Jason didn't slow down.
He ran straight into the school clinic, Janaya in his arms—her blood staining his shirt, his hands shaking slightly.
"Help! Somebody help!" he shouted.
The nurses rushed forward immediately.
"Put her here—quickly!"
She was taken from him and wheeled inside.
Jason stood there for a second—
Frozen.
His chest rising and falling too fast.
Fred and the security team rushed in behind him.
"Fred…" Jason turned abruptly, his voice unsteady.
"I saw a letter beside her… could it be him? Her fiancé… Ethan?"
Maya, who had just arrived, froze.
"Fiancé?" she repeated, her voice low, confused. "Janaya has a fiancé?"
Fred didn't answer immediately.
"Sir, I've already alerted the team. We'll run a full investigation," he said, calm but firm.
Jason ran his hands through his hair.
"And Damian?" he asked.
Damian wasn't on his phone when the message came in.
He was in a meeting.
A political one.
As the newly recognized right-hand man, his presence was no longer optional.
But something felt wrong.
Off.
He couldn't explain it—but it lingered.
"I'd like to be excused," he said suddenly, already reaching for his suit.
Without waiting for permission, he walked out.
Nico followed closely.
"Sir…" Nico said carefully, handing him his phone. "I didn't want to interrupt."
Damian took it—
Then saw the message.
His expression changed instantly.
"Unconscious?" he muttered.
And then he moved.
Fast.
By the time he got into the car, he was already calling.
"Tell me where she is," Damian's voice came through the phone—low, controlled… dangerous.
"And who did it."
"Sir, the school clinic," Fred replied quickly. "We're still investigating. There was a letter beside her—"
Jason leaned closer to the phone, his voice barely above a whisper.
"If I can't have her… then you can't."
Silence.
For a second,
Damian didn't speak.
Then—
"Ethan…" he said quietly.
But something in his tone wasn't certain.
It was cold.
Calculating.
"I was willing to let things go peacefully…" he continued, his voice dropping.
"But if this is your move… might land you in a grave with an incomplete body"
A pause.
"You've chosen war."
He inhaled slowly.
"How is she?"
Fred hesitated.
"Sir… she lost a lot of blood."
That was all it took.
Damian's jaw tightened.
"Check every camera in that school," he ordered.
"I want faces. Movements. Everything."
A beat.
"I'm on my way."
The call ended.
And the car sped off.
Damian didn't slow down.
The moment he got to the university, he headed straight for the emergency clinic.
"Where is she?" he asked sharply, moving straight to Fred.
"The doctor asked us not to go in yet, sir. He assured us she'll be fine," Fred replied quickly.
"Jason, I warned you!" Damian snapped, anger laced in his voice.
Jason flinched.
"Before I got to her… she was already wounded," he said, his voice low, shaking.
Guilt sat heavily on his chest.
Maybe if he hadn't stayed longer with Elena… maybe—
The doors opened.
A doctor stepped out with a nurse beside her.
"We need blood," she said immediately. "We've stabilized her for now, but without a transfusion… I'm afraid she might not survive the next day."
Silence fell.
"Doctor, I'll donate," Damian said without hesitation. "Tell me what to do."
"It doesn't work that way," she replied calmly. "What's your blood group and genotype?"
"I'm a universal donor," Jason stepped forward.
"I'll do it. I'll donate for her."
Everyone went quiet.
But Damian's mind wasn't.
It was running.
Fast.
Could it really be Ethan?
Then—
He stopped.
"No…" he muttered under his breath.
Everyone turned to him.
"Whoever left that note knows I have issues with Ethan," Damian said slowly, his fingers tapping against his jaw.
"They're trying to push me in that direction, more like trying to distract us."
He looked up.
"Ethan was with me at the meeting. With his father."
"He could have sent his men," Nico said immediately.
Damian shook his head.
"No. Ethan isn't that careless. Even if it was him, he wouldn't leave a note behind." His voice dropped.
"As the right-hand man, I have the power to bring both him and his father down. He wouldn't make a reckless move… not now."
Silence.
"So… who do you think it is, boss?" Fred asked.
Damian exhaled slowly.
"Whoever did this is close," he said.
"To me… or to Janaya."
The words hung heavy.
"This person knows too much."
"Could it be Victor?" one of the guards suggested. "Maybe revenge for the fake flash drive—"
"No." Damian cut in immediately.
"Victor already signed. He wouldn't dare."
Before anyone could speak again—
"Sir! We got the footage!" a guard rushed in, slightly out of breath.
All eyes turned.
"Show me."
The guard handed over the device.
Damian stared at the screen.
His expression changed.
"No…" he muttered.
A leaned backwards.
"It can't be."
Silence.
Thick.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Then—
"Fred," Damian said, his voice now calm—but colder than before.
"Send a message to Aaron."
Fred straightened. "Yes, sir."
"I want my mother's schedule. Everything."
His eyes remained fixed ahead.
"Where she's been… who she's met…"
A pause.
"I'm ending this today."
"Right away, sir."
Jason stepped closer to Damian, his brows furrowed.
"Brother… what does Mom have to do with this?" he asked quietly.
"They bought her in," Damian replied.
They were both whispering now.
Jason frowned.
"What does 'bought her in' even mean?"
"It means she's working with them," Damian said, his tone tightening.
"With whoever is behind this."
Jason's head snapped up.
"No. Mom would never do that."
"And what do you know about her?" Damian shot back, his voice low but sharp.
"She left you when you were what… two? Five? You don't know her."
Silence.
Jason looked away slightly.
"…True."
Damian exhaled, his jaw clenched.
"I don't care who it is, Jason. If anyone tries to hurt my babe—"
"Sir," Fred cut in. "Aaron is calling."
Damian took the phone immediately.
"Talk."
"Brother," Aaron's voice came through, slightly tense.
"I overheard her earlier today. She was on a call… giving instructions. She told her people to attack someone."
A pause.
"I didn't think it would be your woman."
Something shifted in Damian's expression.
"What exactly is Janaya's connection to this?" he asked, anger creeping in.
Aaron didn't hesitate this time.
"Brother… her parents are not who you think they are."
Silence.
"Yes, they ran into debt," Aaron continued. "And yes, Ethan paid it…"
"But that was just a cover ."
A beat.
"They went into hiding to stay away from their enemies."
Damian's grip on the phone tightened.
"They're not weak," Aaron finished.
"They're part of the power circle."
"Janaya's marriage with Ethan was not for the debt, it was to combine forces"
And just like that—
It hit him.
Hard.
Sharp.
Cold.
Had he… been played?