He Chose My Sister, I Took His Empire

Chapter 5

Doctor Aris's entire body convulsed with fear, the steel chair rattling against the concrete. Then Elara stepped fully into the harsh glare of the solitary spotlight, the obsidian-hilted hunting knife hanging loosely in her grasp.

The woman who had sobbed for her son was gone. Grief hadn't left her — it had become something else entirely.

In her place stood E.V., the shadow executive of Aura-Tech.

"High Lady, please," Aris begged, tears streaming down his face. "I had a family to protect! Lyra used my gambling debts against me. Kaelen threatened to revoke my medical license." His voice cracked. "I was trapped."

"Open your eyes, Aris," Elara commanded.

Her voice was quiet, but its cold authority made the doctor's eyes snap open instantly.

"I am not your High Lady anymore," Elara said, stopping before him. "I'm not here for your excuses. You stole my son and lied to my face while I mourned him."

She raised the knife, then lowered its tip to the center of his chest, directly above his Aether core.

Aris gasped as the knife pressed against him through the fabric of his suit.

"You're an Aether physician, Aris," Elara said, her voice low as golden Aether coated the blade. "You know exactly what this is meant to affect."

Cassian remained just outside the circle of light, arms crossed. His expression held only the quiet satisfaction of watching her stand on her own. He had no intention of interfering.

"No! Please, Elara!" Aris shouted, his face contorting with panic. "Stop! I'll tell you everything. Everything!"

"Then start talking," Elara murmured. "Tell me how Lyra deceived the Council. A Zenith-tier infant cannot be mistaken for the child of a Latent-Aether mother. The pediatric specialists would have recognized the genetic inconsistency. So who made them look away?"

Aris gasped, choking on his words as panic overtook him. "Suppressants! We... we used Aether suppressants on the boy!"

The confession struck harder than she expected. Elara froze.

"You did what?" Elara asked, her voice cracking with restrained fury.

"Lyra's Aether is too weak to fool the Council!" Aris cried. "A Zenith-tier child should have exposed everything. That's why we created Aether suppressants — to mask Orion's true Aether signature and make the tests match Lyra instead."

The room fell deathly silent.

Elara's thoughts erupted into chaos as horror and fury collided within her. Aether suppressants were among the most tightly controlled compounds in existence, reserved for restraining the most volatile rogue Aether users. To subject a developing infant to such a substance was an atrocity beyond anything she had imagined.

"You're suffocating him," Elara whispered, taking an involuntary step back. "A Zenith core isn't meant to be restrained. If it can't grow outward, it will consume itself from within. It will begin destroying his own body."

"Kaelen doesn't know!" Aris cried, panic overtaking him. "He thinks the boy inherited a congenital defect from Lyra's family! She plays the devoted mother, pretending she's desperate to save him... but she's the one who keeps demanding stronger suppressants. If we stop them, Orion's true Aether will awaken, and Kaelen will realize he's been deceived!"

Disgust twisted through Elara. Lyra had sacrificed Orion to protect her lie, while Kaelen remained blind to the truth.

"Elara." Cassian's deep voice cut through the silence, grounding her.

She turned slightly as Cassian stepped into the light behind her.

"Your son is strong," Cassian said quietly, his gaze settling on the doctor. "He carries your blood. He'll endure until we bring him home. But first... finish this."

Elara looked back at Aris. He was sobbing openly, begging for mercy and promising to flee the continent forever if she spared him.

"I am a woman of science, Doctor," Elara said, her voice dropping to a heartbroken whisper. "Science teaches that every action carries a consequence. You severed the pack-bond between a mother and her son. Today, you will learn the exact cost of destroying something so fundamental."

Before Aris could scream, Elara drove the glowing obsidian blade forward with precise control, unleashing its Aether.

She didn't strike his heart. She struck the nexus of his Aether meridians. A brilliant flash filled the room, followed by the sound of unseen magic breaking.

Aris let out one final, ragged breath before slumping forward in the chair, unconscious.

He wasn't dead. His Aether core, however, was beyond repair. He would never wield magic again.

Elara withdrew the obsidian knife with the same measured precision she had used to strike, then handed it back to Cassian.

Cassian took it, his gaze fixed on hers. Without a word, he drew a silk handkerchief and gently wiped the sweat from her temple.

The unexpected tenderness of the gesture sent a quiet tremor through Elara's Aether core.

"My brilliant architect," Cassian said, something unnameable softening his voice. "You never blinked."

"He got off easy," Elara said softly. As the adrenaline faded, she became aware of Cassian's nearness. "I need to get back to the lab. I need to develop a purge catalyst."

"You'll rest first," Cassian said firmly, his hand settling at the nape of her neck. "The Syndicate exists to serve your purpose, not consume you. I won't allow you to sacrifice yourself before your work is complete."

Before Elara could argue, the door to the interrogation room hissed open.

A tall man with silver-rimmed glasses entered. Silas, Cassian's second-in-command, surveyed the scene without a word.

Silas didn't apologize for the interruption. He looked from Cassian to Elara, his expression unusually grim.

"My King. E.V.," Silas said, offering a crisp, economical bow. "An unexpected situation has developed on the upper levels."

Cassian's hand remained at the nape of Elara's neck, his eyes narrowing at Silas. "I told you not to disturb me."

"I know, sir," Silas said, raising the transparent tablet. "But Kaelen Thorne just issued an anonymous emergency bounty across the underworld."

Elara tensed, instinctively stepping back from Cassian's touch. "A bounty?"

"A medical one," Silas confirmed, activating the tablet. A hologram of the Thorne Conglomerate's crest materialized above a staggering figure.

"The Thorne heir collapsed during a private gala thirty minutes ago," Silas said, tension threading his voice. "Every physician in the Conglomerate has failed to stabilize his rapidly deteriorating condition. Kaelen has abandoned protocol entirely. He's offering one billion credits, a permanent seat on the board, and an unrestricted favor to anyone who can save the boy."

Elara's heart lurched. Orion had collapsed. Before she could speak, Silas continued, his expression growing more guarded. "But that's not the worst of it. The broadcast included a direct summons."

Silas swept a finger across the holographic interface, replacing the bounty with an encrypted dossier layered beneath extensive redactions. For weeks, fragments of the file had drifted through the black markets, accompanied by persistent whispers of a physician capable of miracles.

"Kaelen's request goes beyond saving his son," Silas said, his tone unusually restrained. "He's insisting on meeting the anonymous founder of Aura-Tech Innovations." His eyes met hers. "He's looking for you."