The mansion was drowning in darkness.
Gunfire echoed somewhere in the upper halls of the Valentino estate. Security teams were fighting their way through intruders, alarms screaming through the night like a warning to the entire city.
Inside the vault corridor, Adrian stood perfectly still.
Elara was beside him, her breathing uneven as distant explosions rattled the walls.
"Adrian… what do we do?" she whispered.
His eyes remained fixed on the empty doorway where Elias had disappeared seconds ago.
"We survive."
Another gunshot echoed upstairs.
Closer this time.
Adrian finally moved.
He walked to the control panel beside the vault door and began typing commands quickly.
The emergency monitors flickered back to life.
Dozens of camera feeds appeared across the screen.
Black-clad soldiers were moving through the mansion with terrifying precision.
Elara's stomach dropped.
"That's not a random attack."
"No," Adrian said quietly.
"That's a coordinated siege."
She turned toward him.
"You expected something like this?"
His jaw tightened slightly.
"I always do."
Suddenly—
A loud explosion shook the entire estate.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Elara grabbed the table for balance.
"They're inside the east wing!" she said after glancing at the monitors.
Adrian's voice remained calm.
"They won't reach this vault."
"You sound very sure."
"I designed it."
But his eyes stayed sharp.
Calculating.
Thinking.
Elara studied him carefully.
"You're not worried about them."
He didn't answer.
Instead, he grabbed a second pistol from the weapon rack and handed it to her.
"Safety's off."
Her fingers wrapped around the gun slowly.
"You're trusting me with this?"
"I always have."
Another explosion echoed.
Closer.
Elara swallowed.
"This is insane…"
Adrian suddenly stepped away from the screen.
He was thinking about something else.
Something deeper.
Elias's words echoed in his mind.
"We see which philosophy survives."
Adrian's expression hardened.
He turned toward Elara.
"There's something you need to know."
She blinked.
"What?"
Before he could answer—
Footsteps echoed again from the stairwell.
Fast.
Not cautious.
Adrian raised his weapon instantly.
Elara mirrored him.
A figure suddenly appeared in the doorway.
It was Luca.
Covered in dust and blood.
But alive.
"Boss," Luca breathed heavily.
Adrian lowered the gun slightly.
"How bad?"
"Thirty attackers inside the estate… maybe more outside."
Elara stepped forward.
"Are our people holding?"
"For now."
Luca wiped blood from his forehead.
"But they're not normal mercenaries."
Adrian frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"They're trained like special forces."
That didn't surprise him.
"Elias planned this carefully."
Luca nodded.
"Yeah… and there's something else."
"What?"
Luca hesitated.
For the first time in years, Adrian saw uncertainty in his most loyal soldier's eyes.
"They keep saying a name."
Adrian's body went completely still.
"What name?"
Luca spoke quietly.
"…Ares."
The vault suddenly felt colder.
Elara frowned.
"Ares?"
She looked between them.
"Who's that?"
Luca didn't answer.
His eyes were locked on Adrian.
Waiting.
Watching.
For a moment—
Adrian said nothing.
His expression didn't change.
But something behind his eyes darkened.
A memory.
A name buried in fire.
Elara stepped closer.
"Adrian…?"
He finally spoke.
His voice calm.
Controlled.
"Old stories."
Luca didn't look convinced.
"The attackers think they're here to kill him."
Elara's confusion grew.
"Kill who?"
Luca's voice dropped.
"Ares Valentino."
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Elara looked at Adrian again.
Slowly.
Carefully.
"Why would they say your last name?"
Adrian exhaled slowly.
Then he turned back toward the security monitors.
"Because Elias wants confusion."
"But—"
"Right now," he cut in quietly, "we focus on surviving."
Luca nodded.
"Understood."
Another explosion rocked the mansion.
Adrian grabbed a tactical vest from the rack and strapped it on.
His movements were precise.
Efficient.
Like a man who had fought wars before.
Elara watched him carefully.
"You didn't answer my question."
He looked at her.
For a moment…
Something dangerous flickered in his eyes.
Then it vanished.
"You trust me, don't you?"
She didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
"Then trust that when the time comes…"
His voice lowered slightly.
"…I'll tell you everything."
The tension in the vault thickened.
Above them—
The sound of battle was getting louder.
Luca checked his rifle.
"They're pushing toward the west corridor."
Adrian nodded.
"Good."
Elara blinked.
"Good?"
"Yes."
He walked toward the stairs.
Because his voice had changed now.
Lower.
Sharper.
More dangerous.
"That means they're walking exactly where I want them."
Luca smirked slightly.
"That's the boss I know."
Adrian stopped halfway up the stairs.
The red emergency lights flickered across his face.
For a brief moment—
Elara saw something in his expression she had never seen before.
Something darker.
Something ancient.
He looked back at her.
"Stay in the vault."
"No."
His jaw tightened.
"Elara—"
"I'm not hiding again."
Their eyes locked.
Then Adrian sighed softly.
"Fine."
He handed her another magazine for the pistol.
"Stay behind me."
She nodded.
Above them—
Gunfire erupted again.
The war inside the mansion was about to explode.
Adrian stepped into the corridor first.
His voice quiet.
Cold.
Lethal.
"Let's show Elias something."
Luca grinned.
"What's that?"
Adrian's eyes hardened.
"That the empire he came to destroy…"
He chambered a round in his pistol.
"…was built by a man far more dangerous than he realizes."
And somewhere in the shadows of the estate—
A name long buried in the past began to rise again.
A name whispered by enemies.
A name feared by men who survived old wars.
Ares.