someone cloned your access card, or—" he stopped mid-sentence as he saw my expression.
"Or someone close enough to me had it long before I did," I finished for him.
Stella's phone buzzed; she checked it. "Lucian… this might sound crazy, but the system just received a ghost ping from your father's old line. It's offline—but it sent a file. No sender tag, no time code, just a single word."
She turned the screen toward me. The message glowed:
"Warehouse."
The lights flickered once—almost like the building itself reacted. I clenched my fists, every nerve in me tightening.
"Nikos, pull every traffic cam near Kensington Dock. Stella, cross-check the Blackveil trucks' e-toll routes for the last seventy-two hours. Stephen, get me the team's gear ready—we're moving in forty-five minutes.", Stephen arrived just a few moments before...
Stephen hesitated. "Lucian, you're not—"
"I am," I cut in sharply. "And this time, I'm done waiting for ghosts to send invitations."
Nikos looked up. "And if it's a trap?"
I met his eyes, steady."Then let them find out what happens when you trap a Valle."
He exhaled softly. "Understood."
The storm outside hit the glass, wind screaming through the narrow cracks like a warning. I grabbed my jacket and turned toward the exit.
Somewhere across the city, in a warehouse stamped with my father's initials, the answers were waiting. And I wasn't planning to ask politely.