<h4>Chapter 17: Behind Closed Doors </h4>


    Maddox mmed the suite door shut behind him, the torn strip of Cambria’s wedding dress still clutched in his hand.


    He didn’t speak.


    He didn’t breathe.


    He paced like a caged animal his fists tight, his jaw locked, rage simmering just beneath the surface.


    Cambria sat in the corner of the room, barefoot, the heels and dress gone. Just silk robe and silence. But her eyes were wide open, trained on the note now lying on the table.


    "One sister escaped. Let’s see how long the other survives."


    She’d read it three times. The paper still hummed with venom.


    "We’re not safe here," Maddox said finally. "She’s escting."


    "No," Cambria replied. "She’s unraveling."


    He turned to her. "That makes her more dangerous."


    Cambria stood, slow and steady. "Then let’s be more dangerous."


    Maddox stared at her. "You want to go on the offensive? With what? A broken alliance? A traumatized sister? A fragile media narrative that could shift with one whisper from her?"


    "With truth," Cambria said. "And control."


    She walked toward him, each step deliberate.


    "She wanted me broken," she continued. "But what she didn’t count on was that I learned from her. I know how she ys this game now. And I’m going to beat her at it."


    Maddox’s anger shifted into something sharper admiration, maybe. Or fear. He wasn’t sure.


    "Then we start tonight," he said. "We lock everything down. Everyone loyal stays close. And we find out what Elena is nning next before she finds a new target."


    Across town, Elena Thorne sat in a candlelit room inside a Manhattan brownstone no one outside her inner circle knew existed.


    She sipped her tea slowly. Beside her, an old file foldery open Cambria’s name written across the top in bold ck ink.


    Inside it: photos, transcripts, sealed court documents.


    Secrets.


    And one name circled in red:


    Julian King.


    Her fingers brushed the paper gently.


    "Daddy’s little secret," she murmured.


    A man stepped forward from the shadows behind her. Dressed in ck, expression cold.


    "You’re ready to deploy him?" he asked.


    Elena didn’t answer.


    She simply smiled.


    At the Brooklyn safehouse, ra brought Cambria a burner phone.


    "There’s something you need to hear," she said, handing it over.


    Cambria pressed y.


    Seraphina’s voice filled the room.


    "Cam... if you’re listening, I’m okay. I escaped on my own but not entirely. Someone helped me. Someone who knew our father."


    Cambria’s stomach flipped.


    Seraphina continued.


    "He said his name was Julian. Julian King."


    Cambria sat down hard. "No... that can’t be."


    ra’s eyes widened. "Who is he?"


    Cambria’s voice was a whisper. "My father’s bastard son. The one he left behind when he married my mother. I never met him. Never even knew his face."


    ra blinked. "And now he’s helping Seraphina?"


    Cambria’s hands trembled. "If Elena found him first... she’ll weaponize him."


    "She already has," ra said. "I ran a trace. He’s been in contact with someone tied to Elena’s offshore ounts. She’s been grooming him as a backup n."


    Cambria stood, her eyes zing. "Then she’s not justing for me."


    "She’s trying to rewrite your bloodline," ra said.


    Later that night, Cambria met with Maddox on the rooftop of the safe house


    "She’s found my half-brother," Cambria said without preamble. "He’s the new card she’s about to y."


    Maddox processed the words. "What does he want?"


    "I don’t know," Cambria said. "But if Elena’s holding his leash, it won’t be good."


    They stood in silence, the city pulsing around them.


    "She’s still trying to bind you," Maddox said. "But she doesn’t realize... we’ve already cut the strings."


    Cambria looked at him. "Then let’s prove it."


    At dawn, a private video is sent to every major news outlet in New York.


    It’s a family announcement.


    Elena Thorne, standing in front of the Thorne estate.


    Beside her: a man.


    Dark hair. Sharp jaw. Smirking.


    "I’d like to introduce my future son-inw," Elena says. "Julian King. A man worthy of carrying the Thorne name."


    She turns to the camera.


    "And a man who, in 48 hours, will file for full control of King Media... on behalf of our united families."


    The screen cuts to ck.


    Cambria watches the footage in silence.


    Then turns to Maddox.


    "They’reing for everything."


    And this time, they’ve brought blood.