Erick’s knuckles whitened against the console.
Dominique’s face filled the screen—perfectly composed, golden hair flawless, wearing a soft pink robe in what looked like a private hospital suite.
One hand rested protectively over her stomach.
She was crying delicate, camera-ready tears.
“…devastated beyond words,” Dominique’s voice trembled.
“Erick Gerard was the love of my life.
To learn he had an affair with my own sister… and now, after tonight’s terrible attack…” She paused, letting a single tear fall.
“I don’t know where he is.
I don’t know if he’s even alive.
All I know is that my child will grow up without a father, and my sister is missing too…”
Remi’s fingers dug into Erick’s forearm.
“Is she serious?”
Erick stared at the screen, a cold fury settling in his chest.
They hadn’t been intimate in over a year.
This was pure fabrication.
The camera caught Dominique dabbing her eyes with a monogrammed handkerchief, still cradling her stomach.
“Our baby deserves to know his father…”
Remi recoiled.
“An affair?
With me?
That’s disgusting.
She knows that never happened.”
Erick let out a sharp, humorless laugh.
“Then your sister is lying through her teeth.” He jabbed a finger at the screen.
“This is how she kicks back—by rewriting reality when she feels cornered.”
Remi shook her head, stunned.
“She promised me she wouldn’t—”
“People change when power sinks its claws in deep enough,” Erick said quietly.
“The Dominique who rescued you when you were children.
The woman on that screen would throw you under the bus in a heartbeat if it saved her image.”
Remi watched her sister clutch a sonogram printout.
The date stamp was recent.
Her stomach twisted.
“But I still need to hear it from her myself.” She said softly.
“And you will.
But not while she’s performing for the cameras.” He turned to the console.
“Helix, scrub the feed.
Redirect traffic to the Gerard Tower explosion archive and forensic reports.
Bury this narrative.”
“Executing,” Helix replied.
“However, she has locked several major media channels.
Full override requires a majority board biometric confirmation.”
Erick’s jaw tightened.
“Then get it.”
“Understood, Chairman.”
Remi swallowed hard.
“Then what now?”
Erick glanced at Ivan, who had laid out dry clothes.
“We regroup at the penthouse.
Then we go on the offensive.” He looked back at Remi, eyes burning with quiet intensity.
“You ready to burn your old life down?”
Remi met his gaze without flinching.
For the first time, there was no hesitation in her voice.
“You have been prepared for this?”
Erick held her gaze.
“Five years.
Every insult, every night in that storage room, every time Dominique looked through me like I was furniture.
I prepared for war, Remi.
I just didn’t expect to have an ally worth fighting beside.”
Ivan cleared his throat, setting down two sets of dry tactical clothing.
“Touching, boss.
But we’ve got movement.
Helix just flagged three unmarked vans converging on the surface access point two miles out.
They’re using Clarke’s private security codes.”
Remi’s eyes widened.
“They found us already?”
“Not yet,” Erick said, stripping off his wet shirt without hesitation.
The hard lines of muscle and old scars across his torso told a story of more than boardrooms.
“But they’re getting closer. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Change.
We move in three minutes.”
As Remi turned away to pull on the black long-sleeved shirt and pants Ivan provided, Erick stepped closer to the console.
“Helix, reroute all power to secondary nodes.
Ghost protocol.”
“Confirmed, Chairman.
Penthouse secure.
However—” The AI’s voice shifted, losing its usual playful edge.
“I’m detecting an anomalous signal inside Laurent Tower.
Dominique’s broadcast just received a priority boost from an encrypted government channel.
Senator Clarke’s office.”
Remi spun around, now dressed, her damp hair falling across her shoulders.
“Martin’s father is protecting her lie?”
Erick’s expression darkened.
“He’s not protecting her.
He’s using her.
That fake pregnancy?
It’s bait.
They want the public mourning the poor abandoned wife while they hunt the real threat…me.”
Ivan’s voice cut through like a blade.
“Boss.
We have a problem.”
Erick turned.
The holographic map flared red.
Helix spoke urgently.
Multiple armed people are descending the emergency stairwell.
They skipped the outer hatch.
Neural jammers, designed to counter my local nodes, are being transported according to internal sensors.
Erick’s hand instinctively went to the pistol at his side.
“How the hell did they—”
Outside the bunker door, there was a loud metallic clang that echoed.
They were already inside.