Part 30 –
When enemies come for your crown,
You don't run.
You rise with your fiercest beside you.
The Calm Before the War
The morning after returning from Monte Carlo, Lila stood before the tall windows of Wolfe Tower, her reflection blurred in the glass.
New York's skyline stretched endlessly beyond her, cold and gleaming like the battlefield it had become.
Lucien Luthor wasn't just a rival.
He was a storm coming from the shadows.
And she could feel the pressure building. A storm she wouldn't survive alone.
Ethan entered the room quietly, bringing her a mug of coffee just the way she liked it dark roast, oat milk, two drops of vanilla.
"Sleep?" he asked gently.
Lila shook her head. "Too much at stake."
He set the mug beside her.
"Then let's fight smart."
Operation: Shield Wolfe
Lila called an emergency meeting—not with the board, but with the people she trusted.
Her circle.
Marion Black, the fierce head of legal who'd once gone toe-to-toe with the DOJ—and won.
Kai Nakamura, their cybersecurity lead, former NSA analyst and digital ghost.
Delilah Rivers, PR guru turned damage-control sorceress.
Dean Marquez, ex-military strategist now COO, with a mind built for war.
They gathered in the private strategy room soundproofed, encrypted, untouchable.
Lila stood at the head.
"Lucien Luthor is coming for Wolfe Enterprises. He's already moving. Quietly. Subtly. We need to be louder."
She laid out a map of acquisitions, digital intrusions, and potential weak links.
"This isn't about profit. It's about control. And I won't let him take this company, this legacy or any of you."
Marion nodded sharply. "Then let's build a firewall he can't climb."
"Financial, legal, and digital," added Kai. "If we lock our intellectual properties behind encrypted holding companies, he can't touch them."
"I'll handle the press," Delilah said. "If he so much as sneezes near our brand, I'll turn it into a scandal."
Dean cracked his knuckles. "Let him come. He won't leave smiling."
It was decided.
They would become Lucien's worst nightmare.
The Lover's Rift
But while the company forged its defenses, something colder brewed behind closed doors.
Lila had noticed Ethan's distance.
His long stares. His distracted replies. The calls he declined to explain.
One night, unable to bear the tension, she confronted him in the penthouse.
"Ethan. Look me in the eyes and tell me what you're hiding."
He turned from her, shoulders tense.
"There's something you need to know," he said quietly. "About someone close to me."
Lila felt her heart tighten.
"Who?"
He hesitated.
"My godfather. Daniel Vega."
Lila froze. Vega was a financial titan, an early investor in Wolfe, and Ethan's mentor for years.
"I trusted him," Ethan said. "But Marion uncovered something yesterday. He's been selling intel private reports on Wolfe's restructuring to Lucien."
Lila's pulse raced.
"Why would he do that?"
"He lost faith in us. Thinks we're too idealistic. That Wolfe should belong to Luthor's empire."
Lila swallowed hard.
"He chose Lucien over you."
Ethan finally turned to face her, eyes raw with betrayal.
"I grew up calling him family."
Lila stepped forward, laying her hand on his chest.
"Then let's show him what real family does when it's betrayed."
Playing Offense
The next day, Lila walked into Daniel Vega's sleek Fifth Avenue office unannounced.
He looked startled, then amused.
"You look like your mother," he said, smiling faintly. "Sharp eyes. Sharper tongue."
Lila sat across from him, her voice like ice.
"And you look like a man who's about to lose everything."
She slid a contract across the table termination of all his Wolfe holdings, effective immediately, under breach of fiduciary trust.
"You sold out the company my mother bled for. The company Ethan rebuilt. You're done."
He laughed bitterly. "You think Lucien won't crush you for this?"
She smiled sweetly.
"He'll try."
An Unexpected Ally
That night, Lila received a call from a blocked number.
The voice on the other end was deep, accented, and calm.
"I warned you Lucien plays long games. But he's made a mistake this time."
"Celeste?" Lila asked.
"I want in," she said. "Luthor made me his weapon. Now I'll help you disarm him."
Lila's fingers tightened around the phone.
"Why?"
"Because no man should hold the world in his palm. And because if you win, maybe I get a little piece of my soul back."
Lila smiled.
"Then welcome to the resistance."
The Crown Reforged
At Wolfe's monthly shareholder briefing, Lila stood beside Ethan as they revealed the company's new direction.
A security fortress built on ethics.
A leadership core of loyalty, not legacy.
A campaign to root out and expose corporate predators like Lucien.
The applause was deafening.
But Lila's eyes didn't search for praise.
They searched the crowd for shadows.
Because Lucien wasn't finished.
She could feel him watching.
And when he returned, it wouldn't be with an offer.
It would be with war.