Ares’ hands clenched into fists, the nails digging into his palms. “Explain,” he said, his voice low but deadly. “Every word you just said—explain it. How is he alive? How has he been hiding? And why now?”

Atlas stepped forward, gun lowered but fingers twitching near the trigger. “You’ve been manipulating us from the shadows, mother. And now you expect us to just… accept that our father—the man who abandoned us, left us to fend for ourselves—is alive and plotting ...