Smoke Before The Flame.
The air was thick with silence inside the Aeternum estate.
Darius sat across from me in the grand lounge, one ankle balanced over his knee, arms folded, his expression dark and unreadable. I sat near the fireplace, swirling tea in a porcelain cup I hadn’t touched in twenty minutes.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” he asked, not looking at me.
“I have to be,” I said quietly. “If Leo Vincenzo wants to play a part in Ronan’s destruction, we have to know why.”
Darius’ jaw flexed. “We will go together, there will be no weapons, this is a conversation, not a battlefield.”
I nodded. “Agreed.”
The black BMW was already waiting in the driveway. The driver opened the door, and we stepped inside, tinted win- dows, leather seats and silence except for the low hum of the engine as the city blurred past. Darius sat straight, jaw tight, his fingers rhythmically tapping the leather armrest, a small but telling sign of his impatience.
My fingers fidgeted slightly in my lap and Darius noticed as he glanced at me.
“Whatever happens,” he said, glancing at me, “you let me talk if it gets messy.”
“I know.”
The location Leo chose was obscure, it was a private warehouse turned underground lounge in an abandoned district of Viremont Hollow, just classy enough to scream exclusivity, but remote enough to hide blood. The hallway we walked through echoed with every footstep, low amber lights cast long shadows along the walls.
We stepped inside and to our surprise, the place was empty.
Leo wasn’t here.
“Where is he? He ought to be here before us at our fixed time.” I muttered loud enough for Darius to hear.
Darius let out a sharp scoff. “Fucking typical.”
I checked my phone, there were no missed calls or messages, still confused. I dialed Leo’s number because I was sure we were at the right location.
As I dialed his line, to my surprise there was no signal.
“His phone isn’t going through,” I muttered.
Darius snorted, rising from the chair he’d barely warmed. “So we come all this way, on his invitation, and the bastard
0.0%
16:19
isn’t even here?”
“Let’s give him a few minutes,” I said calmly, even though my stomach tightened with unease.
“Zyrah, we don’t wait for men like this. He came to us, we didn’t ask for this alliance.”
“I know,” I said again, firmer this time. “But we’re already here, I know how much time means to you but please let’s wait for him for ten more minutes.”
Darius grumbled, and sat down on a table surrounded with chairs. His shoulders were drawn tight, and every few sec- onds, he muttered under his breath, likely replaying every insult he was mentally preparing.
I sat next to Darius, my eyes repeatedly glanced at my wristwatch.
Time passed slowly, my eyes flicked to the door every thirty seconds, each tick of my watch felt like a countdown to either war or disappointment.
Finally, after ten more minutes, Darius snapped, he got up on his feet and at once I knew that Darius was ready to walk out of that door.
“This is an insult to the Aeternum family,” he growled. “I won’t fucking take it, he wants to treat us like pawns, then he can play alone.”
He turned, furious, ready to storm out but suddenly, the door creaked open and we heard footsteps, slow, deliberate, like they belonged to someone who never had to rush. The rhythm of his approach was like a predator circling prey as a shadow stretched across the stone floor before the man himself appeared.
He was a tall, crisp black suit with no tie. His jaw was sharp and his presence hit like a shift in gravity. The air changed the moment he walked in, the temperature, the weight, the silence, all bent around him.
Leo Vincenzo.
He didn’t smile and my eyes narrowed as I stared at him.
Darius didn’t say a word, his jaw tight and I saw how displeased he looked. I stood slowly, spine straightening as in- stinct told me this was no ordinary man.
“You’re late,” Darius snapped.
Leo tilted his head, eyes like obsidian glass. “I like to arrive when the silence gets heavy, it makes an entrance more memorable.”
He looked at me and smiled.
“Zyrah Aeternum, we finally meet.”
Leo’s presence filled the room like smoke before he even said a word. Darius and I stood still, watching him move slowly to the center of the lounge like he owned it, his steps were measured, and predatory.
“You’re late,” I said coldly, folding my arms across my chest, my tone edged with displeasure.
13.0 %
16:19
Leo didn’t flinch, he looked amused, like my irritation was just the opening move in a game he’d already mastered. His eyes, dark and glinting with something dangerous, scanned the room casually.
“No guards?” I asked, my gaze narrowing. “You came alone?”
He chuckled, low and deep, like thunder rumbling beneath the surface. “No need for theatrics tonight,” he said, as he lowered himself into the armchair with a grace that made even Darius tense. “This is a harmless meeting, just a con- versation shared between potential allies with a common enemy.”
From his coat, Leo produced a thick brown cigar, the kind that filled a room with both scent and intent. He clipped it with precision, lit the end with a silver lighter, and exhaled a slow, curling cloud of smoke and I stared as it slithered into the air like a serpent.
Darius’ jaw tightened, his arms folded like iron across his chest.
