The Mistake

Damien POV The smoke from the cigar on my fingers floated into the air like a slow exhale of memory. My gaze drifted from the screen to the manila folder lying open beside my laptop. It was thicker than any file on my brother’s business dealings. This one was personal. LILITH VERONA. The name was typed neatly at the top. Inside were photos: a candid shot of her laughing in a sun-drenched park, years old; another of her visiting the orphanage, her smile not quite reaching her eyes.  There was a report on the Laurents’ fire, a tragedy that was anything but an accident. My sources had confirmed what I had long suspected. Lucian didn’t just collect a debt; he created one.  I closed the folder. So the quiet girl from the orphanage had grown up to be Lucian's perfect doll.  Able bodied men were rushing through corridors, barking orders and gesturing wildly. The staff moved in straight lines like shadows….looking all frightened, and loyal.  My brother…Lucius, always had a talent for turning a home into a kingdom, and a kingdom into a prison. I dropped the cigar and dragged a finger across the laptop trackpad, rewinding the footage again. And in no time the horseman himself appeared on the screen. It was Lucian. He was pacing anxiously, shouting. His temper had never aged a day. “Good” I nodded with satisfaction.“ He should be furious” The flash drive beside the keyboard caught the light. In my possession now was clear proof that Lucian had indeed double-crossed the Greeks, costing them three men and a fortune.  This was enough to make them tear his empire apart if they ever saw it.  But this wasn’t about revenge. “Oh… Not yet. “ This was about leverage. About reminding him that he wasn’t untouchable. I typed a short message and forwarded it to him. “We should talk. Before they do.” And just like that, it wasn't up to 2 minutes before, my phone buzzed back with a reply: “Today. 3 p.m. Verona HQ. No crew.” I could not help but smirk hard after reading it. Typical.  Still the same commanding tone, still assuming I would come crawling whenever he snapped his fingers.  I smiled faintly again. “We’ll see.” Later that afternoon, the Verona corporate tower did not look like it had changed much when I arrived.  It was almost exactly as I remembered in person.  The kind of air my brother believed he owned. I entered the top floor alone….no guards followed me, no backup of any sort.  Just a blade strapped to my ankle and a gun hidden beneath my jacket.  “You…know old habits of course” Lucian was standing by the window, his back to me, a king surveying his domain. He didn’t turn immediately, he let the silent stretch, a cheap power play I had seen a hundred times before.  “You’re showing your age, D.” he said finally, glancing over his shoulder. “And you still look like shit.” I dropped the flash drive on his desk. It landed with a definitive click. “Play it.” He did. The room filled with the sound of his own voice, coldly arranging a betrayal that would get a lesser man killed. When it ended, he turned, his expression unreadable. “The clever one,” he mused, pouring himself a single glass of scotch. He didn’t offer me one. “Always too clever.” “It runs in the family.” A humourless smile touched his lips. “We’re not family, Damien. You’re the mistake father couldn’t erase.” The old barb. It has lost its sting years ago, when I realised the only mistake was when I desired to join them. “Maybe, but, here you are,” I said, my tone low. Negotiating with the mistake.”  “So what do you want?” “A seat at the table.” He let out a soft laugh, sharp and disbelieving. “Blackmail is a poor invitation,”You’ve forgotten how dangerous I can be.” “No, brother,” I said, stepping closer until I could see the faint tension in his jaw. “You’ve forgotten I learned from the best.” For a long moment, the air didn’t move. The silence stretched until it was almost a sound in itself…a sound breathing between us.  Then Lucian smiled again, slow and measured.  “Fine. Come to the estate this weekend. Meet the family. Remind me who you are. See what I've built.” His eyes narrowed. "And consider this your only warning. Show your face at my events again without an invitation, and the Greeks will be the least of your problems.” It was a test, a trap. And I walked right into it. Because now, the trap had bait I was intensely interested in. Saturday came a little too soon. The Verona gates opened like a mouth ready to devour.  I observed everything with a look hanging in between buried pain and nostalgia. These were the same walls that once caged me in. The same halls that echoed with our father’s rage.  Lucian had rebuilt everything now in his own image. When I lifted my head, I saw him waiting at the top of the steps, immaculate as ever, the picture of power dressed in patience.  But beside him, I realized there was a woman standing. At first, I saw only the shape of her…pale hair, an ivory dress, a posture too careful to be natural. When her features came into focus, a tremor ran through me before I could stop it. It was her. Lilith.  The quiet girl I used to share my bread with—now my brother’s wife. And when I saw his hand nearly engulfing her slender waist, the cold that rose in me was sharper than I expected.  Maybe I had treated her like a strategy.  Maybe I had made a mistake from the beginning. She froze. Just for a second, but I saw it. Lucian's gaze swept over me, a smirk playing on his lips.  "Damien." His hand strained possessively on the small of Lilith's back. "I see you've noticed my masterpiece. Took me years to find one this flawless. Everyone looks, but no one touches. That's the point of owning the original, isn't it?”  I took her hand when she offered it, my grip firm but careful.  I observed how her eyes shifted to Lucian, then back to me, as if unsure which danger to face first. “A ‘masterpiece’ indeed,” I agreed, my gaze never leaving hers. “Nice to finally meet you,” I said, keeping my tone calm, my eyes steady.  Her lips parted slightly, no sound coming out. The faintest breath caught in her throat before she looked away.  Lucian’s smile tightened, his eyes sharpened a silent warning. One I didn’t bother to acknowledge. He clapped a hand on my shoulder, firm and claiming. I met his gaze, smile small and unbothered. He chuckled for no reason, low and dark, and turned toward the house.  “Come inside, brother. Let’s see if you’ve learned any manners since father threw you out.” I followed, my eyes trailing once more toward Lilith. This woman, she didn’t meet my eyes this time. Her hand brushed the side of her dress like she was grounding herself….like someone who’d learned to hide the shaking. And God… I knew that gesture. I had spent half my youth wanting to smooth the tension out of her bones, out of her breath. And suddenly, I knew the war between Lucian and me would change. Because now,though he has no idea yet, he has brought her into it. I don’t know what this will alter, but whatever it is, I am willing to bear it.