Chapter 91 Before the war begins
Carlino’s POV
Niel peeled off at the end of the corridor without another word.
He had his orders.
Now I had mine.
The Black Chamber doors loomed ahead—thick steel, soundproof, the kind built for conversations that never left the room.
Two of my men followed behind me, silent as a shadow. I pushed the door open. The room smelled faintly of metal and antiseptic. Three chairs. Three traitors. Chains bolted to the floor.
Marcio. Chris. Elara.
Their heads were lowered when I stepped inside. Whether from exhaustion or calculation, I didn’t care.
The door shut behind me with a dull thud. The sound echoed. Their heads jerked up almost instantly.
Fear moved through two of them like electricity.
Chris flinched.
Elara’s eyes widened.
Marcio didn’t move.
He sat there with the same indifferent expression he’d worn since the first hour of interrogation, as if this entire situation bored him.
I walked forward slowly. Boots clicking against concrete. No hurry. No wasted motion. I stopped a few feet in front of them.
For a moment, I said nothing.
Silence had a way of making people speak before they intended to.
Chris shifted in his restraints.
Elara swallowed.
Marcio stared straight ahead.
My gaze moved across them once before settling on Chris.
“Let’s try this again.” My voice was calm. Too calm.
Chris’s throat bobbed.
“Kailen,” I said slowly, “when he visited the warehouse in the council boundary”
Chris froze.
Even before the question came, I could see hesitation creeping into his face. He knew where this was going. But hesitation didn’t mean mercy.
It meant delay.
And I hated delays.
I tilted my head slightly. “Was he alone?”
The question hung in the air. No one answered. Chris looked down. Elara stared at the floor. Marcio remained unmoved.
My expression didn’t change. Instead, I glanced once at the man who had entered with me. That was all it took. He stepped forward immediately. A metal cart rolled behind him with a quiet scrape across the floor.
Chris noticed it first. Panic exploded across his face. “Wait—!”
My man grabbed his arm and twisted it. The scream that followed bounced off the concrete walls. Chris thrashed against the restraints as electricity surged through the wires clamped to his skin.
His body convulsed.
Muscles locking.
Jaw clenched so tight I thought his teeth might shatter.
The sound cut through the room like a blade.
I watched.
Expressionless.
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
“Stop,” I said.
The current died instantly.
Chris slumped forward, gasping like a drowning man. Sweat poured down his face.
“I’ll ask one more time,” I said quietly. My eyes locked onto his. “Was Kailen with another man?”
Chris shook violently, trying to catch his breath. “Yes—!”
The word burst out of him. “Yes!”
Silence returned.
I waited.
Chris swallowed hard.
“There was someone with him,” he said hoarsely. “A masked man.”
Marcio’s eyes flicked sideways.
A masked man. Memories of the masked man that I had an encounter with the day Lina was taken flashed back.
I stepped closer.
“How convenient,” I murmured. “Describe him.”
Chris shook his head quickly.
“We never saw his face.”
“Voice?”
“Distorted,” Chris replied. “Like… like one of those devices. Mechanical. You couldn’t hear the real tone.”
Same features. Same description.
I studied Chris for a moment. Then my gaze moved to Elara.
She looked like she was debating something. Calculating whether speaking would help her or bury her deeper.
“Anything else?” I asked.
Silence.
Then—
“Elara,” Her head snapped up.
“I don’t repeat myself,” I said.
Her lips parted.
For a second she looked toward Marcio, almost like she was seeking permission.
Marcio didn’t react.
“Mal,” Elara blurted suddenly. The name cut through the room like gunfire. Everything went still. Chris turned to her in shock.
“You weren’t supposed—”
“Quiet,” I told him.
“Mal,” she repeated, louder now. The word echoed.
I didn’t move. But something in my chest tightened. Slowly, I straightened.
“Mal,” I repeated. The sound of the name felt foreign even though it was known in my mouth.
Then the rest of it formed automatically. “Malder.”
No one spoke. Even the guards were silent. For a long moment, I simply stood there. Calculating. Processing. It's Impossible.
He is already dead. Burned alive in the fire that swallowed the warehouse. There had been nothing left to save. It was just a body.
I looked at Elara again. “You’re certain.”
She nodded quickly. “That’s the name Kailen used.”
Chris stared at her like she had just signed her own execution.
My mind moved through the possibilities rapidly.
If Malder were alive—
He would have come home.
He would have come to me.
Instead—
He is standing beside Kailen. Working with the man who had spent years trying to dismantle everything I built.
No.
That didn’t fit. Not with the brother I knew.
He wouldn't do that.
For the memory of a boy who I used to follow through our father’s halls with a wooden sword and a stubborn grin was nothing like betrayal.
Why would he turn against me?
Why would he help Kailen destroy this empire?
The answer didn’t come.
I turned away from them.
“Lock them down,” I said.
My voice had returned to its usual calm. The guards moved immediately. Chains tightened. Restraints checked.
I walked toward the door.
Chris called after me weakly. “Don—please—”
I didn’t stop.
The door shut behind me.
\~~~
By noon, Niel found me in my office. He didn’t bother knocking. The door opened. He stepped inside. His coat still smelled faintly of cold air and engine smoke.
“You wanted an update,” he said.
I didn’t look up from the map spread across my desk. “Tell me.”
Niel walked closer. “The estate recon team confirmed movement inside the Black River perimeter,” he said. “Armed patrols. More than usual.”
That was expected. “What about Malder?”
Niel’s eyes narrowed slightly. “So the name came up.”
“Yes.”
Silence stretched for a moment.
Then Niel exhaled slowly.
“I had our men verify the old records,” he said.
I finally looked up. “And?”
“The body was buried.”
My jaw tightened.
“Buried,” he repeated. “Official burial. Closed casket.”
“That proves nothing.”
“I know.”
He paused.
Then added calmly,
“So I had them dig it up.”
The words hung in the air.
“And?” I asked again.
“The skeleton is there.”
Silence fell across the room.
“The bones match the height, build, and injuries from the fire,” Niel continued. “Dental structure too.”
In other words—
The body belonged to Malder.
Or someone who looked very much like him.
Niel watched my face carefully.
“You think it’s coincidence?”
“I don’t believe in coincidences,” I replied.
He nodded once.
The room grew quiet again.
Outside the windows, the courtyard buzzed with preparation. Men loading weapons. Vehicles starting. Engines humming. War breathing just beneath the surface.
Niel folded his arms. “So what now?”
I studied the map for another moment. Then I rolled it closed.
“Whether Malder is alive or not doesn’t change the mission.”
“Donna.”
“Yes.”
Niel nodded slowly.
The priorities were clear.
First—
Extraction.
Then—
Answers.
I grabbed my coat.
“Recon teams are back,” Niel said.
“Good.”
We walked toward the door together.
I paused just before stepping out.
One thought lingered in the back of my mind.
If Malder were alive…
He would have come back home. To me.
But if he truly stood beside Kailen—
I pushed the thoughts aside. He wouldn't even do that.
Right now, my attention should be on the war. War required focus. I stepped into the corridor.
“Let’s move,” I said.
Niel fell into step beside me. Behind us, the doors of the office closed. Ahead, the compound roared to life. Engines. Boots. Weapons being checked. The machine was ready. I glanced once toward the north. Toward the path to the Black River.
Cold determination settled in my chest. “Let’s move to his perimeter,” I said.