Every empire needs an army.
And this time, I wasn't looking for soldiers — I was looking for queens.
After the chaos of the press storm, Wallace suggested that I start building a team for Project Phoenix. But instead of hiring from corporate resumes or polished agencies, I went back to the women who had fought their own battles — the ones who understood pain and ambition as twin flames.
That's how I found them again — Lana, Mia, and Evelyn.
Lana Kingsley — my former PR director. Brilliant, fierce, and loyal to a fault until she was forced to resign during the Hudson scandal. When she walked into the Walker Tower conference room, her sharp red heels clicked like punctuation marks against the marble floor.
> "Still standing, I see," she said with a smirk.
> "Barely," I replied. "But that's enough for now."
She grinned. "Then let's burn the rest."
Mia Brooks was next — my creative designer, once fired after being accused of leaking documents that James himself had planted. She looked thinner, quieter, but her eyes still carried that restless spark of genius.
> "You shouldn't have called me," she whispered. "I'm poison to your name."
> "So am I," I said simply. "Let's be toxic together — productively."
She laughed for the first time in years.
And then came Evelyn — the surprise.
A finance prodigy barely twenty-five, rumored to be Wallace's most trusted protégé. She walked in with poise that belonged to someone twice her age.
> "Mr. Walker thought I should join your division," she said crisply.
Her tone was polite — but her eyes were measuring me.
And just like that, I felt the first crack in the surface of my newfound empire.
---
Working with three brilliant women was exhilarating — and exhausting.
Lana handled PR with the kind of ruthless charm that scared journalists into respect. Mia brought Phoenix to life with her sketches and interface designs — a world of color and intelligence shaped by pain and creativity.
Evelyn… she was something else.
Efficient, sharp, and completely unreadable. I could never tell if she admired me or wanted to outshine me. She had Wallace's trust — and it showed in the way she moved around him, precise and confident.
Sometimes, I'd catch them talking in low tones in his glass office — her showing him projections, him nodding thoughtfully.
And every time, that old ache of doubt whispered through me.
Not jealousy — not yet — but something like fear.
The fear of being outmaneuvered again.
---
Wallace called for a meeting one evening, the entire division gathered under the soft amber lights of the top-floor boardroom.
He looked around the room, eyes lingering on me last.
> "Phoenix is already attracting attention," he began. "But attention comes with enemies. The press will twist. Competitors will attack. I need you all aligned — and focused."
Then his gaze locked on mine.
> "Especially you, Diana."
The room seemed to hold its breath.
> "Focused is my default setting," I replied coolly.
He smiled — that slow, knowing smile. "Good. Then let's make history."
For a moment, our eyes lingered a beat too long. Something electric passed between us — that mix of admiration and temptation that neither of us wanted to name.
But Evelyn noticed.
I saw it in the flicker of her expression.
And I knew — just like success attracts envy, power attracts challenge.
---
After the meeting, Lana pulled me aside.
> "You know she likes him, right?"
> "Who?"
> "Evelyn."
I blinked. "She can like whoever she wants. We're here to build an empire, not chase distractions."
Lana tilted her head. "Maybe. But don't underestimate a woman who admires power. You should know — you used to be one."
Her words stung because they were true.
Before love had burned me, I'd admired power too. I'd chased it, built it, lost it.
And now, I was rebuilding it.
Brick by brick. Heart by heart.
---
That night, as I left the office, my phone vibrated with a message from Wallace.
> Wallace: "You did well today. Phoenix is becoming something extraordinary."
Me: "It's only the beginning."
Wallace: "Exactly. Don't stop now."
I smiled — but there was a restlessness inside me I couldn't quiet.
Something told me that Phoenix wasn't the only thing rising.
Somewhere between ambition and trust, something was catching fire again.
And this time, I didn't know if it would light my way… or burn me all over