The boardroom was quiet in a way Alyssa had never experienced before—not the tense silence of fear, not the brittle calm before betrayal, but something heavier. Final. The long table of polished black wood reflected the city lights beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, and for the first time since she had entered this war, there was no Davin sitting at the opposite end. No smirk. No veiled threat wrapped in charm.

Only empty space.

Alyssa stood at the head of the table, hands resting lightly on the surface. She wore a tailored ivory suit, sharp in cut, unforgiving in lines. Power no longer needed to dress itself in darkness. It simply...