The night settled over Valoria.
But inside the Ricci Estate, nobody was sleeping.
Aria stood before the massive war table, staring at the map spread across its surface.
Moretti territory.Ricci territory.Romano territory.Black Serpent territory.
Four empires that had once been connected by friendship.Now they were connected by blood, betrayal, and war.
Rafael stood beside her, his arms crossed.
Noah sat across the table, scrolling through reports while Marco studied an old council document.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
Finally, Aria broke the silence.
"We need to find the fifth heir."
Marco looked up.
"And we need to know why Sophia believed that person was still alive."
Noah placed his tablet on the table.
"I've been searching through the old council archives."
"And?"
"There are records missing."
Aria frowned.
"How many?"
"Too many."
He opened another file.
"Every document mentioning the original succession council has been altered or removed."
