CHAPTER 293: THE FRACTURED BLOODLINE [ 1 ]

PRESENT-NOCTIS CONTINENT-VARENYA.

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Morning broke over the Dominion Sanctum with a soft, muted brilliance.

The sky outside the sprawling estate shimmered with the clarity of rain-washed air, as pale sunlight filtered through a delicate veil of mist.

Inside, the Sanctum truly lived up to its name. Insidw the Main Palace, a living room so grand it could dwarf most state halls, stretched out before them.

Every surface gleamed: marble floors polished to a mirror-like shine, gilded fixtures glinting in the morning glow, and sprawling chandeliers casting warmth across lush velvet drapes.

The air was infused with faint hints of polished wood and incense, but soon these delicate fragrances were overtaken by something far more earthy,the kitchen.

In the huge kitchen,it buzzed with activity. Servants moved in a practiced choreography; aprons fluttering as knives struck cutting boards with rhythmic precision,pans hissed while steam curled from pots.

The rich aroma of broths simmering, meats roasting, and fresh bread baking wafted into the corridors like an invisible tide.

Other servants in the Main Palace scurried quietly through the main hall, silver trays in hand,arranging floral vases, aligning gilt-edged chairs, sweeping away even imagined specks of dust.

In that morning light, the Sanctum felt like a kingdom in motion,a place that silently proclaimed its wealth and discipline.

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At one corner of the main hall inside one of the many enclosed glass conference rooms that looks more like war command rooms instead of just conference rooms.

The whole family sat together,every single one of them,rows of chairs encircling the enormous glass table where the light streamed across their faces.

Though soundproofed, silence pressed down like a heavy weight.

Arthur occupied the head seat,calmly poised with hands folded and gaze steady. He had already spoken words that now lingered in the air like smoke refusing to dissipate.

Around him, his family reacted in ways that shattered their usual Osborn composure.

Ashley leaned forward; her lips parted and face pale as she shook her head once,as if trying to shake off a dream.

Her voice pierced through the stillness: "Wait...wait...wait...wait...are you saying our Osborn Family, our family...this family is just a branch? And that there are...more than a hundred more all over the world?"

Arthur’s response came slowly but deliberately: "Yes!. You can put in like that"

Hisssssss!

All of them took in deep breath, eyes flashing with shock and astonishment.

Their hands tightened on their armrests. Edward turned sharply to Julian while Nathaniel’s brows knitted together; his eyes darted between Richard and Margaret as if seeking confirmation for what he’d heard.

A chorus of gasps rippled through younger cousins who sat wide-eyed and shifting nervously in their seats,the air vibrated with bewilderment and disbelief mixed with strange excitement and above all else,a disorienting sense that solid ground had suddenly given way beneath them.

"No..."Edward muttered, turning back to Arthur with disbelief etched across his face.

"Dad! Don’t tell me... you knew about this?" He pointed sharply at Julian, then Nathaniel, and finally Margaret and Richard."Tell me you knew!"

One by one, they shook their heads,their silence spoke volumes.

Julian rolled his eyes at Edward and said,"We are clueless as all of you ".

Questions erupted like fireworks in the night sky.

The cousins were first,voices raw and brimming with disbelief.

"Then who are these other branches?"

"Why weren’t we told?"

"Are they stronger? Richer? Are we just a small footnote compared to them?".

It was Ashley who asked this question,the rest immediately gave her a side glance.

"What am just asking!?" Ashley’s shrugged her shoulders and said.

Arthur remained unflinching amidst the storm of emotions.

He sat still, allowing their voices to rise and fall like waves crashing against a shore, letting them grapple with their own shock before he spoke again.

Billy sat there stunned with a distant look in his eyes.

Finally, he muttered softly, almost as if speaking to himself."I never thought... there was something like this behind us."

For once, his usual fire was absent; there was no anger or skepticism,only a sense of drifting as he sought something familiar to hold onto.

Even Julian, typically composed and steady, seemed momentarily shaken,leaning forward with elbows on the table, he took a deep breath to steady himself.

His gaze fixed on Arthur with intent focus. "When... and where did you find out about this?"

His voice was calm but carried an undercurrent sharper than steel."And why are you only telling us now?"

Every head turned back toward Arthur. Even the servants outside the chamber seemed to sense the tension hanging in the air.

Arthur met their gazes squarely. His tone was even as he replied,"Five months ago."

The words landed heavily in the room.

Ashley reacted first; she shot upright, her voice rising in disbelief,"Five months ago?!"

Her outburst shattered the glassy silence that had enveloped them.

