The sound of helicopter blades cutting through the air echoed through the room.

Lines deepened on people’s faces while others widened their eyes, mouths falling open.

For a moment, no one could speak. They simply stared at the person in the chopper.

Ashley had a mischievous smile on her face, waving at them as if she didn’t care about anything in the world. Her hair was tied in a neat high ponytail, and she was dressed in a black tactical suit.

"What in the world... is she doing here?" Lukas muttered under his breath, his mind struggling to catch up.

Gustav furrowed his brows. "Why did she come here?"

He’d been trying to anticipate Ashley’s next move, and if he was being honest, he hadn’t expected her to appear on the mainland at all. If it were Lucian, that would be one thing. But Ashley?

Time stretched in silence as they watched her slowly rise from a crouch inside the aircraft.

Then the doors of the High Chamber burst open.

"Sir, the madam’s forces are here!" The man who rushed in stopped short, his breath catching in his throat. His eyes swept the room — everyone frozen, staring in the same direction. He turned his head just as all the windows shattered at once.

From the roof, men in black gear rappelled down and leaped through the openings.

Everyone snapped out of their trance, throwing their arms up to shield themselves. When the noise settled, what followed were heavy thuds — and then silence. It took a moment for everyone to register that more men now stood inside the room, all in black tactical gear.

Ashley smiled in satisfaction as she leaped from the helicopter to one of the window sills.

"Oops," she murmured, steadying herself with easy grace.

Tank, standing near the window, extended his hand. "Madam."

"Thanks." She nodded, clasped it, and stepped down.

Silence blanketed the room while every eye was on her.

Ashley straightened and smiled. "Hello, High Chamber. I’m not too late, am I?"

"What—" one of the newer members stammered. But the shattered glass and the infiltrators quickly turned his confusion to anger. "What do you think you’re doing?!"

That snapped the others out of their stupor.

"How dare you enter like this!" another echoed. "Do you know what this place is?"

Ashley let out a quiet laugh.

"Do I know what this place is?" she repeated, glancing briefly at the men flanking her.

All of them straightened in unison, standing at rigid attention. Then she turned her gaze back to the people around the table.

"Of course I do." Her voice dropped as she stepped forward, slow and deliberate.

Every eye followed her as she approached Lucian’s empty seat.

She stopped beside it and stared at it for a long moment.

"Isn’t this the place where my husband’s people were taken against their will?" She faced them, reached for the chair, pulled it out slightly, and sat down.

Her gaze landed on one of the standing men. "And you. Do you know what this place will become if you keep letting your tongue run loose?"

A cold glint crossed her eyes. It was brief, but enough to silence him — and to make the others exchange uneasy glances. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

At the far end of the table, the old man caught the eyes of several men looking his way. He exhaled quietly and glanced at Nikki.

Nikki kept her head low, her jaw tight. Jony balled his hands into fists and ground his teeth.

What is going on?

It was the question hanging over all of them.

Most people in the room had known, in theory, that Ashley was already on the premises. But when they were told she wouldn’t be joining, no one had thought much of it. What could they have expected from someone as sheltered as Lucian’s wife?

That had been Lukas and Gustav’s assumption too.

Now both men stared at her, unable to reconcile the woman in front of them with the one they thought they knew. It wasn’t just the grand entrance. It was the absence of fear — the quiet, effortless authority radiating off of her.

Lukas was simply stunned while Gustav studied her.

Gustav had noticed a change in Ashley since Lucian’s collapse. But now he understood that what he’d glimpsed then had only been a sliver of this.

"I heard there was a meeting I needed to attend," Ashley said, breaking the silence. "The moment I found out, I came straight here. I hope I haven’t kept anyone waiting."

She lifted her gaze to the white-haired elder across the table. "Have I, Frank?"

Another stillness fell over the room. The familiarity with which she’d addressed him did not go unnoticed.

"Not at all, Madam." Frank’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. "We’re only just getting started."

"Good," Ashley folded her hands. "When I heard some of your men had taken my people — my secretary included — I was concerned."

"That’s understandable. I imagine it appeared heavy-handed." Frank gave a measured nod. "Even so, I hope you’ll appreciate that we had Dominion’s best interests at heart. I apologize that it unfolded so abruptly."

She tilted her head. "That’s not what concerns me."

Frowns rippled across the room.

"What concerns me," Ashley continued, sweeping her gaze across the table, "is that the High Chamber’s security team — supposedly the finest — made such a careless error. How does one mistake my secretary for the Madam of Dominion?"

She leaned back, letting the question settle, her eyes moving from Nikki to Gustav to Lukas and the others who carried equal weight in this room.

"My husband chose to shield me from the demands of this world. To preserve his wife’s peace — my face his most precious treasure, or so he always said." The corner of her mouth lifted. "Even so, how does the High Chamber not know my face? Is this a failure of the men beneath you... or a failure of the High Chamber itself?"

One of the members scoffed. "A failure of the High Chamber? Madam, that is an outrageous accusation. We acted swiftly to contain a potential crisis. To suggest we’ve been negligent is—"

The warmth drained from her eyes as she cut him off.

"What I find outrageous," she said quietly, "is the High Chamber treating my husband’s most trusted men like criminals."

Her gaze cut to the men shackled at the center of the table.

"And making sure I could see it. How about we start this meeting with that?"