Owned By The Lie

The one who fell

Marcus survives the surgery.

Barely.

The hospital room is quiet except for the soft beep of machines.

I stand beside the window watching the city lights below.

Adrian hasn’t left Marcus’s side for hours.

His expression hasn’t changed once.

Calm.

Cold.

Controlled.

But I can see the tension in his shoulders.

Marcus finally wakes.

Adrian leans forward instantly.

“Stay still,” he says.

Marcus gives a weak smile.

“Next time… you take the bullet.”

Adrian exhales slowly.

“You shouldn’t have stepped in front of it.”

Marcus shrugs.

“Part of the job.”

There is silence for a moment.

Then Marcus looks at me.

“You okay?”

I nod.

But I’m not.

Because Viktor’s words keep repeating in my mind.

If I fall… your empire falls too.

Adrian notices my expression.

“What is it?” he asks.

I hesitate.

Then I speak.

“My father wasn’t bluffing.”

Adrian frowns.

“What do you mean?”

“He’s tied to too many systems,” I explained. “Political networks. Financial networks. Criminal alliances.”

“And?”

“If he’s exposed publicly, he’ll destroy everything connected to him.”

Adrian’s eyes narrow.

“Blackmail.”

“Insurance.”

Marcus slowly sits up.

“That means if we take him down the normal way, we trigger a financial war.”

“Exactly,” I say.

Adrian walks toward the window, thinking.

“So what are you suggesting?”

I gulped.

“We don’t destroy him.”

Both men stare at me.

“We dismantle him slowly,” I continue. “Piece by piece. Quietly.”

Marcus nods slowly.

“That could work.”

Adrian turns back toward me.

“And how do we start?”

I meet his gaze.

“With the one thing Viktor values more than money.”

“What’s that?”

“Control.”

Adrian’s expression darkens.

“You want to turn his empire against him.”

“Yes.”

Silence fills the room.

Then Adrian smiles slightly.

“Now you sound like me.”