The drive to Justines Tower took twenty-three minutes.
Neither Jain nor Ohm spoke.
Outside, the city celebrated the merger.
Inside the black armored vehicle, it felt like a funeral.
Screens across the streets flashed headlines:
TULIP–SATURS MEGA MERGER COMPLETED
MARKETS EXPECT HISTORIC GROWTH
A NEW CORPORATE ERA BEGINS
Jain stared through the tinted glass.
He knew every headline was already outdated.
Because somewhere above the city, Sian Justines was preparing to erase them all.
"You should have told me," Ohm finally said.
Jain remained silent.
"Three years, Jain."
The words landed harder than any accusation.
"You trusted him with that treaty."
"I trusted myself," Jain replied.
"And look where that got us."
The vehicle fell silent again.
Twenty minutes later, the towering black structure of Justines Tower appeared ahead.
The building looked less like a corporate headquarters and more like a kingdom.
Security gates opened before they even arrived.
That alone made Ohm uneasy.
"He knows we're coming."
"He always knows," Jain answered.
The elevator carried them to the top floor.
When the doors opened, Lara was waiting.
Her expression was perfectly composed.
"Mr. Justines is expecting you."
Of course he was.
She led them through the executive corridor.
Every employee they passed moved quietly.
No whispers.
No conversations.
No panic.
Just discipline.
The kind of discipline that came from serving a man everyone respected—and feared.
At the end of the corridor stood a pair of dark wooden doors.
Lara stopped.
"He is inside."
Ohm glanced at Jain.
"This is your last chance to tell me everything."
Jain looked away.
"There are things even I don't fully understand anymore."
Lara opened the doors.
The office was silent.
Massive floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city.
At the far end of the room sat Sian.
Alone.
Waiting.
A single document rested on the desk between them.
The treaty.
The same treaty that now threatened billions.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Sian closed the file.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
His eyes settled on Jain.
"You finally came."
Jain stepped forward.
"Sian."
For a brief second, neither man looked away.
To anyone else, it would have seemed like a greeting.
To them, it felt like the opening move of a war.
Sian's expression never changed.
"No apology?"
"No."
A faint smile appeared.
"Good," Sian said.
"I would have hated to hear a dishonest one."
Ohm moved beside Jain.
"What exactly do you want?"
Sian's gaze shifted toward him.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
"You should be handling your own crises, Ohm Vital."
The words were calm.
Too calm.
"Oh?" Ohm replied. "And yet here I am."
Sian held his gaze for a moment.
Then he dismissed him with a look alone.
A silent order to stay out of something far beyond him.
For the first time, even Ohm felt challenged.
"I asked a question."
"And I heard it."
Sian stood.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Even Ohm felt it.
This wasn't merely a businessman.
This was a man who had spent years preparing for this exact moment.
Sian walked toward the windows.
"The world believes this is about a merger."
He turned.
"It isn't."
Jain's eyes darkened.
Cold.
Dangerously cold.
Because he knew that look.
The look Sian wore whenever he was about to reveal something devastating.
Sian picked up another folder from his desk.
A different folder.
One Jain had never seen before.
"What is that?" Jain asked.
Sian's eyes locked onto his.
"The reason you're standing in my office instead of celebrating your victory."
The room went still.
Ohm frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
Sian opened the folder.
Inside were photographs.
Bank records.
Private communications.
Evidence.
Enough evidence to destroy governments.
For the first time, Jain's expression changed.
Not fear.
Recognition.
"No..."
Sian placed the first photograph on the desk.
"Oh yes."
"What did you do?" Ohm demanded.
Sian's voice became almost a whisper.
"I didn't do anything."
He looked directly at Jain.
"But your father did."
The words hit harder than any threat.
Silence consumed the room.
Jain stared at the evidence.
Years of buried secrets.
Years of unanswered questions.
Years of lies.
And suddenly, the war became something far bigger than Tulip, Saturs, or a merger.
It became personal.
Very personal.