Chapter 54 STRATEGIES
ARIA'S POV
“We need Viktor,” he muttered for the third time. “He should’ve seen this coming.”
“Damian,” I said softly, “you’re not angry at Viktor. You’re angry at everything.”
He didn’t deny it.
Didn’t even look at me.
He just let out a breath that sounded like it hurt.
“We can do something,” I said.
“No,we can't,” he said without hope.
I continued anyway.
“We come up with a plan…
“No,we won't. They're a thousand steps ahead of us. We need to spy”
“I don't agree with that. Possibly we set up a trap. Even if they are a thousand steps higher. It doesn't mean they'll win.”
“But we'll talk to Viktor and see what he has to say.”
I hated seeing him like this,cornered, uncertain, shaken. Damian always had control, composure, calculation. But today, he looked like someone had reached inside him and pulled strings meant to stay hidden.
Before I could say anything else, the front door opened.
Viktor didn’t knock.
He stepped in with the same cold efficiency he brought everywhere. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes scanned the room instantly,us, our posture, the tension.
“You look worse than I expected,” he said.
“That’s your greeting?” Damian snapped.
“It’s the truth.”
He set a file down on the table and faced us fully.
“Let’s skip unnecessary emotions. Vanessa’s testimony was deliberate. Someone coached her, fed her lines, gave her confidence.”
His gaze turned to me. “And Lila’s appearance outside the courthouse means she’s part of a planned psychological attack.”
I felt my nails dig into my palms.
He was right. Everything about today felt too coordinated.
“What do we do?” I asked.
Viktor unlocked the file and slid a page toward Damian.
And then another.
And another.
Damian didn’t sit. He stood there, flipping pages like each one was heavier than the last.
“This is your solution?” Damian asked, voice low.“Total nonsense!” he pointed at the files.
“Yes,” Viktor said simply. “This is how we stop the second trial before it gains momentum.”
I moved closer to see.
The pages weren’t evidence.
They were traps.
Dirty leverage.
Blackmail-level strategies.
“Viktor…” I whispered, horrified. “This… this is..”
“Necessary,” he finished for me.
“It can't be…”
Damian slammed the file shut.
“No.”
Viktor didn’t flinch.
“You didn’t even read the rest,” he said.
“I don’t need to.” Damian’s voice was sharp, cold. “I’m not threatening Vanessa. I’m not bribing a witness. I’m not destroying people’s lives to save mine.”
Viktor’s jaw tightened. “They’re destroying yours.”
“I’m aware.”
“And you want to fight ethically?” Viktor scoffed. “In a war where the other side has no ethics? Where the prosecution is using desperation, manipulation, and fear? You’ll lose, Damian.”
Damian stepped closer, eyes hard.
“I’m not becoming Lila. I’m not becoming the kind of man Aria would be afraid of.”
I felt the words hit me,soft but strong.
A declaration of who he refused to become.
Viktor, however, wasn’t moved.
“Aria,” he said, turning to me, “you’re reasonable. You understand what’s at stake. If he goes back into that courtroom without a counterattack, they will bury him.”
I did understand.
I knew the weight of Vanessa’s testimony.
I knew what Lila was capable of.
I knew how fragile the public could be.
But Viktor’s plan felt like poisoning ourselves to survive venom.
“No,” I said quietly. “I won’t let you use people like pawns. We’re already drowning,adding guilt to that will kill us.”
Viktor stared at me for a long second.
“Feelings,” he murmured. “Always feelings with both of you.”
He closed the file slowly, deliberately.
“You’re both making the choice that feels good morally,” he said, voice flat, “but feels good doesn’t win cases. Strategy does.”
“If your strategy involves hurting people, it’s not a strategy. It’s corruption.” Damian stepped in.
Viktor’s expression changed with the faintest irritation.
He wasn’t used to being denied.
“You’re too emotional to think clearly,” he said. “Both of you.”
“Then leave,” Damian said.
Viktor’s eyebrows lifted. “You’re dismissing me?”
“For tonight,” Damian replied. “We’ll find another way.”
Viktor leaned forward, eyes sharp.
“This is your last chance to stop Vanessa before the trial reopens.”
Damian didn’t flinch.
“I said no.”
Then Viktor nodded slowly “Fine. I’ll respect your decision.”
But his tone…
I sensed something fishy.
He picked up the file, tucked it under his arm, and headed to the door. Before leaving, he paused and turned back.
“One warning,” he said. “If you refuse to strike, then prepare yourselves.”
“For what?” I asked.
He looked at Damian.
“For the next attack.”
DAMIAN'S POV
Aria came to stand beside me, fingers brushing mine. But I couldn’t take her hand. I was too caught in the tornado of my own thoughts.
“He thinks we’re stupid,” I muttered.
“He thinks we’re human,” Aria said softly.
I let out a humorless breath. “Same thing to him.”
She stepped in front of me, forcing me to look at her.
“We’re not becoming monsters just because they want us to,” she said.
But her voice trembled.
She was scared.
And I hated that.
I forced myself to take her hand then, pulling her closer.
“This isn’t your fight, Aria. I've always told you that.”
“It is,” she whispered. “Because it’s yours.”
Her loyalty felt like salvation.
I didn't deserve that,at all.
I rested my forehead against hers.
For a moment, there was silence, fragile silence.
Then my phone vibrated.
Good guess.
Another message. Always anonymous.
Aria looked up at me. “What is it?”
I opened it.
My stomach dropped.
A name appeared on the screen.
Someone I never expected.
Someone who knew everything.
Someone who had disappeared for years.
“I’m ready to talk,”
the message read.
And beneath it:
“I was subpoenaed as a witness for the second trial.”
My vision blurred.
Aria grabbed my arm. “Damian? Who is it?”
I swallowed hard.
“It’s someone who can end me,” I said quietly.
“And they’re coming.”
Her hand tightened.
“Who?
I finally said the name.
And Aria gasped.