The mansion felt colder that night.
No guards inside the private office.
No interruptions.
Just Sage.
S4RKU.
And the flash drive.
He plugged it in without hesitation.
The screen flickered.
Old footage.
Date stamp: Five years ago.
The night his mother died.
Sage felt his body go rigid beside her.
The video showed the mansion hallway.
Gunshots.
Chaos.
His mother running.
Young S4RKU - only fourteen - behind her.
Then-
The camera angle shifted.
Another feed.
From inside the house.
Not the rival's men.
Someone else.
A familiar face walked into frame.
One of S4RKU's most trusted lieutenants.
Ashish.
His right-hand man for years.
The man who helped him build the empire.
Ashish opened a side door.
Letting the attackers in.
Sage's breath stopped.
"No..."
The footage continued.
His mother pushed him toward the back exit.
She shouted something.
He hesitated.
Just for a second.
And in that second-
Ashish stepped back into shadow.
Watching.
Not helping.
Gunshot.
His mother fell.
The screen froze.
Silence filled the room.
Thick.
Suffocating.
S4RKU didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Sage slowly turned toward him.
He wasn't angry.
He wasn't shouting.
He wasn't breaking things.
He was empty.
Which was far worse.
"Ashish..." he said quietly.
The name sounded like betrayal itself.
Years.
Years of loyalty.
Strategy.
War.
Built beside a traitor.
"I killed hundreds thinking it was the rival," he murmured.
His voice wasn't loud.
It was hollow.
Sage stepped closer.
"He manipulated you."
His jaw tightened.
"No."
His voice darkened.
"I manipulated myself."
Silence.
His fists clenched.
"You knew," he whispered suddenly.
She froze.
"You sensed something when he spoke."
She nodded slowly.
"I felt... something was off."
His breathing changed.
Slower.
More controlled.
Dangerously controlled.
"He watched her die."
The room felt too small.
"He built my empire with me."
His eyes lifted to Sage.
And for the first time-
She saw something terrifying.
Not rage.
Not heartbreak.
Vengeance without limit.
"If this is true," she whispered carefully,
"What are you going to do?"
A long pause.
Then-
"I'm not going to kill him."
That surprised her.
He stepped back from the screen.
Cold calm settling over him like armor.
"I'm going to make him wish he died that night instead."
A chill ran down her spine.
This wasn't war anymore.
This was personal extinction.
She moved closer to him.
"You can't lose yourself."
He looked at her slowly.
"I already did."
She grabbed his hand.
Firm.
Grounding.
"You didn't hesitate that night because you were weak."
His eyes flickered.
"You hesitated because you were a child."
Silence.
"You didn't kill your mother," she said softly.
"The betrayal did."
For a second...
Just one second...
His composure cracked.
Pain surfaced.
Raw.
Then it sealed again.
But now it wasn't empty.
It was focused.
Ashish had no idea what storm he had awakened.
Outside, the city lights flickered.
Inside, a king discovered his throne was built on lies.
And somewhere far away...
Ashish received a simple message from an unknown number:
"Come home. We need to talk."