~Some enemies attack your empire.
Some enemies come for the person you love.
Tonight… someone came for Elara.
Rain poured heavily over the Valentino estate.
Security lights flooded the massive gates as black armored vehicles slowly stopped outside.
Inside the control room, alarms screamed.
"Multiple armed men detected!"
"Thermal scans confirmed!"
"Approximately twenty hostiles!"
Luca cursed under his breath.
"That's not a warning visit."
Ares's expression turned cold.
"It's a declaration of war."
He turned toward the guards.
"No one enters this estate alive."
"Yes, sir."
Weapons were loaded instantly.
Inside the study, Elara's heart raced.
She had never seen the Valentino estate like this.
Armed guards.
Locked gates.
Combat teams moving through the halls.
She looked at Ares.
"This is because of me."
Ares didn't deny it.
But he didn't blame her either.
His gaze was sharp.
"No."
He said quietly.
"This is because Volkov finally decided to show himself."
Outside the gate—
One car door opened.
A tall man stepped out slowly.
No umbrella.
No fear.
Just calm confidence as rain soaked his dark coat.
Even from the security cameras, his presence felt dangerous.
Luca stared at the screen.
"That's him."
Ares's jaw tightened.
Damien Volkov.
The man who built empires through destruction.
The man who had been Ares's shadow enemy for years.
And tonight—
He came personally.
Volkov walked toward the massive gate.
Then he stopped.
And looked directly at the security camera.
As if he knew Ares was watching.
A small smile appeared on his lips.
"Open the gate."
The voice came through the external speaker.
Calm.
Controlled.
Arrogant.
Luca scoffed.
"Yeah right."
But then Volkov spoke again.
"Or I start revealing secrets about the woman inside your house."
The room went silent.
Ares's eyes slowly moved toward Elara.
She felt her stomach drop.
"What secrets?" she whispered.
Volkov continued through the speaker.
"Ares Valentino."
"I didn't come to fight."
His voice carried across the storm.
"I came to collect something that belongs to me."
Ares's tone turned ice-cold.
"You don't own anything inside my walls."
Volkov chuckled.
"Oh but I do."
Then he said the words that froze the entire room.
"I want the girl."
Elara felt the world spin.
Ares stepped closer to the speaker.
"Explain carefully."
Volkov's voice lowered.
"You married her without knowing who she really is."
Lightning flashed across the sky.
Rain crashed harder.
And Volkov finished his sentence slowly.
"Ask her about the night her father died."
Elara's breath caught.
Her memories flashed violently.
Blood.
Shouting.
A door slamming.
Something she had buried for years.
Ares noticed the fear in her eyes.
"...Elara."
She shook her head.
"I don't remember."
But Volkov spoke again.
"Oh, she remembers."
Silence fell.
Because the truth was obvious now.
Volkov didn't just want Elara.
He knew something about her past.
Something powerful enough—
To walk directly into Ares Valentino's territory.
Ares's voice became deadly calm.
"Leave."
Volkov smiled.
"I will."
He turned toward his car.
But before entering, he said one last thing.
"Soon she'll remember."
"And when she does…"
His eyes lifted toward the camera again.
"She'll come to me herself."
The cars slowly drove away into the storm.
Inside the estate—
The silence felt heavier than the attack.
Because suddenly the biggest threat wasn't outside.
It was Elara's forgotten past.
Ares turned toward her slowly.
His voice low.
"Tell me the truth."
Elara's hands trembled.
"I wish I knew it.''
~Elara's memories are starting to break.
And the truth about her father might destroy the man she loves.