Morning arrived with the sound of helicopters.
Not news.
Not police.
Private.
Lio noticed it the moment he stepped onto the balcony. Black vehicles lined the street below—sleek, expensive, out of place in a quiet residential district. Men in tailored suits stood beside them, earpieces visible, eyes scanning every rooftop and window.
“This isn’t normal security,” Nickolas muttered beside him. “This is rich-people-with-secrets security.”
Lio said nothing.
Because deep down, he already knew.
---
•
Inside the house, Elissa adjusted her uniform in front of the mirror. Her reflection stared back—but it didn’t feel like her anymore.
Her thoughts kept drifting to Lio.
The way he stood last night.
The way the world bent around him.
The way her heart reacted before her mind could stop it.
“Elissa,” Samantha called from the hallway. “Your brother’s being summoned by some big-shot or something.”
Elissa froze.
Summoned.
She didn’t like that word.
---
•
The living room felt too small for the man who sat there.
He was old, but power clung to him like a second skin. Silver hair neatly combed back, cane untouched at his side—not because he needed it, but because it made a statement.
Every man standing behind him was worth more than entire neighborhoods.
He looked at Lio and smiled faintly.
“So,” the man said, voice calm but absolute,
“the blood finally awakened.”
Nickolas stiffened. “And you are…?”
The man’s gaze never left Lio.
“Arthur Grandula,” he replied.
“Founder and chairman of Grandula International Holdings.”
The name hit like thunder.
That company dominated shipping, tech infrastructure, private security, pharmaceuticals—half the country’s economy moved because Arthur Grandula allowed it.
Lio swallowed. “You’re saying…?”
Arthur nodded once.
“I am your grandfather.”
Silence swallowed the room.
Elissa’s breath caught.
Nickolas whispered, “Bro… you’re a billionaire’s grandson?”
Arthur tapped his cane lightly on the floor.
“Wealth is irrelevant,” he said.
“What matters is that last night, something long buried resurfaced.”
His eyes sharpened.
“And now every hidden faction in the modern world knows you exist.”
---
•
At school, the atmosphere shifted immediately.
Lio felt it the moment he walked through the gates—eyes lingering too long, whispers cutting off mid-sentence.
New students.
Too calm.
Too observant.
One leaned against the railing, silver-haired, wearing a relaxed smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“So that’s him,” the boy said softly.
Beside him, a girl with glasses adjusted her tablet, symbols briefly flashing across the screen. “Confirmed. Energy signature matches last night’s anomaly.”
Another student—tall, dark-skinned, wearing earbuds—smirked. “Modern era or not, legends don’t stay quiet for long.”
Lio stopped walking.
They were talking about him.
---
Elissa grabbed his sleeve.
“Stay close to me,” she said, voice low. “Please.”
He looked down at her.
Too close.
Too aware.
“Elissa,” he said gently, “you don’t have to—”
“I do,” she interrupted, eyes fierce.
“Whatever you are now… I’m part of it.”
Arthur’s words echoed in his mind.
Blood awakens blood.
---
High above the city, inside a glass tower that didn’t exist on any map, screens lit up with Lio’s image.
A woman in a white suit crossed her arms.
“So the heir walks among humans… attending school like a normal boy.”
A man beside her chuckled. “Normal died last night.”
She smiled coldly.
“Prepare the contracts. The hunters. And the brides.”
The man raised an eyebrow. “Brides?”
She nodded.
“Power like his doesn’t choose.
It attracts.”
---
That night, Lio stood alone on the rooftop of his grandfather’s estate, city lights stretching endlessly below.
Modern world.
Ancient blood.
And a future that no longer belonged to him alone.
Behind him, Elissa watched silently.
Her thoughts were no longer innocent.
And somewhere deep within Lio’s blood—
Something answered her.
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