Chapter 3 The Dinner Before the Fall

The moon hung low and bright over Venice, casting silver light across the rippling waters of the Grand Canal. Gondolas drifted by like quiet sentinels, their passengers unaware that history was preparing to repeat - or to be rewritten - within the aged walls of the Ca' d'Oro, the House of Gold. Inside the palazzo's private dining hall, every candle had been lit, each flame dancing in crystal sconces that lined the marble walls. A grand chandelier loomed above a dining table of blackened oak, set for two with fine Venetian glass and gold-edged plates.

But the true centerpiece wasn't floral or porcelain. It was power. And tonight, Vera Dae sat at its head. She wore black again - silk and shadow sculpted into a dress that moved like water with every breath. Her lips were blood-red, her earrings daggers of onyx, and her eyes-those molten, phoenix eyes-glittered with dangerous calm. She glanced at her Cartier watch. 7:59 PM. He was prompt. The door opened. Adrian Daemon stepped in like a man about to face judgment - dressed in a dark suit, his face carefully arranged in neutrality. But Vera could see it: the tension in his jaw, the sweat just beginning to bead beneath his collar. Liliana wasn't with him. "Vera," he greeted stiffly. She gestured to the chair across from hers. "Adrian. I'm glad you accepted my invitation." He sat, but not easily. "Let's skip the pretense," he said. "Why did you call me here?" Vera poured wine into his glass. "Don't be so defensive. This could've been a reunion. A moment to make peace. But I suppose you've always preferred war." He stared. "You disappeared for years, changed your name, built a corporation just to sabotage mine-and you're accusing me of starting a war?" She didn't flinch. "You didn't just ruin a wedding, Adrian. You ruined a life. You destroyed my brother. You humiliated me in front of the world. You stole the future my family built and then lit it on fire." "I didn't kill Sebastian," he shot back. "No," she said softly. "But you created the chaos that did." Adrian rubbed his jaw. "What do you want from me?" "Nothing," she said, sipping her wine. "I've already taken everything I needed." That made him pause. "What do you mean?" Vera leaned forward. "Helios Industries. Avalon Pharma. MidasTech. Those companies you used to pad your fortune? They're mine now. Your Cayman accounts? Frozen. Your merger with ArkenTech? Dead as of thirty minutes ago." He paled. "You're bluffing." She smiled. "No, Adrian. I'm winning." She slid a folder across the table. He opened it, eyes scanning legal documents, stock transfers, letters of termination. The more he read, the more his hands shook. "You can't do this," he whispered. "This isn't legal." "It is," she said. "Because you signed every document in your greed and ignorance. And because I made sure you were surrounded by people who were working for me long before you noticed the walls closing in." Adrian slammed the folder shut. "Why now?" "Because I wanted to look into your eyes the moment you realized what it feels like to lose everything." He was breathing hard now. Sweating. "You think you're better than me?" he spat. "You're not. You just have a grudge and money. That doesn't make you powerful. It makes you pathetic." She tilted her head. "No," she said. "It makes me inevitable." Meanwhile - Across the City Cassian Voss sat in a secured conference room inside the Dae Group's Venetian headquarters, a team of lawyers, financial analysts, and cyber investigators surrounding him. On the screen in front of them, a live stream showed Adrian and Vera's dinner, muted but clear. "Ready to file the final motion?" Li Mei asked, her hand hovering over the encrypted submit key. Cassian checked his phone. A message from Vera had arrived minutes ago: "Wait for the signal." He nodded. "Not yet." Another screen displayed Adrian's accounts - already in red. Every transaction traced. Every false loan called in. One more blow, and the empire would shatter in real time. But this moment, this exact second, was Vera's to control. Back at the Palazzo Adrian had resorted to pacing now. His fork remained untouched. His wine forgotten. "You're insane," he muttered. "All this because I left you?" "You didn't just leave me, Adrian," Vera said, rising to her feet. "You robbed me. You lied. You turned my cousin against me. You let my father betray me. And then you danced on the ashes of my life like I wouldn't rise again." "You think this makes you strong?" "No," she said. "This makes me free." He laughed bitterly. "You don't even use your real name anymore." "No," she agreed. "Because Seraphina Alaric died the night you betrayed her. But Vera Dae was born that same night-born from fire, born from pain. And she is the one who buried you." She sent a single text. Across the city, Cassian nodded. Li Mei pressed submit. In under thirty seconds, Adrian Daemon's name was wiped from three boards of directors. His accounts locked. His passport flagged. His assets frozen. And his empire - once praised by Forbes and Fortune - began to collapse like dominoes in a hurricane. His phone buzzed with urgent calls. His watch vibrated with emergency alerts. His assistant texted: "They've taken everything. What do we do?" He looked up, horror dawning. Vera watched him break. Watched the moment he realized that the world he'd built on betrayal was now a ruin under her heel. "You don't have the right," he growled. "I have the proof," she said, stepping close. "Emails. Transactions. Witnesses. I could've sent you to prison, Adrian. But where's the satisfaction in that?" He clenched his fists. "What do you want?" She smiled. "I want you to live with it. With the knowledge that the woman you discarded became the one who destroyed you. And that your legacy will always be this: the man who lost to a ghost." Adrian's face contorted. He lunged forward- But she didn't flinch. Two security men stepped from the shadows, restraining him instantly. She gave a final glance. "Goodbye, Adrian." And then she walked away, the sound of her heels echoing through the marble corridors like a funeral march. One Hour Later - The Rooftop Vera stood atop the Dae Group's Venice tower, the wind teasing her hair. Cassian joined her, offering a glass of champagne. "Toast?" he asked. She raised her glass. "To endings," she said. "To beginnings," he added. They clinked glasses. Below, the lights of Venice shimmered like fireflies. Above, the stars bore silent witness. "Are you satisfied?" he asked. She took a sip. "No," she said honestly. "But I'm free. And now the real game begins." "What do you mean?" She handed him a new dossier. Inside were names. Powerful ones. Untouchable ones. And at the top? Edwin Alaric. "My father was the architect of it all," she said. "Adrian was just the pawn." Cassian exhaled. "So it's not over?" She turned to him, eyes glowing with reborn flame. "No," she said. "It's just beginning."

End of Chapter Three