Chapter 34 – Smoke and Silk
Chapter 34 – Smoke and Silk
The morning air in Milan was deceptive—cool, still, almost innocent. But Damon felt it, crawling beneath his skin like static before a storm. He stood by the penthouse window, coffee forgotten in his hand, eyes on the street below. The voicemail. The Venice Archives. Elijah Voss. All of it coiled around his mind like a snake waiting to strike.
There was a knock.
"Come in."
Elijah stepped in, crisp in a tailored grey suit, a man who looked like he'd never lost a night's sleep.
"You wanted to see me?"
Damon turned, masking the storm behind his eyes. "I did. Sit."
Elijah obeyed without question, taking the leather chair opposite the desk. Damon watched him carefully, studying every microexpression.
"You've been overseeing the firewall upgrades."
"Yes, sir. Tripled the encryption protocols. Rebuilt the packet tracing from scratch."
"Good," Damon said. "And yet someone still got in."
There was a pause. Elijah's expression remained unreadable. "Whoever they are, they’re professionals. Ghost-level. And they're not just after intel—they're after leverage."
Damon leaned forward, elbows on the desk. "Then give me something, Elijah. Anything."
Elijah hesitated just enough to raise an eyebrow. "We traced a signature embedded in the Venice Archives link. One word. Orion."
Damon's knuckles whitened.
"Sound familiar?"
Damon forced a calm smile. "No. But keep digging. And Elijah?"
"Yes, sir?"
"I don’t like secrets. And I like surprises even less."
Elijah nodded. "Understood."
---
Across the city, Aurora stared at the encrypted folder on her laptop.
Venice Archives.
She had opened three videos already—each one more damning than the last. People she recognized. Voices she trusted. Secrets that shattered illusions like glass.
Luca entered quietly, two espressos in hand.
"You look like you saw a ghost. Or six."
Aurora gave a bitter laugh. "Try a whole crypt."
He handed her a cup. "Want me to look?"
"No," she said, pulling the laptop shut. "This... I have to see where it leads. Alone."
He sighed, sitting beside her. "You know, for someone caught in a love quadrangle, you’re remarkably focused."
She smiled despite herself. "Is that what this is now?"
"If it gets any messier, we’ll need a scoreboard."
---
Celeste was not laughing.
She walked briskly through the underground garage, heels clicking like gunshots.
She had seen the envelope.
The three crossed roses.
The bleeding seal.
And the note inside:
"He doesn't know yet. But you will help us keep it that way."
---
That night, Damon found himself staring at an old photo. Four people. Younger. Simpler. Himself, a girl with dark curls, and two men.
He traced one face with his thumb.
Gone.
A soft knock interrupted the memory.
Elijah again.
"Sorry to bother you twice in one day. But I found something."
He handed over a flash drive.
"Encrypted communications. Between someone in this building and an unknown server in Austria."
Damon inserted the drive. Screen lit up. Symbols, codes, then:
[PROJECT ORION: PHASE II - INITIATED]
He stood slowly.
"Get security. Lock down all network access."
Elijah raised a brow. "Including mine?"
Damon's voice was like steel wrapped in velvet. "Especially yours."
Elijah smiled faintly. "Of course."
He turned to go, but paused at the door. "You know, Damon... for a man surrounded by enemies, you're still dangerously trusting."
Damon said nothing. Just watched him leave.
---
Miles away, in a candle-lit room deep in the hills, another figure watched the entire scene play out on a mirrored screen.
They exhaled smoke and whispered, "Well done, Elijah. Now let's see how long he can hold out."
A second voice, female, responded from the shadows.
"You think he’ll break?"
"They all break eventually. Even the strong ones."
The screen flickered.
Damon's face froze on the display—eyes sharp, jaw tight.
Unbroken.
For now.