Chapter 6 Shadows of the past

CHAPTER SIX

Lana's POV

The elevator ride to the boardroom felt like a countdown to chaos. Lana stood stiffly, arms folded across her chest, eyes trained on the blinking floor numbers. Her thoughts weren't on the Thornwell shareholders, nor on whatever power play Khalil Monté had planned.

Her mind was stuck in that memory-three years ago. Zayne had vanished, left without a word, and she was the only one who knew why.

"If something happens to me, Lana, it wasn't an accident."

Zayne's voice haunted her. He had shown her Stephen's journal-pages filled with paranoid thoughts, company secrets, and a final note scribbled in red ink. It wasn't just grief speaking. Stephen Thornwell had been murdered.

And Zayne... Zayne was digging too close to the truth. That's why he disappeared. And that's why Lana had lied to Zara.

As the elevator doors slid open, Lana masked her face in neutrality. No one could know what she knew. Not yet.

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Scene Switch – Confrontation in the Boardroom

The boardroom was soaked in tension. Khalil stood near the window, dressed immaculately, a smug smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. Zayne entered seconds later, shoulders squared, suit sharp, eyes stormy.

"I heard about the vote," Zayne said coldly, not sitting.

"You heard correctly," Khalil replied smoothly. "The board thinks it's time for fresh leadership."

Zayne glanced at Gerald Roth, then Kene. Neither met his eyes. Only Papa J, standing by the door, looked ready to throw a chair.

"You think this is your moment?" Zayne asked, stepping forward.

"I think," Khalil said, walking to the center, "that legacies are earned-not inherited."

Zayne's laugh was humorless. "Is that what this is about? My last name?"

Khalil leaned in, eyes sharp. "No. This is about truth. About what your father did before he died."

That line pierced deeper than any threat.

What do you know, Khalil?

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Scene Shift – Lana Alone Again

Later that night, Lana sat at her desk, opening a locked drawer. She pulled out Gideon's old journal-worn, annotated, and dangerous. Her fingers hovered over a particular page: one that mentioned Valentina Kross, a secret partnership, and "Project Hydra."

She exhaled.

"If the truth comes out," she whispered, "none of us will survive it."

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