“You’re my heir.”
The words did not echo.
They carved.
Aruna stood in the silent command unit long after the screen went black, Adrian’s declaration still burning in her ears. Heir. The word felt foreign. Heavy. Toxic.
Dante was watching her carefully.
Not with suspicion.
Not with doubt.
With calculation.
“Say something,” Victor muttered under his breath.
Aruna finally inhaled.
“Blood,” she said quietly, “is not loyalty.”
Dante’s gaze sharpened slightly.
“No,” he agreed. “It isn’t.”
Victor ran a hand through his hair. “He wants to crown you. That’s insane.”
“No,” Aruna corrected softly. “He wants to control the narrative.”
Silence settled again.
She stepped closer to the main console, replaying the footage in her mind.
Her mother in that hospital bed.
Not terrified.
Desp
