The burning ruins of the Blake fortress faded into the horizon as the helicopter ascended higher into the storm-laden sky.
Amelia sat rigid, her child asleep against her chest, his soft breaths a fragile reminder of everything she had left to fight for.
But her mind refused to rest.
That message… the hidden cradle…
A second heir?
A child she never knew existed?
Her blood turned ice cold.
Damian's voice crackled through the comms.
"Amelia… you need to see this."
Her heart clenched painfully as she turned toward the small monitor.
Live drone footage fed directly from the fortress's underground vault.
And there, amidst the untouched chambers of Blake history—
A cradle.
Perfect. Pristine.
Untouched by fire or time.
And lying within it…
A child.
Amelia's fingers dug into the armrest, her mind a chaotic storm of disbelief and horror.
"No… it can't be…"
But the child stirred.
A soft cry echoed through the comms, fragile and haunting.
And then she saw it.
A silver pendant resting against the infant's tiny chest.
The Blake family crest.
And below it, engraved with surgical precision—
"Legacy Secure. Project: Gemini."
Her vision blurred.
Her knees threatened to give way even though she was seated.
"Twins…" she whispered.
Tears burned her eyes, her voice cracking under the unbearable weight of realization.
"He split them at birth…"
One son raised for the throne.
The other hidden as a final safeguard.
A living contingency plan.
Damian's voice was tense over the comms.
"Do we extract the child?"
Amelia's heart warred with itself.
Her child was safe… here, in her arms.
But could she abandon another child—her blood—left alone in the ruins of a fallen empire?
Her son stirred, his tiny fingers curling around her blouse.
His innocent face turned toward her chest, seeking comfort.
Tears fell freely now.
"I can't… I can't leave him there…"
The helicopter banked hard as Damian ordered a return.
But even as they turned back toward the burning wreckage, a new message flashed across the cockpit screen.
"Project Gemini: Phase Two Initiated. Target: Queen of Shadows."
Amelia's chest tightened painfully.
Her gaze drifted toward the horizon.
"It was never about one heir…" she whispered through clenched teeth.
"It was always about control."
Far below, in the depths of the Blake vault, the hidden child's eyes snapped open—
Cold.
Unblinking.
Storm-gray… and unmistakably Blake.
The next player in this brutal legacy had just awakened.*