After Arthur woke up, we had breakfast together, brushed our teeth, and took a shower. I helped him get dressed before handing him over to Xavier. With Mia fully occupied as the Deputy Director of DTY, Felix neck-deep in cyber tracking Aurelius, and Zack busy training new recruits, Xavier was the only one I could trust to babysit Arthur today.
"Take care of him for me, okay?" I told Xavier as I placed a soft kiss on Arthur's forehead. Arthur pouted a little but nodded, clearly used to this routine by now.
"You got it," Xavier replied with a reassuring smile, taking Arthur's hand.
I adjusted my blazer, fixed my ID badge, and made my way to the central HQ. The meeting room was already filled with agents from both LUMENN and DTY, along with a few suited government officials and international political advisors. Everyone's expression was grim.
I took my seat beside Mia, who gave me a brief nod.
The Director stood up and began. "Aurelius Valemont has now been confirmed as the official ruler of the global criminal underground. All known mafia organizations report to him. We've received intel from DTY satellites and LUMENN informants that several world leaders are in secret alliances with him—offering resources, protection, even national immunity."
He tapped on the holographic projector, revealing the faces of three world politicians—one from Eastern Europe, another from Southeast Asia, and the last from South America.
"They've entered into an unofficial pact with VARAK, trading influence for immunity. Aurelius now has political shields we never predicted."
I felt my stomach tighten. The deeper he sank into this darkness, the harder it was to reach him.
Mia leaned closer to whisper, "He's not just a threat anymore, Callista. He's becoming an untouchable force."
I clenched my fists beneath the table. "Then we find the cracks in the walls he's building."
The Director folded his arms, eyes scanning each one of us. "We need to restructure our offense. If Aurelius has the politicians, we need the people."
Mia nodded. "LUMENN was once a silent shadow. Now, with government support, we can become a storm."
Felix tapped away on his tablet and brought up a map littered with red dots. "These are potential safe zones and strike points—locations where VARAK's influence is weak or contested. We've also detected encrypted transmissions suggesting that not all mafias are happy under Aurelius's command. We can use that to our advantage."
"Divide and weaken his hold," I said, tapping my pen against my notebook. "What about the children we've rescued and trained? Are they ready?"
Zack's voice came in through the comms from the training wing. "Some are ready for recon missions. Others still need time. But they're loyal, focused, and sharper than most of the agents I've worked with."
"Good." I stood. "Then we prepare for silent resistance. We infiltrate, collect data, and recruit defectors. We fight not with bombs or bullets, but with information, compassion... and if necessary, with precision."
The Director smirked slightly. "You're starting to sound like a leader, Callista."
I shook my head. "I'm a mother. That's more than enough reason to take this fight seriously."
The room fell silent, then slowly, one by one, the heads around the table nodded.
The storm was coming—but this time, LUMENN would be the thunder before it strikes.
I leaned back on my chair, the weight of exhaustion pulling at my shoulders. The dirty thoughts from last night still clung to my mind like stubborn fog. I hadn't slept a wink, and it was starting to show.
Mia, seated to my right in her sharp DTY uniform, glanced at me with concern. "Callista, are you okay?" she whispered under her breath, leaning slightly closer.
I gave her a small nod, forcing a weak smile. "Just a rough night," I murmured.
She didn't push further, but the look in her eyes said she didn't believe me.
As the meeting continued, one of the political advisors—a stern-looking man in a gray suit—cleared his throat and shifted his papers. "I have a sensitive question," he said, glancing around before landing his eyes on me. "It's regarding Aurelius Valemont's only child… Arthur."
My heart skipped a beat. I felt my entire body stiffen as if every muscle had frozen in place.
"What about him?" I asked carefully, trying to keep my voice neutral.
The advisor continued, "If Aurelius is truly beyond reason now and LUMENN and DTY are preparing for the possibility of a full-scale confrontation... then what happens to the boy? There are rumors… People are starting to question whether he'll be used as leverage."
I clenched my fists under the table, my nails digging into my palms. Mia's hand subtly reached under to touch mine in reassurance.
"Arthur is not leverage," I said firmly. "He is not a weapon or a pawn. He's my son—and whatever blood runs through his veins, I will not let the sins of his father define him."
The room fell quiet. Tense. Respectful.
The Director finally spoke. "Then we protect him, just as we protect every member of LUMENN. End of discussion."
I exhaled, silently thankful. My thoughts, however, spiraled.
Arthur… your father may have chosen the darkness, but I swear on my life—I won't let it take you too.
Everyone had already filtered out of the room when Mia and I walked side by side through the corridor. Her voice was animated, eyes sparkling as she rambled on about her engagement to Felix.
"I swear, Cal, you should've seen my dad's face when Felix asked for my hand," she giggled. "He looked like he swallowed a lemon."
I chuckled weakly. "I'm not surprised. He still sees you as a little girl."
Mia scoffed, tossing her hair. "Please. I run half his agency. I've hacked into top-level servers, taken down terrorist rings, but God forbid I fall in love."
I gave her a teasing look. "And what made him change his mind?"
"Oh, I told him I'd elope," she smirked proudly. "He nearly had a heart attack. But eventually, he caved. He even gave Felix 'the talk'... and then got drunk over it."
I raised a brow. "You're unbelievable."
She grinned. "Says the girl who was fantasizing last night about you-know-who's eight-inch glory."
I turned beet red. "Mia!"
She burst out laughing. "What? You started it."
Before I could respond, we turned a corner and found ourselves at the lounge where Arthur and Xavier were playing together. Arthur was squealing with laughter as Xavier chased him around the room, pretending to be a monster.
"Rawrrr! I'm gonna eat the tiny hacker prince!"
