The Maid Who Owned The Empire

Chapter 10

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*Title: Chapter 10 – The Choice*

*Kain Corp. 7:30 AM.*

I didn’t go home.

I stayed in Damian’s office, curled up on the couch, staring at the ceiling.

Nico’s confession replayed in my head.

Mom’s surgery.

Victor’s voice.

Damian came in at 6 AM with two coffees and didn’t say anything. He just sat beside me.

“You okay?” he asked after an hour of silence.

“No,” I said. “But I will be.”

Damian nodded. “What’s the plan?”

I sat up. “We end this. Today.”

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*9:00 AM. Emergency Board Meeting.*

The board was tense. Half of them thought I was about to resign.

I stood at the head of the table, Project Omega’s launch presentation behind me.

“Victor Kain is alive,” I said. No preamble.

The room erupted.

“Silence,” Damian said. One word. Everyone shut up.

“For the last 9 months, Victor has been operating from Bahrain,” I continued. “He’s been using my brother, Nico, to feed him information on Project Omega. He’s been using my father, Rafael, to get close to me. And he’s been using voice cloning to impersonate himself.”

Murmurs. Fear.

“Why are you telling us this?” asked Chairman Reyes.

“Because today, Project Omega launches,” I said. “And Victor is planning to hijack it.”

Damian pulled up the screen.

“We’ve traced his server in Bahrain,” he said. “We know how he’s getting in. And we’re going to let him.”

The board looked horrified.

“You’re letting him steal it?” Reyes asked.

“No,” I said. “We’re letting him think he’s stealing it. The version he’ll get is a trap. It’ll lock his system, expose his location, and give us everything we need to bring him down.”

Reyes looked at me for a long time.

“All in favor of proceeding with Project Omega’s launch and the counter-operation?”

11 hands went up.

Selina’s seat was empty.

“Motion passed,” Reyes said. “Good luck, Ms. Morales.”

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*3:00 PM. Kain Corp. Data Center.*

The launch was live-streamed to investors, the press, and Victor.

I stood in the glass room, watching the servers light up.

Project Omega was online.

At 3:17 PM, the first intrusion hit.

Bahrain IP. Same as last night.

*VK_1987* was back.

“Let him in,” I said.

Marco nodded and opened the gate.

For 12 minutes, we watched Victor download what he thought was the full source code.

Then the trap activated.

Screens went red.

*SYSTEM LOCKED. LOCATION TRACE INITIATED.*

*DATA TRANSFERRED TO AUTHORITIES.*

Victor’s voice came through the speakers, distorted but furious.

“You little b***h,” he said. “You think this ends here?”

“It ends now,” I said into the mic. “You’re done, Victor.”

The line went dead.

Marco looked up. “We have him. Manama, Bahrain. Private compound. Interpol’s been notified.”

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

It was over.

Or so I thought.

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*5:42 PM. My Phone.*

Unknown number. Again.

I answered.

“Luna,” Victor said. Calm. Too calm.

“You failed,” I said.

“No,” Victor replied. “You did.”

My blood ran cold.

“What do you mean?”

“Check your email,” Victor said. “Subject: Mom.”

I hung up and opened my laptop.

There it was. An email from an anonymous sender.

Attachment: *IMG_8842.jpg*

I opened it.

It was a photo of Mom.

In a hospital bed.

With an IV in her arm.

And a man standing beside her. Mask on. Holding a syringe.

The text below read:

_“Stop Project Omega’s shutdown in the next hour, or your mother gets an overdose. Your choice, Luna.”_

I dropped the laptop.

Damian caught me before I hit the floor.

“What is it?” he asked.

I couldn’t speak. I just shoved the phone at him.

Damian read it. His face went white.

“Marco! Get me the location of that photo!” he shouted.

“Already on it,” Marco said. “It’s a private hospital in Quezon City. Unregistered.”

I stood up, shaking.

“I’m going,” I said.

“Luna, no,” Damian said. “It’s a trap.”

“If I don’t go, he kills Mom,” I said. “I’m going.”

Damian grabbed my arms. “Then I’m coming with you.”

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*6:30 PM. St. Rafael Hospital. Basement Level.*

The place was abandoned. No nurses. No doctors. Just Victor’s men.

We took them out fast. Damian moved like a ghost. Years of security training showing.

We found Mom on the 3rd floor.

She was alive. Unconscious, but breathing.

The man with the syringe was gone.

“Mom,” I whispered, holding her hand.

Her eyes fluttered open.

“Luna,” she whispered. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” I said, tears falling. “It’s over now.”

Damian’s phone buzzed.

It was Marco.

“Victor’s been arrested in Bahrain,” he said. “It’s over, Luna.”

I looked at Mom. Then at Damian.

“It’s really over,” I whispered.

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*9:00 PM. Kain Corp. Rooftop.*

The city lights stretched out below us.

Mom was safe. Nico was cooperating with the police.

Victor was in custody.

Selina was gone.

For the first time in months, there was nothing left to fight.

Damian stood beside me, hands in his pockets.

“You did it,” he said.

“No,” I said. “We did it.”

Damian smiled. “Yeah. We did.”

I turned to him.

“What now?” I asked.

Damian looked at me like I was the only thing in the world.

“Now,” he said, “we figure out what Luna and Damian look like when there’s no war.”

He leaned down and kissed me.

Slow. Certain. Final.

When he pulled back, I smiled.

“I think I like it,” I said.

Damian laughed. “Good. Because I’m not letting you go.”

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*12:00 AM. Bahrain. Interrogation Room.*

Victor sat across from two Interpol agents.

He smiled.

“You think you’ve won,” he said.

The lead agent frowned. “We have you, Mr. Kain. It’s over.”

Victor leaned forward.

“Is it?” he said. “Or is this just the beginning?”

He tapped the table.

“Project Omega wasn’t the only thing I built in Bahrain.”

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*End of Chapter 10*