THE SEVEN FAMILIES The atmosphere inside Chairman Clair’s executive office became incomparably heavier after the mention of the Seven Families because unlike the others present who only looked confused or uneasy, the expressions on the faces of Chairman Clair, Ross, Alfred, and even Edward revealed something far more serious. It was not ordinary concern. It was the kind of reaction powerful people had whenever something capable of disrupting the foundation beneath their feet suddenly appeared before them.Samantha immediately noticed the shift.She looked toward Alfred carefully.“What exactly are the Seven Families?”Alfred slowly exhaled before answering, and even his usually calm voice sounded more solemn than before.“They are the families that truly control San Clemente behind the surface businesses and public influence everyone sees every day because although politicians change, corporations rise and fall, and underground groups kill each other constantly, the Seven Families ha

The Council HallThe convoy of black vehicles moved swiftly through the midnight streets of San Clemente while the city itself remained unusually restless beneath the glow of neon lights and flashing media broadcasts because ever since the news of Brian Maxwell’s return exploded publicly earlier that night, rumors had already begun spreading across every level of society. Powerful businessmen were making emergency calls behind closed doors, underground figures were moving cautiously through hidden networks, and influential families were desperately trying to understand whether the return of the youngest Maxwell heir would become an opportunity or a disaster.Inside the lead vehicle, the atmosphere remained calm but heavy. Samantha sat beside Brian quietly while Ross occupied the front seat with Laura beside him, reviewing security updates continuously through her phone and communication device. Outside the tinted windows, police sirens occasionally echoed through distant intersections

The Family That Refused to DieThe moment Victor Laurent revealed that the Maxwell family had never officially been removed from the Seven Families council, the atmosphere inside the chamber shifted once again because although the statement sounded simple on the surface, everyone present understood the enormous implications hidden behind it. For five years, the Maxwell family had been treated publicly as a fallen empire whose influence had vanished after internal destruction consumed it from within, yet the council itself had never formally erased their seat from among the ruling powers of San Clemente.Which meant something far more complicated had been happening behind the scenes all along.Samantha slowly turned toward the untouched seat again while trying to process what this revelation meant because unlike before, the empty chair no longer looked abandoned. It looked reserved.Waiting.Several of the representatives seated throughout the chamber quietly exchanged glances after Vi

The Black SerpentThe atmosphere inside the speeding convoy became incomparably heavier after Ross revealed the symbol left behind at the Maxwell estate, because unlike Samantha, Thomas, or even Gary who looked confused by the meaning of the black serpent, the expressions on Brian, Alfred, and Ross immediately darkened in a way that made it obvious this was not an ordinary message left behind by random enemies. The silence inside the vehicle afterward felt suffocating as the city lights continued rushing past outside the tinted windows.Samantha noticed it immediately.She turned toward Brian carefully.“You know what it means.”Brian’s eyes remained fixed ahead.“Yes.”Ross tightened his jaw slightly before speaking.“I thought they disappeared years ago.”Alfred slowly shook his head from the vehicle behind them through the communication line connected across the convoy.“Organizations like that never disappear completely.”Thomas frowned deeply.“What organization?”Ross finally an

The Face From Five Years AgoThe security control room became completely silent after Brian revealed the identity of the man appearing on the damaged surveillance footage, because unlike the earlier uncertainty surrounding the attackers and their motives, this discovery connected the present directly to the darkest night of Brian’s past. Even the technicians working throughout the room unconsciously slowed their movements beneath the suffocating atmosphere while the blurry image of the man in the black coat remained frozen across the central monitor.Samantha slowly turned toward Brian again while trying to process everything she had just heard because, until this moment, the enemies surrounding Brian still felt distant and faceless despite the danger they represented. But now there was suddenly an actual person standing at the center of it all.Damien Vale.The man is connected to both the destruction of the Maxwell family and the disappearance of Brian’s mother.Ross’s expression re