Arthur squealed, "Nooo! Uncle Xavierrrr!"
I smiled warmly at the sight. Despite the chaos of our lives, moments like this felt like peace. I sank into the couch, the weight of exhaustion finally catching up to me. My body ached, my eyes were heavy, and I hadn't slept in over 36 hours. I leaned back, watching my son's laughter echo in the air like a lullaby.
Mia flopped beside me, still giggling. "You know, I think Felix and I are going to have a wedding in the spring. I want cherry blossoms. Maybe somewhere in Kyoto."
I sighed, barely holding my eyelids open. "Sounds beautiful…"
Mia glanced at me and smirked. "You need sleep, mama. Or you'll start dreaming out loud again."
I gave a tired laugh. "Don't remind me…"
And just like that, I let the moment wrap around me—warm, real, and fleeting.
In the middle of my well-deserved nap, I was having the most beautiful dream.
Aurelius was there—looking ridiculously fine in his usual black dress shirt, unbuttoned just enough to show a dangerous amount of chest. His fingers trailed down my spine, his lips brushing against my ear, whispering things that would definitely get us arrested in at least seven countries. His hands reached for my blouse, undoing the first button—
"Ma'am!"
My eyes snapped open, groaning inwardly. Oh, come on! He was just about to undress me!
A DTY special agent stood in front of me, panting like he'd run a marathon through enemy territory. His face was pale, hair disheveled, one hand gripping the doorframe for dear life.
Arthur was still playing nearby, giggling as Xavier lifted him into the air like a jet, while Mia glanced up from the toy blocks she'd been organizing into a makeshift castle.
"What?" I croaked, still half-asleep, my mind trying to cling to the remnants of that scandalous dream.
"VARAK... they're hacking one of LUMENN's intelligence vaults."
I blinked, brain catching up in real time. And then I bolted upright, all traces of sleep and fantasy obliterated.
"I'm sorry—WHAT?!"
The agent nodded breathlessly. "It's happening right now, ma'am. Felix is trying to reinforce the firewall, but they already breached Layer 3. He said you need to get to the core terminal—now."
I cursed under my breath and stood up. "Mia, you stay with Arthur."
She nodded, already on her feet and snapping into Deputy Director mode. "Go. I've got him."
Xavier was already pulling out his comms device, alerting the others.
My heart raced as I sprinted down the hall, fury and panic swirling in my chest. If VARAK was targeting our intel directly—it wasn't just war anymore.
It was personal.
I stormed into the core terminal, the massive LED screens flickering with alerts and red-flag breaches. Felix was seated in front of the central console, typing at inhuman speed, eyes narrowed behind his glasses.
"How bad is it?" I demanded.
"They're in," Felix muttered, sweat trickling down his temple. "VARAK slipped through with a cloaked worm protocol—military grade. They're trying to extract LUMENN's top-level assets and recruit list."
"Recruit list?" My chest tightened. That was everything. Every child we'd rescued. Every orphan we trained. Every agent's alias. Arthur's name was in there too—even if listed under a codename.
"They're digging deep," he added. "Someone on their end knows what to look for."
My hands hovered over the secondary keyboard. "Let me in."
Felix nodded, and I started counter-hacking. Firewalls, encryption nodes, mirror-traps—code danced across my screen like fire. Whoever was behind VARAK's digital assault was skilled—no, brilliant. Ruthless and precise. This wasn't just a random hacker.
It had his fingerprints all over it.
Aurelius.
My fingers clenched. He didn't know he had a son. He didn't know Arthur existed. And yet—he was about to expose everything. Even unintentionally.
"Redirecting the virus loop to a honeypot server," I muttered. "I'm masking the core files behind a fake database—feeding them false logs."
Felix grinned. "You're evil."
"Learned from the best."
The screen flashed—Intrusion Redirected. Connection Terminated.
I exhaled. My hands trembled. That was close. Too close.
Felix leaned back. "If it was him... he's getting bolder."
I stared at the trace log. IP fragments. A Japanese data relay. Some Tokyo-based criminal syndicate domain. The signature ended with a line of encoded text I could decrypt even blindfolded:
> VARAK inherits the world. The weak will kneel. – A.V.
Aurelius Valemont.
Still cold. Still terrifying. Still obsessed with dominance.
But still… my heart ached.
"He doesn't even know about Arthur," I whispered under my breath. "He only knew I was pregnant with his child but he didn't know...that he has a son whom I named him Arthur."
Felix's fingers paused over the keys. "You still love him."
I didn't answer.
Because I did.
And that was the most dangerous thing of all.
Somewhere in the shadows of Tokyo, beneath the glimmering neon and towering skyscrapers, a lone figure knelt before the one and only man who ruled the entire underworld.
Aurelius Valemont.
His black suit fit like a blade. Cold, sharp, untouchable. His deep blue eyes glinted like frozen oceans beneath the low light. He sat on the obsidian throne VARAK had built for him—silent, statuesque, terrifying.
The spy's voice trembled. "M-My Lord, forgive the intrusion but... I have intel. About her. About Callista."
Aurelius's gaze snapped to him instantly—cold, piercing. "Speak."
The spy swallowed. "She gave birth... four years ago. A boy. She named him Arthur… just as you both planned."
A long, thick silence filled the room. For the first time in years, the King of the Criminal Underworld didn't move. Didn't blink.
He stood slowly.
"What did you say?" His voice was dangerously quiet.
The spy bowed lower, visibly shaking. "Arthur, my Lord. His name is Arthur Valemont. He looks just like you. The resemblance is undeniable."
Aurelius's hand slowly clenched into a fist. His eyes, unreadable, began to burn with a glint of something fierce—something human. And deadly.
He didn't say a word.
But the room felt colder than death.