Chapter 5 The crown strike

Sudden headlines never tiptoe in. They smash through quiet moments without warning.

Midway into checking updated forecasts, sirens sliced through Vale Industries. Flashing red lights lit up the glass surfaces. A calm background drone turned tense ,people shouting, steps racing past doors.

A cry of "Security breach" rang out, coming from operations.

Off he went before anyone could blink.

"Lock the lower floors," he said, calm slicing through chaos. "Isolate the network. No external connections."

My legs moved while the seat still turned. That moment felt planned

"No," he agreed. "It's Bisonia."

Light burst across the displays, filled with warnings piling up fast. Streams of information hesitated, cut short without warning. Those Bisonian mine records - what we'd built on - shivered once, then disappeared into blankness.

"They're trying to wipe the projections," Marcellus yelled, fingers flying. "Not just wipe - rewrite."

My stomach dropped. "They want to discredit us."

Lucien's jaw tightened. "They want to make it look like fraud."

Footsteps hit the ground before my mind caught up. Off I went.

Farther along, past two hallways, stood the locked server room. My palm went up to the scanner - pulse quick, thoughts jumping ahead. Cold air hit me inside, charged somehow, humming beneath silence. Rows of machines pulsed with tiny lights, each one steady, unblinking.

The sound of Rowan kept coming back. Not gold that matters here. Power is what counts.

Footsteps followed. Heavy ones. Just outside the door.

"Physical breach," Lucien's voice came through my comm. "Eliana, stay where you are."

"I can't," I said. "If they plant falsified data - "

Blasted off its hinges, the door crashed into the room.

The ground shook under me when shards flew past. Bursting through, two people in black combat suits moved fast, heads covered, every step sharp. These were not robbers. They knew exactly what they were doing.

Bisonia never settled for less than full effort.

Down he crashed after I twisted, snatched the extinguisher, then drove it hard into his knee. A sharp sound escaped him. At that moment, the other one jumped forward.

Into the doorway stepped Lucien, filling it completely.

Without pause, he acted - each motion sharp, practised. A swift twist of his hands broke the attacker's grip. Down went the man, crashing into the floor. Stillness followed.

A hush fell, just air filling lungs, pulse racing ahead. Then everything shrank to that single gasp, muscles tight, waiting.

Fine? That was his question, his gaze moving over me.

"Yes," I said. "The data?"

"Still intact," Marcellus's voice crackled through. "But barely. Someone authorised a remote override using Bisonian credentials."

Fear hit hard. It had to be the council

He muttered under his breath. "Maybe a person above."

Chaos filled the space as guards rushed in. Offenders hauled out by force, one after another. Every exit sealed without delay. Alarms stayed active through the night.

The harm had already taken place.

One hour passed. Sudden bursts of news flooded the screens.

Vale Industries faces scrutiny over alleged data manipulation

Fury hummed in my blood as I stared at the screen. The council's push against Princess Packer had begun - swift, sharp, without warning

"They're framing you," Lucien said quietly. "Separating us."

"Or trying to."

The screen lit up - a call coming through on a private number. It was my dad who called.

I answered.

"Eliana," Desmond Packer's voice was cool, controlled. "Care to explain why Bisonia's economic future is now tied to an international scandal?"

"This is sabotage," I snapped. "You know that."

"Do I?" he asked. "Because the council has evidence. Convincing evidence."

"Planted evidence."

"Perhaps," he said. "Or perhaps you've lost control."

Faster than a blade, spoken phrases dig hardest. Yet silence often follows louder pain.

"Stand down," Desmond continued. "Withdraw from the partnership. Return to Bisonia. We'll contain this."

Contain. Silence. Erase.

That is not going to happen, I told them.

A pause. Then, softer. "You're choosing him over your kingdom."

"I'm choosing truth," I replied. "And you should ask yourself why the council is willing to burn Bisonia's future just to control me."

The connection broke without warning.

Lucien watched my face. "He gave you an ultimatum."

"Yes," I said. "And I just refused it."

Faster just to move on. That moment slipped past before words could catch up.

Marcellus burst in. "They've frozen three of our accounts. International regulators are circling. Someone leaked internal emails - selectively."

Lucien's eyes darkened. "They're trying to force a breakup. Personal and professional."

"And if we fracture," I said, "they win."

A sound rang out again. This time, a new pitch filled the air.

Rowan.

I answered instantly.

"You were right," he said without preamble. "The sabotage order didn't come from the full council."

"Who, then?"

A beat. "My mother. Seraphina."

The room tilted.

"What?" I whispered.

"She brokered a private coalition," Rowan continued. "Old families. They believe you've gone too far. That Lucien destabilises the crown."

My chest tightened. "She knew about the breach."

"She allowed it," he said. "To test you."

Fumes escaped Lucien's lips. "Unthinkable," he said

"No," I answered, the truth settling in. It was Bisonia after all

Breathe came too late - another twist had already struck.

"Darian's involved," Rowan added. "He's positioning himself as the stabilising alternative. If you fall, he rises."

Fight it. Not pretend. Live it every breath. Sharp teeth. Raw hunger underneath.

My eyelids shut - just a blink. A moment later, they lifted again.

"We flip it," I said.

Lucien turned toward me. What did he mean by that word?

"The narrative," I said. "They want to paint us as reckless. We go public - with control."

Marcellus blinked. "Public?" "Yes," I said. "Full transparency. Release the real data. Expose the sabotage. Name the coalition."

He moved his head from side to side. War works that way

"Good," I said. "They started it."

A rush filled the coming two days. Fast steps, quick turns - time slipped like water through fingers.

Out in front of flashing lights. Sudden reviews are called late at night. He appeared calm, hard to shake, answering fast without blinking. From my screen, I stepped in quietly, not wearing royalty, just logic - breaking each claim apart one after another.

Out of nowhere, something shifted - nobody had expected it.

Lysette.

A few pages started showing up in odd places. Someone had slipped out what was meant to stay inside.

Each name. All plans. Each act of betrayal.

Overnight, everything changed in the news.

Bisonia Council Cracks After Sabotage Revealed

Still no word from Mom. The princess packer is off the hook, and the foreign chief executive walks free.

My father did.

"This isn't over," Desmond said.

"No," I agreed. "It's just changed."

Out there in the dark, just me and Lucien on his high-up balcony, the skyline spilt out beneath like scattered sparks. Everything seemed unsteady. Breathing. Below, the streets hummed without asking.

"They tried to tear us apart," he said.

Failing too," I said.

His eyes stayed on mine. The situation will get worse

"I know," I said. "And next time, it won't just be corporate."

Lucien reached for my hand, grounding, steady. "Whatever comes, we face it together. Personally. Professionally."

Fingers slid between his, one by one. My hands found theirs without asking.

Fangs showed in Bisonia's mouth.

So had we.

The crown knew a risky truth now.

Fragile? Not us.