“It's because they are on Adrian’s side." Ethan finally spoke, his voice calm.The officer blinked. “What?”“That’s why they wanted to leave,” Ethan said evenly. "Not because they had some moral awakening. But because they chose to side with Adrian. They want him to take over as head of The Order. And to do that, he has to reclaim the title of King of the World. And they want him to take over as president of Aurelius Conglomerate.”The officer smirked. “And why would they suddenly want to switch sides?”Ethan shrugged. “I have no idea. Maybe they thought I wasn’t fit for the role.”“And why do you think they thought that?”Ethan have another shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe you should ask them yourself.”He added that he never threatened or intimidated them, despite what the officer claimed.The officer leaned back, studying Ethan carefully. “You can deny it all you want. But we don’t just have the council members’ confessions.”He paused for effect. “We also have testimony from people st

Jessica stood in front of Amanda's desk, her hands clasped tightly together.“Please,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I need you to release the evidence I submitted. I need them back.”Amanda looked up from her laptop with a tired expression.She removed her reading glasses slowly.“Jessica,” she said, her tone flat. "What exactly do you think you’ll gain from this?”Jessica took a step closer to the desk. “I know what you’re going to say, but—”“Do you?” Amanda cut her off sharply. "Because I specifically told you—ordered you—not to pursue anything related to Ethan Aurelius or Adrian Steele. We had this conversation. I thought we’d settled this.”She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. “So what is this now? Why are you in my office asking for files you were told to submit and to forget about?"Jessica’s throat tightened.Her nails dug into her palms as she fought to keep her composure.“You don’t understand,” she managed to say, her voice trembling slightly.

Lucas rose to his feet instantly, his face twisted in shock and confusion, because nothing happened.No blast. No crumbling. The mansion still stood, as untouched and imposing as it had been seconds ago.Adrian rose slowly, his eyes fixed on his son. “What happened? What’s wrong?”Lucas stared at the remote in his hand, then back at the mansion standing untouched in the distance. "I… I don’t know," he admitted.He ran a hand through his hair, his jaw tight. "This isn't supposed to happen.”Across the room, Dr. Richter and Crane exchanged a quick glance, their shoulders relaxing slightly as relief crept in.Then, Dr. Richter let out a breath he’d been holding, while Crane’s jaw unclenched for the first time since the countdown began.Grant leaned forward in his seat. “Does this mean... we failed? The bomb didn’t work because of the Eternal Wardstone? Just like all the other attempts?”Lucas shook his head slowly without turning away from the window, as if he could will the mansion to

Adrian stood with his hands clasped behind his back, staring through the glass at Ethan.Ethan sat calmly in the metal chair, his posture relaxed despite the handcuffs now on his wrists.Lucas stood beside his father, arms crossed, jaw tight.Behind them, Chief Superintendent Morgan shifted his weight from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable with the silence.“What has he requested since his arrest?” Adrian asked without turning around.Morgan cleared his throat. “Nothing, sir. Just water.”He pointed through the glass at the plastic bottle sitting on the interrogation table in front of Ethan. “And he hasn’t even finished that.”Lucas tilted his head, one hand rising to stroke his moustache. His brows drew together. “Really?”He couldn’t figure out how Ethan had known what they were planning. He and his father had kept everything under wraps—both the arrest and the plan to bomb the chamber. They hadn’t even told the council members until after Ethan was already locked up.So how did

Adrian trudged out of the room, his shoulders heavy with a weight that hadn’t been there before.Lucas was already waiting in the monitoring room with Morgan. The moment he saw his father’s face, Lucas straightened.“Dad,” Lucas said, stepping forward. "I've confirmed what Morgan said. No one accessed that room except the officer."He paused, his brow furrowing. “Which makes me think maybe it’s the officer. Maybe Ethan got to him somehow, and make him pass the message to Marcel to betray us.”The officer had been a member of The Shadow before it collapsed, and was one of those former members Adrian had invited to join The Order with promises of power and position.“No," Adrian said, his voice coming out low and defeated. Lucas blinked. “What do you mean, no?”“It wasn’t the officer.”Lucas scoffed, throwing his hands up. “Then how? How was Ethan able to communicate with Marcel? Does he have some kind of telepathy power? Mind-to-mind communication?”He shook his head, frustration cl