The wind howled across the rooftop of the Southbank penthouse.
Below, London pulsed — unaware that war was about to be waged, not with armies or headlines, but with a name, a secret, and two brothers bound by blood and betrayal.
James stood at the far edge, his coat whipping behind him, one hand curled around his phone, the other clenched into a fist.
He'd said almost nothing since Adrian's message.
But I knew him well enough by now to hear the thoughts in his silence.
> If I face him, I might not return.
If I don't, he'll come for everything.
---
I approached slowly, wrapping my arms around his waist from behind. My cheek pressed against his back.
"You don't have to do this alone," I whispered.
"I do," he replied.
"No," I said firmly, stepping in front of him. "That's the one lie you keep telling yourself."
He looked down at me. Shadows under his eyes. A storm in his chest.
"This ends with me, Amelia."
"No," I said again. "This ends with us."
---
Hours Later
Undisclosed Location — East London Docks
The place was abandoned. Rusting. Forgotten.
But this — this is where Windsor Tech began.
A warehouse James and Adrian once built their first prototype in.
A place filled with echoes and ghosts.
We arrived in silence. Just Miles, James, and me.
Security stayed outside.
Because Adrian had requested one thing:
> No weapons. No guards. Just brothers.
But I had one hidden in my boot anyway.
I wasn't leaving without James.
---
We stepped inside.
And there he was.
Adrian Montclair.
Time had sharpened him. Same sharp jawline. Same sea-glass eyes as James — only colder. Emptier.
He clapped slowly as we entered.
"Well," he drawled. "The king arrives. And he brought his queen."
I stayed beside James.
Silent. Watchful.
"Let's cut the theatrics," James said. "Why now?"
Adrian tilted his head. "Because your fall is long overdue."
"You could've taken the board. The companies. You had the chance."
Adrian's smile faded. "I don't want your empire, brother. I want your ashes."
He stepped forward.
"You were always the favorite. Even when Father threw you out. He still whispered your name like a god. And me? I was the shadow no one remembered."
"You chose that path," James said coolly.
"No," Adrian growled. "You chose it for me. When you exposed me. When you buried me."
He looked at me.
"And then you found her. The only thing I couldn't predict. The only thing you cared about more than power."
James's eyes darkened. "Don't say her name."
"Why not?" Adrian sneered. "She's why I'll win."
---
And then everything happened at once.
Adrian raised his hand. A sharp whistle echoed.
Footsteps. Four men from the shadows.
> They lied.
No guards. No weapons. All a setup.
Miles stepped in front of me, pulling a hidden blade from his coat. "I've got her," he said to James.
But James stepped forward. Alone.
Unflinching.
"Let her go. She's not part of this."
"Oh, but she is," Adrian said. "She's the scar that never closed. And every empire bleeds through its softest point."
He signaled.
One of the guards moved to grab me.
But I didn't flinch.
> I moved.
A swift kick. Blade out. Slash to the wrist.
He screamed. Dropped.
Adrian turned.
And in that second — James lunged.
---
Brothers collided.
Fists. Fury. Seventeen years of silence torn open.
They crashed against rusted machinery, blood smearing old blueprints once drawn in hope.
"You were nothing without me!" Adrian roared.
"And I became everything without you!" James shouted back.
---
I watched, breath frozen, until Adrian pulled something from his coat — a sleek black pistol.
James froze.
So did I.
"Don't," I begged.
But Adrian had already pulled the hammer back.
Then — a shot.
> But not from him.
Adrian dropped.
Miles stood at the corner, gun still smoking.
"I waited seventeen years for that," he muttered.
---
James dropped to his knees, panting, blood on his knuckles, on his face — but alive.
I ran to him.
And when he looked up at me, tears rimmed his eyes.
"It's over," he breathed.
"No," I said, kneeling beside him.
"It's just beginning."
---