Chapter 50 The War
Flashback – Years before Damian and Aria ever met)
The war didn’t start with guns or blood.
It began with a handshake.
Leonard Blackwood and Michael Reynolds were once the city’s most promising allies.
Two men, young and brilliant, driven by hunger for success.
One built Blackwood Industries, a manufacturing giant.
The other founded Rey's Pharmaceuticals, a name that would become a global empire in medicine.
They met at a business summit in Montreal twenty years ago. Leonard, charming and ambitious, offered Reynold a partnership that could transform both their worlds.
“Let’s build something the world can’t ignore,” Leonard had said, his grin proud, his handshake firm.
And they did.
For five years, their collaboration dominated the market. Together, they developed a revolutionary drug-production process that reduced costs by 40%. It was genius, a blend of Reynold research and Leonard’s financial networks.
But with success came shadows.
Ten Years Before the Present.
The first crack appeared when a new drug under their joint patent Neurogen-X went missing from Reynolds research lab.
The prototype appeared days later under Blackwood Industries’ name.
Michael went mad.
He barged into Leonard’s office, eyes burning.
“You stole it!”
Leonard leaned back in his chair, unfazed. “Watch your words, Michael. I don’t steal. I invest.”
“You knew that formula was still under testing!”
“Then you should’ve patented it faster,” Leonard replied calmly, flipping through his papers. “In business, speed is survival.”
Reynold’s hand slammed the table. “You call it business; I call it betrayal.”
Leonard looked up, his voice suddenly sharp. “You wanted fame, Reynold. You got it. Don’t come crying to me because the world finally knows your name.”
That was the day the alliance ended.
The next few years were a blur of lawsuits, threats, and boardroom wars.
Reynolds Pharmaceuticals accused Blackwood Industries of theft.
Blackwood countered with defamation suits.
The media loved it.
“The Titans Turn to Enemies,” one headline said.
“Former Friends at War,” said another.
Behind those headlines, the two men were destroying each other piece by piece.
Suppliers picked sides, investors withdrew, and employees suffered the fallout.
But neither stopped.
Leonard was too proud.
Reynold was too wounded.
And revenge became their language.
Five Years Before the Present
One stormy night, at a private gala hosted by the Economic Council, both men came face to face again for the first time in years.
The room fell silent as they exchanged cold smiles.
“Leonard,” Reynold greeted, swirling his drink. “Still pretending to be the city’s golden boy?”
Leonard chuckled darkly. “Better a golden boy than a desperate man clinging to old glory.”
Reynold stepped closer. “You might have money, but you’ll never have integrity.”
Leonard’s eyes hardened. “Integrity doesn’t build empires. Power does.”
That night, Reynold swore privately that he would destroy every legacy the Blackwood name stood for.
He started buying out Leonard’s smaller branches, poaching his engineers, leaking private information to the press.
Leonard retaliated the only way he knew how , with silence and strategy.
He began plotting a move no one would see coming.
He drew for a fight
Three Years Before the Present
Leonard’s health started to fail. The years of rivalry and tension had eaten into his spirit.
Before he died, he called his son, Damian, into his study.
Damian was very young then ,sharp, cold, and already learning that love and loyalty didn’t belong in business.
Leonard poured him a glass of whisky.
“You’ll inherit everything,” he said. “But remember this,never forgive a Reynold.”
Damian frowned. “What did they take from you?”
Leonard’s eyes dimmed. “Everything. My patents, my investors, my reputation. Michael Reynolds made sure I was branded a thief before I could even defend myself.”
He coughed, his voice hoarse. “But you… you can finish what I started. Destroy him, Damian. Not with guns, but with his own bloodline.”
Damian stared at him. “What are you saying?”
“Marry his daughter.”
The words froze in the air.
Leonard leaned back, his breath heavy. “They say she’s just entered high school. She's Smart. Clean. Innocent. Take what he values most. Make her your pawn.”
“Father…”
“It’s business, son,” Leonard cut in. “The Reynolds ruined me. Use the only weapon they can’t fight against — love.”
That was the night the plan was born.
One Year Later
After Leonard’s death, Damian rose to power as the new CEO of Blackwood Estate.
He rebuilt the his own company’s image ruthless, untouchable.
And quietly, he began to track Aria Reynold.
When Rey's Pharmaceuticals suffered a sudden loss due to a scandal involving an illegal drug patent, Damian saw his chance.
He approached Michael Reynolds under the guise of a corporate partnership, proposing a merger that would “save” both companies’ reputations.
His assistant Viktor helped him, access all his useful documents. Allowing him to regain the small plots of land that was rightly his father's.
It was to last one year, with clauses of publicity, loyalty, and brand alignment.
The perfect night at the hotel was a perfect chance to strike.
The world saw it as a fairytale.
But for Damian, it was revenge wearing a tuxedo.
He didn’t love her.
He didn’t want to.
To him, she was her father’s weakness , and his greatest weapon.
The Night Before the Wedding
Damian stood by the balcony, watching the city lights blur under the rain.
He could hear his father’s words echoing in his mind: Never forgive a Blackwood.
He decided to turn off the wedding in the public.
Behind him, his assistant whispered, “Are you sure about this, sir?”
Damian’s expression didn’t waver. “The sins of the father must be repaid by the bloodline.”
“But she’s innocent.”
“No one in that family is innocent.”
He walked back into the room, fastening his cufflinks.
“This isn’t love,” he murmured. “It’s justice.”
What Damian didn’t expect was that Aria wasn’t her father.
She was stubborn, fierce, and real in ways that confused him.
He tried to hate her,but hate turned into fascination, and fascination turned into something far more dangerous.
The contract that was meant to destroy her father’s name became the one thing threatening Damian’s own control.
The war that started with Leonard and Michael hadn’t ended.
It had just changed battlegrounds.
Now, the children carried the sins
of their fathers and the cost of revenge was beginning to look a lot like love.
Still Unknown to Aria