“Then let’s stop dancing around it,” Darius said, cutting through the haze with his sharp voice as he sat down and I did the same. “Why did you reach out to Zyrah in the first place?”
Leo turned his gaze to Darius, calm and steady. “You forget quickly, Darius, I was close to your father long before any of this began so reaching out to his daughter was not a breach of anything, it was loyalty.”
He took another long draw from the cigar and blew the smoke toward the ceiling.
“For six years, I waited,” Leo said, his tone cooling. “Waited for the right moment to bring Ronan Lancaster to his knees. I could’ve done it long ago, but then I learned something that made me hesitate.”
His eyes moved to mine. “That the daughter of the late Aeternum was marrying him.”
He sat back, letting the words settle like ash.
“Out of respect for your father, I paused, I watched and I waited because harming you, Zyrah, would have been dis- honoring a man I admired and feared, even.”
My throat tightened, Darius was still as stone.
“You watched me?” I asked, my voice low. “How?”
Leo’s smile returned, thin and sharp. “That’s a very good question, Zyrah. Let me tell you, most of the maids Ronan hired during your marriage were mine women who worked for me. They are undercover agents who work at the cleaning service Ronan employed. They are trained by my men to be invisible and paid to observe.”
My spine went stiff as my entire skin prickled with violation.
“You had people spying on me for three years?” I didn’t like the sound of that.
He raised an eyebrow. “Spying is such an ugly word, darling, I call it, insurance. I needed to know if Ronan was capa- ble of peace and balance. But what did I see?”
He exhaled again, slowly. “Was filth.”
Leo’s voice dropped lower, a growl just above a whisper. “I saw how he brought his mistress into your home, and into
27.7 %
16:19
པ་་ས ་་་ ་་པ་ ས་ ist. 11UW Coura
a man treat an Aeternum like that?”
My fists curled at my sides as Darius’ glare darkened.
“Then,” Leo said, “it made sense, he didn’t know your identity, Ronan had no idea who you were.”
I didn’t respond as my silence was its own confirmation.
Leo leaned forward, his tone sharper now. “And that… that was the greatest mistake of his life.”
“You assumed I would want revenge?” I asked, trying to mask the tremor in my voice. “How on earth did you know that I will take my revenge on Ronan?”
He studied me, his gaze deeper than it had ever been, then he spoke slowly.
“I knew your father, Zyrah. Aeternum was not a man who allowed disgrace to go unpunished, he was fierce, strategic and relentless. He built empires with his mind and destroyed enemies with a single glance.”
Leo rose from his chair, cigar still burning between his fingers as the smoke clung to him like shadow.
“If someone had done to your father what Ronan did to you, he would have torn the city down to find the bones, your father wouldn’t have needed a second reason.”
He stepped closer, eyes never leaving mine.
“And you? You’re his daughter Zyrah, his blood and the world may not know what you’re capable of yet, but I see it.”
He pointed the glowing cigar at my chest.
“You carry his fury, and you carry your father’s name.”
The smoke curled between us like fate.
“You want revenge, Zyrah, and you will take it because blood never forgets.”
I was speechless as I watched him, our eyes not leaving each other and it felt like he was boring deep into my soul. At that moment, I realized that he was right.
The cigar smoke lingered in the air, thick and heavy, clinging to my skin like a warning. Leo sat there, silent but sim- mering, a storm in tailored black.
Darius spoke, his voice calm but ice-edged. “All right, Vincenzo, enough of the poetry. What kind of revenge are you really talking about? What do you want from Ronan?”
Leo didn’t blink, he didn’t hesitate as his mouth curved into a cold, unapologetic smirk.
“I want him dead.”
His voice was steel and final.
The words sliced through the room like a blade. I stiffened as my heart skipped, and to my surprise, a strange roar ig-
44.8%
16:19
nited inside me. It was dark, twisted and wild because part of me, a loud, broken part, wanted Ronan dead too.
But blood on my hands? That was something else entirely.
I swallowed the knot forming in my throat. Darius, unfazed, adjusted his position, he leaned forward, arms folded tight, his gaze narrowing like a sniper.
“That’s a bold goal,” he said evenly. “So what exactly did Ronan do to deserve death?”
Leo’s eyes darkened and at once, his smirk faded as his entire energy shifted from amused to lethal.
“That bastard used me, betrayed me,” Leo said, voice low and lethal. “Six years ago, we brokered a deal, a clean, high-stakes partnership. Weapons, smuggled tech, and information, he was supposed to hold his end but the son of a bitch didn’t.”
Leo’s jaw tightened and his fists clenched at his sides.
“He fed my men false intel, set them up and that night, I lost six loyal soldiers, slaughtered in a fucking bomb ambush while Ronan walked away with billions, he smiled as he did it.”
I gasped, and this time I couldn’t hide it.
“He left their bodies in the dirt and took everything we built, and I swore,” Leo continued, his voice a growl now, “that one day, I will take something far more valuable from him.”
