Dominion: Rise of the Siblings

Some enemies don't come to kill you.They come to remind you who you used to be.

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Lancaster – Skyline Lounge, Level 82 – 9:44 PM

The rooftop bar was flooded with low jazz and soft neon. Executives drank overpriced scotch. Politicians whispered in corner booths. Everyone here thought they were safe—hidden behind wealth and altitude.

Which made it the perfect place to die.

Lia Vale sipped from a martini glass at a window-side table. Her eyes scanned the reflection in the glass more than the skyline itself.

She was being watched.

But not by the usual type.

This watcher moved without shadow. Without mistake.A professional.

She didn't turn.

Instead, she spoke softly to the empty chair across from her.

"You're two minutes late. Unusual for you."

A voice answered, cool and accented, behind her.

"You've gotten better at spotting me."

Enter: The Black Swan.

Real name unknown. Origin: classified.A legendary freelance assassin who once trained under Kestrel Vale.She was the bullet that never missed—until one mission… where she did.

Lia's mission.

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Flashback – 4 Years Ago

Lia, bruised and hunted, hides in a burning hostel.The Swan stalks her room-to-room, gun drawn.

But in the final moment—just as she aims—She hesitates.

And walks away.

No explanation. No bullet.

Just vanishes.

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Present

Now she sat across from Lia, dressed in white—tactical and graceful. No visible weapons, but Lia knew better. The Swan didn't need visible blades. Her entire body was a weapon.

"You're supposed to be dead," Lia said, stirring her drink.

"You're supposed to be forgotten," the Swan replied.

Lia smiled. "We both disappoint."

The Real Conversation Begins

"I was offered a contract," the Swan said. "To remove you."

"Let me guess," Lia said. "Celeste?"

The Swan tilted her head. "Not directly. Through a proxy."

"Julius?"

"No. Higher."

That surprised Lia.

"There is no higher."

"There's always something higher," the Swan said.

She slid a flash-drive across the table.

"Payment contract. Source ID encrypted. You'll want your brother to see it."

Lia picked it up. "You're breaking contract by telling me."

"I'm choosing sides, Lia."

That made Lia pause.

"You're not a mercenary anymore?"

"I am. But I pick my wars now."

"And this one?"

The Swan's eyes sharpened.

"This one feels personal."

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Elsewhere – Same Night – Virell Safehouse

Alex received the encrypted contract data from Lia and decrypted it with Mira.

The signature at the end?

"A.M."

Alex froze.

Mira leaned in. "Who the hell is A.M.?"

He didn't answer at first.

Because A.M. stood for Alaric Morn—former intelligence chief of the international shadow council. A man presumed dead five years ago.

A man who once courted their mother.

"If Morn's alive," Alex said, "then this goes deeper than Lancaster. Much deeper."

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Back at the Lounge

Lia leaned back, studying the Swan.

"You're not just here to warn me."

"No," the Swan admitted. "I want in."

Lia arched an eyebrow.

The Swan continued:

"You're going to burn them all. But you'll need someone who understands the cost of precision. I've walked through the worst shadows of this city.Let me do what I do best.Kill quietly. Kill correctly. And leave no ghosts."

Lia didn't speak for a moment.

Then: "Why now?"

The Swan's voice went low. Barely a breath.

"Because they came for my sister.And they used your name."

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A single man sat in a folding chair under a spotlight, tied and gagged.

He bore the mark of the Raven's Claw.

Lia and the Swan entered together.

The Swan stepped forward first, a glint of silver flashing from her coat sleeve.

"You told them Lia Virell hired me to kill for her," she said softly. "That was your last lie."

She pressed the blade to his chest.

And whispered to Lia:

"Permission?"

Lia nodded once.

"Granted."