Location: Tavara – Kane Ancestral Courtyard
The courtyard was awash with early morning fog, veiling the marble statues of Kane ancestors in ghostly shrouds. Victor stood alone, his breath visible in the cold air, eyes fixed on the large stone crest embedded in the courtyard's center—a serpent coiled around a phoenix. It was the symbol of the ancient Vael bloodline—his mother's lineage. A legacy long buried.
He had returned to the ancestral home not for nostalgia, but to confront what had been hidden for decades.
Inside the old manor, Elandra Vael's diary—recently unearthed from a secret vault by Elena—rested on a velvet cushion. Bound in dark blue leather with silver inscriptions, it carried the truth Victor had been denied his whole life. Truths about betrayals, exile, and the Kane Council's deliberate erasure of his mother's name.
Victor turned as soft footsteps approached. Elena, now a trusted confidante and bearer of countless secrets, held the diary with both hands.
"They lied to you," she said quietly. "About everything."
Victor took the diary, his expression unreadable. He opened to a page marked by a black feather.
> "They took everything from me, my name, my son, my identity—but they will never erase the Vael fire. One day, he will return. And when he does, the bloodline will rise again."
"She was preparing for war," Victor murmured. "Alone."
Elena hesitated. "Not entirely alone. She had allies—secret ones. Hidden even from the Kanes."
Victor's jaw clenched. "I want names."
As they spoke, Damien entered with a grim look. "We found something else. A sealed vault under the old crypt—coded with Vael markings. It requires your blood to open it."
Victor followed him, leaving Elena with the diary. Beneath the manor's west wing, they descended into darkness, where a reinforced steel door awaited. On it, the Vael crest shimmered faintly.
Damien handed Victor a small dagger. "You sure about this?"
Victor nodded. "It's time."
He pressed the blade to his palm, blood dripping into the crest's groove. Mechanisms clicked. The vault opened with a hiss, revealing not gold or jewels—but documents, letters, and a sealed box marked "Project Ember."
Victor stared in silence. These were more than heirlooms. They were weapons. Truths. Tools of leverage.
Back upstairs, Nora joined Elena, her brows knit. "How's he taking it?"
"Like a Kane," Elena said. "But the Vael in him... it's waking up."
Just then, a coded alert rang on Victor's encrypted phone. A single line blinked across the screen:
"Archer knows about Ember."
Victor's face darkened. The past wasn't just catching up. It was detonating.