Arthur’s eyes shifted toward her, brows furrowing slightly as if feeling the weight of her surprise pressing down on him like a cold hand.

Ashley froze mid-breath; her face flushed as she clamped her lips shut and lowered her head in apology.

Arthur’s expression softened slightly before he continued,"It was Alfred who gave me this information. He said this information was meant for father but since he is no more ,he gave it to me since I’m the head of the family"

A ripple of whispers swept through the room, quick and sharp,at the mention of Alfred’s name,the trusted butler who had been a constant presence for decades.

They were really surprised when Arthur said it was Alfred who gave him this kind of information, although they respect Alfred a lot but they didn’t think,he held such an important information.

Margaret broke through the murmurs with quiet disbelief,"Why didn’t you tell us then?"

Arthur spoke up without a moment’s hesitation, his voice steady yet filled with conviction.

"Back then, our family was stretched thin. We were already carrying a heavy burden. If I had shared the truth with you then, it would have only slowed us down and distracted us from what needed to be done. Knowing wouldn’t have helped us,not at that time."

The chamber fell into an uneasy silence,his words resonated deeply; they were too sensible to ignore but weighed heavily on their hearts.

As they absorbed his message, each person leaned inward, minds churning and hearts racing. It wasn’t betrayal they felt but rather a profound disorientation.

Arthur scanned their faces one by one before taking a deep breath and speaking softly. "I know this is hard to digest. Accepting it isn’t easy, and for not telling you sooner, I truly apologize."

His apology seemed sincere enough, though in Arthur’s hands, apologies often felt like carefully measured currency,valuable yet calculated.

Margaret broke the tension with a faint smile as she leaned forward, her tone warm and reassuring. "Arthur... none of us are angry. Shocked? Yes! But not angry,anyone in our shoes would feel the same."

Several others nodded in agreement; relief washed over them as shoulders relaxed and small sighs escaped their lips.

Then Nathaniel chimed in with steady resolve, "So... what do we do now?"

That simple question reignited the energy in the room. Oscar, George, Eva, Olivia,they all began talking at once, overlapping voices pressing for answers.

Arthur raised a hand for silence; instantly the room quieted down.

His eyes sparkled slightly as he smiled, almost like he had been waiting for this moment all along.

"Have you ever wondered," he asked thoughtfully, "why the Dominion Sanctum is so vast ane big? Weren’t you all confused and asked me why the DominionSanctum is so big when we arrived here?"

Confusion flickered across their faces; several blinked while others glanced around the chamber as if seeing it for the first time.

Leaning back slightly in his chair, Arthur sharpened his tone,each word carefully chosen.

"This Sanctum wasn’t built for just one branch alone; it was designed for something much greater."

A ripple of realization swept through them like waves on water.

Expressions shifted dramatically: Edward’s eyes widened in surprise while Olivia covered her mouth in disbelief; Nathaniel straightened up as understanding dawned upon him.

Arthur observed their reactions closely; his smile grew wider with satisfaction. "Exactly! You’re starting to grasp it."

Eva spoke softly,a whisper barely audible above the tension in the air.."So you planned this... from the very beginning?"

Arthur nodded once," Yes! When Alfred first gave me this information, I already started making adjustments to my plans for this family ".

Billy blinked rapidly as he processed this new information before looking up at Arthur with wide eyes filled with wonderment. "Then... are you going to unite all the other branches?"

With a sharp gaze directed at him, Arthur gave a subtle nod.

The table buzzed with tension, not from shock this time, but from a palpable sense of dread. Voices began to rise, each one tinged with disbelief:

"Impossible."

"They won’t accept it."

"Do you realize what that will require?"

Richard leaned in, his expression serious and intent. "Bringing them together won’t be a walk in the park."

Arthur nodded slightly, acknowledging Richard’s point. "As third uncle said, uniting them won’t be easy."

The younger cousins exchanged bewildered glances, their confusion evident.

Ashley furrowed her brow, her eyes narrowing as she asked, "But... why? If we’re all family, shouldn’t it be simple?"

A faint smile flickered across Arthur’s face as he adopted a more deliberate tone, almost like a teacher guiding eager students.

"Do you wanr to know why the Osborn Family ended up so divided and in such current predicament in the first place? Do you want to know why bringing all of them won’t be an easy task?"

His words hung in the air like a heavy cloud.

Silence enveloped the room once again. No one dared to respond; their breaths felt loud against the backdrop of their racing hearts.

Arthur allowed the silence to stretch on, letting the weight of his question sink deep into every mind present in the room.