He turned his gaze on me, hard and unflinching. “Even without you, Zyrah, Ronan Lancaster is marked, his clock is ticking, and now that you’re no longer in his bed, he’s more vulnerable than ever.”
Darius still wasn’t convinced, he leaned forward, fingers steepled. “And how do we know you won’t pull the same stunt on us? Use us like he used you?”
Leo laughed, it was dark, deep, and cold enough to suck the warmth from the room.
“I don’t betray people I work with, I kill the ones who do. I’m not a snitch nor am I a liar, and I don’t stab allies in the back, unless they hand me the knife first.”
The fire in his eyes was real and dangerous.
“All I want,” Leo said, stepping closer, “is Ronan’s head on a plate. I could do it tomorrow if I wanted but that would be too quick and too merciful.”
His gaze returned to mine, and this time there was something almost reverent in it. “I want Ronan to suffer, slowly and publicly. I want him to rot before he bleeds, and I think your revenge, Zyrah, your wrath will give that death the perfect edge.”
I didn’t speak because I knew that Leo wasn’t just offering to help me.
He was offering to unleash a version of me that even I hadn’t met yet, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stop her.
“Wow.” Darius muttered.
59.1 %
16:20
The smoke from Leo’s cigar still hung in the air, swirling around the room like a phantom refusing to leave. The taste of his words lingered on my tongue, bitter and unforgettable.
Darius shifted in his seat, elbows on his knees, the shadows of the room deepening the coldness in his eyes. His voice broke the silence, low and composed but with the steel of authority embedded in every syllable.
“We’ve listened to everything, Vincenzo. You’ve made your intentions clear, but we don’t step into fire without a safety line. If you want this alliance, it comes with one condition.”
I reached into the leather folder by my side, pulled out a single document, and placed it on the table with a soft thud that carried more weight than the paper deserved. It was a contract, simple, direct, and merciless.
“You want to work with us? Then you sign this,” I said. “You keep your silence and don’t betray us. You don’t devi- ate, you only bleed for your revenge, not ours.”
I pushed the silver pen toward him across the polished surface.
Darius leaned forward, voice sharpening like a dagger. “Make no mistake, I don’t trust you. You may have known our father, but that doesn’t mean shit to me, this contract is protocol.”
Leo didn’t reach for the paper. Instead, he exhaled a thick stream of smoke and leaned back, his dark eyes glinting with twisted amusement.
Suddenly, he began to laugh.
A long, drawn-out, mocking laugh that echoed through the room like the toll of a funeral bell.
It made Darius clench his jaw so tightly I heard the grind of his teeth.
“What the fuck is funny?” Darius snapped, his tone laced with venom.
Leo chuckled again, his voice rich with condescension. “You two are children playing at war. You think a piece of paper binds a man like me? That my connection to your father gives you the right to question me?”
I stepped in, steady and calm, my voice low but commanding. “This isn’t about respect, Leo, this is about boundaries. Trust is earned, not inherited, you say you knew our father, then you should know he didn’t let anyone into his circle without drawing blood first.”
I met his eyes, sharp and steady. “You want this partnership? Sign the damn paper, if not, we will walk away, and you can rot with your
obsession.”
For a moment, Leo’s face hardened.
The room felt as if it were holding its breath.
Then, without a word, he leaned forward, picked up the document, scanned it with sharp eyes, and signed his name with a flourish.
The pen clicked shut.
He looked up and locked eyes with Darius. “Satisfied?”
74.7 %
16:19
Dartus nivuucu siowiy, race sun comu, voice cupped. Noining personal, it’s just business.”
Leo’s expression darkened. “And what about me? How do I know you won’t betray me? How do I know Zyrah won’t flinch when her old feelings for Ronan start bubbling up again?”
The words hit like a bullet.
I took a step forward, my fury uncoiling in a flash. “Don’t you ever say that again. You think I still love that bastard? That I will go this far if I felt a single drop of affection for him? If I still loved him, I wouldn’t be plotting to rip out his empire brick by brick.”
I held Leo’s stare, no blink, and no breath wasted. “Don’t confuse strategy for softness, I don’t hesitate, not anymore.”
Leo’s smirk returned, but it was smaller now, more respectful, he nodded once. “Good, we’re finally speaking the same language.”
He stood up slowly, brushing ash from his sleeve. “Keep the media storm rolling, cripple him from the inside, and keep me updated, and I’ll do the same.”
He turned to leave, that predator calm returning with every step toward the door.
“One more thing,” Darius said, voice like a sudden frost. “Zyrah and I, we want to destroy Ronan, bankrupt him, and take every penny, every contact, and his legacy. We want him crawling but we’re not murderers, if you want his blood, that’s your call.”
Leo paused and I saw the corner of his mouth curled into a dark smirk.
“So be it.”
And what this, he walked out of the room leaving only the contract on the table, and the echo of war in his wake.
90.5 %
