The car door closed behind me with a soft click.The interior smelled like expensive leather and chilled steel.The windows were tinted so dark that the sunlight outside faded into gray shadow.
Lucas sat across from me.Leg crossed.Posture perfect.Hands folded over his knee with surgeon precision.He looked like a portrait painted to display control.
His right wrist carried a thin bandage hidden under the tailored cuff.The sign of a fall from grace.The kneeling.The humiliation.
His eyes studied me like a scalpel pressing against skin.
"Aiden," he said quietly."You look better than the news suggested."
"News rarely reports the truth," I answered.
The car began to move.The silence deepened.I watched him.He watched me.The city passed beyond the glass like a blurred painting.
"You created quite a spectacle last night," Lucas said."Congratulations. You have become a public fascination."
"Correction," I said."I reminded the city who folds first when pressure arrives."
A faint twitch appeared at the corner of his mouth.Anger crouched behind his eyes like a chained animal.
"I am willing to forget that moment," he said."We can call it stress. A misunderstanding. You have always been dramatic."
Dramatic.
In my first life he used that word just before sending me to my death.
"Is this the part where you suggest help?" I asked."Therapists. Medication. A padded room dressed up as mercy."
"If that is what you need," he replied."I can provide it."
The system voice murmured in my mind.
[Lie detected][Objective: voluntary containment followed by forced detainment]
"You are worried," I said.
"No. I am irritated. There is a difference."He leaned forward slightly."You embarrassed me in front of investors and officials. They want assurances. They want to know that our family is stable. I intend to reassure them."
"You want me to sign papers," I said."Step down quietly. Vanish politely."
"Yes," he said."I do not want to destroy you. But do not mistake restraint for weakness. If I must choose between you and what I built, I will choose myself."
His honesty tasted like poison coated in sugar.
I let the silence breathe between us.Then I spoke calmly.
"Do you remember the day our parents died?"
He blinked.He did not expect that.
"They died in a car accident," he said slowly."You know that."
"I remember the graves," I said."You placed a hand on my shoulder. You promised we would rebuild. You promised that no one would take anything from us again."
I held his gaze.
"You lied. You never rebuilt anything. You hoarded. You consumed. You ate everything and called it victory."
He exhaled sharply and turned toward the driver.
"Pull over."
"No."
The word carried Presence.The air thickened.Pressure fell like a boulder.
The driver gasped and gripped the wheel so hard his knuckles turned white.Lucas flinched before he could stop himself.
[Sin action registered: Domination] [Fear index increased]
"I am not finished," I said quietly.
I leaned forward until my face was inches from his.
"Thank you for kneeling, Lucas. That moment was a gift. It reminded me that control means nothing if you cannot protect your throne."
His expression twisted into something raw and vicious.
"You are making a dangerous mistake," he said.
"I have made many," I replied."Surviving your first attempt to kill me was my favorite."
His pupils tightened into thin points.
"Words like that can get you buried."
"Only if someone believes you," I said.
The vehicle slowed.The engine hummed softer.We stopped near my apartment building.
Lucas met my eyes one last time through the glass.
He did not look at me like a brother.
He looked at me like an executioner marking a target.
The system chimed.
[Assessment complete][Lucas Crow underestimates you][Advantage: significant][Sin points gained: 40]
A new notification arrived.
One message. Unknown number.
I opened it.
Interesting entrance. The Board noticed you. We will speak soon.
No name.None required.
Victor Draven.
I slid the phone into my pocket.
Pieces were moving.The board was set.The first war had begun.
And I was ready.