Alexander Pierce proved Christabel right.
He wasn't an ally.
He was an enemy.
And he had been planning his attack from the very beginning.
---
It started with a letter.
Not to Christabel. To the press.
"The Truth About Verona: How Christabel Moreau Is Building an Empire on Blood."
The article was long. Detailed. Terrifying.
It talked about the bodies. The basement. The people who had disappeared.
It talked about Damien. About his past. About the monster he used to be.
It talked about Lena. About how no child should be raised by killers.
Christabel read the article three times.
Then she handed the phone to Damien.
"Pierce."
"You're sure?"
"The article cites sources from his organization."
"He's trying to destroy us."
"He's trying to destroy Verona."
"Same thing."
"Different intention."
---
Damien called a meeting.
The inner circle gathered in the study.
Cole. Nyra. Dmitri. Sarah.
"We have a problem," Damien said.
"Pierce?"
"Yes."
"What's he done?"
Christabel handed Sarah the phone.
She read the article.
Her face went pale.
"This is going to ruin us."
"No." Christabel shook her head. "This is going to make us stronger."
"How?"
"Because now we know who our enemy is."
---
That afternoon, Christabel called Alexander Pierce.
"You wanted my attention. You have it."
"Mrs. Moreau. I was wondering when you'd call."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because you rejected me."
"So you're trying to destroy me?"
"I'm trying to show you what happens when you say no to the wrong person."
"You're the wrong person."
"We'll see."
---
She hung up.
Her hands were shaking.
Damien was beside her.
"What did he say?"
"He's angry. He's threatened. He's going to try to destroy us."
"Then we destroy him first."
"How?"
"We find his weakness."
"And if he doesn't have one?"
"Everyone has a weakness."
---
The next few days were a blur.
Research. Surveillance. Interviews.
Cole's team worked around the clock.
They found something.
"Pierce has a daughter," Cole said. "From his first marriage. She's estranged. Has been for years."
"Where is she?"
"Living in Europe. Under a different name. She doesn't want to be found."
"Why?"
"Because he abused her. When she was a child. She ran away. Never looked back."
Christabel's blood went cold.
"Then we find her."
---
It took three days.
Nyra tracked her to a small town in Switzerland.
Her name was Anna. She was thirty-four years old. She worked at a bookstore. She had a small apartment. A cat. A life.
She didn't know who her father had become.
She didn't want to know.
Christabel called her.
"My name is Christabel Moreau. Your father is trying to destroy my family."
"I don't talk about my father."
"I'm not asking you to talk about him. I'm asking you to help me stop him."
"Why would I do that?"
"Because he's a monster. And you know it."
---
Anna was quiet for a moment.
"What do you need?"
"Your story. Your truth. The things he did to you."
"That's private."
"He's trying to destroy my daughter's future."
Anna was silent.
Then, "I'll help you."
---
The article came out the next week.
"The Truth About Alexander Pierce: Abuse, Lies, and Betrayal."
It detailed everything. The abuse. The estrangement. The daughter he had abandoned.
The world was shocked.
Pierce's empire crumbled.
Investors pulled out. Allies disappeared. His reputation was destroyed.
Christabel watched from the penthouse.
"It's done," she said.
"It's done."
"He's finished."
"He's finished."
She looked at Damien.
"I feel sick."
"Why?"
"Because I used a woman's trauma to destroy her father."
"Because you protected your family."
"Same thing."
"Different intention."
---
That night, Christabel put Lena to bed.
Not Damien. Her.
She read her daughter a story. Not a baby book. A real story. One of her favorites.
"There was a woman who did a terrible thing," she read. "Not because she wanted to. Because she had to. Because her family was worth fighting for."
Lena stared at her.
"Bah," she said.
"That's right," Christabel said. "Bah."
---
Damien was in the doorway.
"She said it again."
"She said it to me."
"She said it to both of us."
She closed the book.
Set it on the nightstand.
"She's going to be fierce."
"She's going to be just like you."
"God help the world."
"God help anyone who tries to use her."
---
They stood over the crib together.
Lena was asleep. Her tiny chest rose and fell.
"We won," Christabel said.
"We survived."
"Same thing."
"Different intention."
She leaned her head on his shoulder.
"I don't feel like a winner."
"You don't have to feel like a winner. You just have to keep going."
---
The next morning, Christabel went to the garden.
The rose was still blooming.
She knelt beside it.
"I destroyed a man yesterday," she whispered.
The rose swayed.
"I used his daughter's pain to do it."
She touched the petals.
"I don't know how to feel about that."
---
Damien appeared in the doorway.
"She's awake," he said.
"Lena?"
"Yes."
"I'll be right there."
He walked to her.
Took her hand.
"You did what you had to do."
"Did I?"
"Yes."
"How do you know?"
"Because you're still here. Because our family is still intact. Because our daughter is still safe."
---
Lena was in the nursery.
Awake. Alert.
Christabel lifted her from the crib.
Held her against her chest.
"Good morning, little one," she said.
Lena cooed.
"I destroyed a man yesterday. He wanted to hurt us. So I stopped him."
Lena stared at her.
"I don't feel good about it. But I don't feel bad either.