The city was at peace.
For the first time in months, Ava could breathe without weight pressing on her chest. Her mornings began with tea instead of crisis. Her nights ended wrapped in Damien's arms instead of sleepless strategy.
But peace, as she'd come to learn, was only ever a pause between storms.
And the next one was already brewing.
---
Three Months Later — Mid-Pregnancy
Ava's bump was visible now — a soft, graceful swell beneath her silk blouses. The press speculated. Whispers circulated. But she didn't offer a statement.
Because for once, she didn't owe the world anything.
This pregnancy wasn't a headline.
It was hers.
She sat in the sun-drenched atrium of Sinclair House , the newly reclaimed and restructured headquarters of her family's company. Papers covered her desk, detailing grant approvals, clinical trials, and foundation outreach partnerships.
Carmen entered, pausing when she saw the bump.
"You're glowing," she said.
Ava looked up, one hand absently smoothing over her belly. "Tired glowing. Do you have the final reports from Geneva?"
Carmen passed the file over, but hesitated.
"There's something else."
Ava looked up sharply.
Carmen lowered her voice. "Lucien intercepted a coded message. Someone's asking questions about your baby. Specifically… about bloodlines."
A chill slid down Ava's spine. "Who?"
"We're working on tracing it. But it was routed through a ghost server in Zurich. And the encryption matched an old signature." Carmen paused. "It matches Wolfe's original file trails."
Ava stood, jaw tight. "I thought he was in federal custody."
"He was. But someone's protecting him now. Quietly. And they're not done with you."
---
Elsewhere — The Architect Revealed
Deep beneath an estate carved into the Alps, a woman in a velvet dress stood in front of an encrypted terminal. Her features were sharp, elegant, cruel. A serpent coiled in diamonds.
Her name was Dr. Emilia Voss.
The true architect.
Not Wolfe. Not Helena.
But the hidden hand behind them all.
Damien's father's former mistress. And Ava's father's silent competitor.
One who knew the value of rare genetics, controlled trial data and Sinclair's unborn heir.
A cold smile curved her lips.
"Bring her to me," she whispered.
---
That Evening — The Trap
Damien's voice was calm, but his eyes were burning when Ava told him what Carmen had discovered.
"We're tightening security," he said. "No more solo events. No public appearances without a vetted team."
"I'm not going to disappear behind tinted glass just because someone's rattling shadows," Ava said, fire lighting her voice.
Damien crossed the room in two strides and cupped her face. "You're carrying my child, Ava. Our child. There's nothing I won't burn down to protect you both."
Her throat tightened. "I know. I'm just tired of running."
"You're not running," he said gently. "You're surviving. And until we end this, I'll be your shield."
---
The next morning, Lucien burst into the penthouse with a file in his hand.
"I found her," he said. "Dr. Emilia Voss. She funded Wolfe. Protected Helena. She's the one who orchestrated the false trials to discredit your father."
Damien's face turned to stone. "Why?"
"Because she wanted everything. Control of Sinclair Pharma. Control of the elite medical circles. And now?"
Lucien passed over a photograph.
"She wants your child."
Ava stared at the image. Voss, shaking hands with a politician. Smiling in the background of a boardroom Ava once stood in as a child. Her name had always been there—hidden.
But now it was time to drag her into the light.
---
The Countdown Begins
Three days later, Ava received a package.
No return address. Just a velvet box.
Inside, a single ultrasound photo — one she hadn't taken.
The fetus circled in red ink.
And a note:
> "Heirs built on betrayal never survive long.
Come to Zurich. Or I come to you."
Damien crushed the box in his hand.
"We end this. Now."
---
Zurich — One Last Hunt
Ava and Damien flew out the same night.
Lucien led the ground team. Carmen handled the media. The foundation issued a quiet press statement about "private travel." But what they were really preparing for was war.
Because Dr. Emilia Voss had made one mistake.
She underestimated them.
---
Zurich Estate
The car pulled up to the wrought-iron gates at dawn. Fog clung to the ground like breath.
Ava stepped out first, her hand resting gently on her stomach.
Damien followed, eyes hard, weapon strapped beneath his coat.
They weren't here for justice.
They were here for closure.
The door to the estate creaked open.
And the woman who had nearly destroyed both their legacies waited inside — untouched by time, draped in silk, with a smile carved from ice.
"I was wondering when the queen and her knight would arrive," Dr. Voss purred.
Ava stepped forward.
"No more games. This ends with me."
Voss raised a glass of champagne.
"No, Ava," she said calmly. "This ends with your child."