Chapter 55 BLAST: IRONY

Chapter 55 BLAST: IRONY


DAMIAN POV

I stepped back a little to check the name.

Finally, I opened it.

A single sentence stared back at me:

“The new witness is Aria Blackwood.”

My heart stilled.

“What is it?” she whispered.

I didn’t answer immediately.
My thumb hovered over the notification like touching it would detonate something.

A violent stop in my chest.

“She agreed. She’s turning on you.”

My bones felt very weak.

Aria’s voice shook . “Damian… what does it say?”

I finally forced my eyes up to hers.

“It says…”
My throat tightened around the words.
“It says you are the new witness.”

Aria blinked.
Once.
Twice.

“Me?” she whispered, laughing confusingly. “Damian, that’s impossible. Why would I testify against you? Why would I ever..”

“I know,” I said immediately, reaching for her hand. “I know it’s a lie. I know you’d never..”

But even as I said it, something ugly twisted in the air around us.

A calculated kind of poison.
A manipulation designed to do only one thing:

Trying to make me doubt the person I love most.

Aria's face crumpled, “someone is trying to turn you against me.”

“I know,” I repeated, pulling her into my arms. “I know what this is.”

this wasn’t a warning.

It was psychological warfare.

A threat.

A message from someone who wanted us destroyed from the inside.

Aria gripped my shirt, trembling.
Her voice barely made it out.

“Damian… who would send something like that? Who wants to break us that badly?”

“Everybody” he said plainly.

I looked down at the screen again.

“She won’t save you.
She’ll bury you.”

My blood ran cold.

Because I knew exactly whose style that was.

This message.
This manipulation.
This attempt to tear us apart.

belonged to only one person.

One person who hated us both.

One person who would destroy everything just to watch us burn.

I lifted my head slowly.

“It’s Lila,” I whispered.



Damian hasn't dropped his phone,since my name was mentioned by the anonymous sender.

I didn't think this was Lila.

I knew what she could do.

I hated that someone wanted us to turn against each other.

I pulled my knees to my chest, trying to steady my breathing. Damian was standing near the window,probably thinking.

“You don’t believe it,” I said softly. “Say it again.”

He didn’t turn around.

“Damian,” I tried again, voice tighter. “Look at me.”

Finally, he did.

And his eyes, dark and fierce and exhausted, met mine with a truth that made my chest ache.

“I don’t believe it,” he said. “Not for a second. But the fact that someone wants me to… that’s what scares me.”

I swallowed painfully.
Because he wasn’t wrong.

In these kinds of wars, division was the first victory.

My mum always say that if people want to attack me or my brother. Their first attempt will be to divide us to get through.

I stood and crossed the room to him. “She’s trying to break us.”

“She won’t,” he said immediately. “Not while I’m alive.”

But the problem with Damian’s promises was that he meant every word,even the impossible ones. Even the ones that hurt him.

A knock interrupted us.

Just three calm, deliberate taps.

We both froze.

“Don’t move,” he whispered.

The knock came again.

Damian approached the door slowly, every muscle alert. He checked the camera screen.

“It’s a courier service,” he said.

My stomach dropped.

Courier service meant documents.

Documents meant the court.

Damian opened the door but kept his body blocking mine. The courier handed him a sealed envelope, asked him to sign, then left without a word.

Damian closed the door, locked it twice, and turned the envelope over.

It was addressed to:

ARIA BLACKWOOD – WITNESS SUMMONS

My heart stopped.

Cold ran through my stomach,down to my legs.

“No,” I whispered. “Damian… it can’t be.”

He didn’t answer.
He tore the envelope open and read the first page.

His nostrils flared.

“Give it to me,” I said, voice trembling.

He didn’t want to.
I could see it.
But he handed it over slowly.

I forced myself to read.

Notice of Appearance – Second Trial
Subpoena for Testimony:
Aria Blackwood

My breath shattered.

There it was.
Official.

The lie had just become a physical threat.

“This isn’t real,” I whispered. “It can’t be real. They can’t Damian, I never spoke to anyone. I never agreed to anything. I never..” I cried

Damian grabbed my shoulders.

“Aria,” he said firmly, “look at me.”

But I couldn’t.
My eyes were still glued to the document.

“It has a signature,” I choked. “Damian… it has a judge’s signature.”

“It’s forged,” he said instantly. “It has to be. They’re pushing psychological warfare to the next level.”

I could barely hear him.

If someone could fake a subpoena… someone had access to official seals.
someone wanted me in that courtroom.

“Damian,” I whispered finally, “what if it gets leaked.”

“It already is. That’s why they sent it.”

My vision blurred.

Of course.
Of course Lila would do this.

Damian pulled me into his chest suddenly, holding me so tightly it almost hurt.

“They’re trying to scare you,” he said. “They’re trying to scare me. They think if they shake you, I’ll crumble.”

“Will you?” I whispered.

He didn’t answer immediately.

That scared me more than the subpoena.

“Not if you don’t give up,” he said finally.

I closed my eyes.

I was terrified.

DAMIAN'S POV

I had seen forged documents before.

“Viktor needs to see this,” I said.

Aria nodded shakily.

I dialed Viktor and didn’t give him a chance to speak.

“Get to my house. Now.”

He arrived fourteen minutes later.

He stepped in, looked at us, then at the document.

He didn’t touch it.
He didn’t speak for thirty seconds.

Then:

“This is impressive work,” he said finally.

“Impressive?” I snapped.

“I mean in forgery. Not intent.”

Aria swallowed. “So… it’s fake?”

“Oh, of course,” Viktor said. “But whoever did this had access to court formats. Seal templates. Digital signature renders. This isn’t amateur.”

I felt cold.

“So it’s not just Lila,” I said.

Viktor’s eyes lifted to meet mine.

“No. Ehm,Lila is the distraction. The noise. The visible insanity. But this…” He tapped the paper lightly. “This took someone smart. Someone with access.”

Aria stepped closer. “Access to what?”

“To the prosecution’s internal system,” Viktor said. “Which means someone on the inside wants to break you.”

“Why me?” she whispered. “Why target me?”

“Because you’re Damian’s anchor,” Viktor said simply. “Break the anchor, sink the ship.”

“What do we do now?” I asked.

Viktor straightened. “You do nothing.”

“No,” Aria said. “I want to help.”

Viktor gave a short laugh. “You helped by existing. That’s enough.”

Aria flinched.

I wanted to punch him.

“Viktor,” I warned.

He raised his hands. “Fine. Fine. You want the truth? The next few days will be ugly. They’ll escalate until they get what they want.”

“And what do they want?” Aria asked.

“Damian on trial… alone.”

Viktor pulled out his phone. “I’ll start tracing the source. This wasn’t Lila’s level of work. She doesn’t have the intelligence,just t
he cruelty.”

Aria whispered, “Then who?”

Viktor hesitated.

And that hesitation… chilled me to the bone.

“Someone,” he said softly, “who knows Damian’s past. Someone who knows what strings to pull. Someone who knows what scares him.”

Aria turned to me, confused.

“What is he talking about?”