The war room fell silent as I finished recounting my dinner with Damian. Sterling stood frozen by the windows, his reflection ghostlike against the city lights. Eleanor sat rigidly in her chair, her usual composure cracked like fine china under pressure. Marcus, our head of security, looked like he wanted to personally strangle every member of his team for failing to protect me from a threat they hadn't even known existed.
"Three years," Sterling said finally, his voice hollow. "He's been hunting you for three years, and we never knew."
"The parking garage attack was him testing me," I continued, forcing myself to stay clinical. "Seeing how I'd react under pressure, whether I was a genuine threat or just window dressing for your social life."
"And your father?" Eleanor's voice was barel
