The door to the private tatami room slid open with a soft scrape against wood.Nicolas burst inside, his breath coming in short gasps. His eyes darted around the dimly lit space before landing on Ethan, who sat cross-legged on the floor cushion, calmly taking a sip of green tea from a ceramic cup.The president’s face was twisted with panic as he quickly slid the door shut behind him.Ethan set his cup down with a gentle clink. A slight smile played on his lips. “Ah, Mr. President. Right on time.” He gestured toward the matching cup on the lacquered tray between them. “Please, have a seat. Your tea is still warm.”But Nicolas remained standing. His fists were clenched at his sides, while his jaw tightened.“What the hell are you trying to do?” he snarled.Ethan’s smirk widened. “You mean what I sent to your wife?” He let out a soft chuckle. “Well, I figured that was the most effective way to get your attention for this little meeting.”He picked up his own cup again, studying it.

Cavill exhaled. "I’m here to apologize, Your Highness.”Ethan’s smile widened slightly, but he said nothing.“The council… we know we offended you. We turned our backs on you when you needed us most, and we sided with a man who didn’t deserve our loyalty.” Cavill's voice was steady, but edged with shame.“We were wrong. And they’ve sent me here to ask for your forgiveness.”Ethan let the silence stretch before he chuckled softly.He tilted his head, studying Cavill with an amused expression. “Forgive?”“Regardless of what happened, Cavill, I've forgiven you all already. I may be many things—an abomination, as you and others so eloquently put it—but I don’t hold grudges.”He leaned forward slightly, resting his forearms on the desk. "Besides, as the King of the World, even if I am an abomination, I’m not meant to lead with pettiness.”The realization that Ethan was using their own words against them, jabbing them with the very insult they’d hurled at him, made Cavill swallow hard.“Yes

Jessica let out a harsh laugh when Ethan asked her again what was wrong, acting like he had no idea why she was so upset.“Don’t give me that,” she snapped. "Don’t just stand there pretending you have no clue what I’m talking about.”That made him realize that she knew he'd already figured out what was bothering her using his power."Sit,” he said quietly, gesturing to one of the chairs. "Let’s talk about this.” He reached for her shoulders.Her eyes flashed.“No.” She slapped his hand away, her palm connecting with his wrist hard enough to sting.“Don’t touch me,” she hissed. "And don’t tell me to sit down like I’m some child you need to calm down. You want to talk? Then talk. Right here. Right now.”He exhaled slowly, his chest rising and falling as he fought to keep his own frustration in check.He dropped his hand to his side.“I’m sorry,” he said, his eyes not leaving hers. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”Her expression didn’t soften.If anything, the fury in her eyes burned ho

Ethan stood at the center in the chamber. Jessica should have been here.She should have been standing beside him, witnessing this moment—the beginning of The Order’s reformation.Instead, she was gone.She’d resigned from Global News Network two days after their argument.Didn’t give a reason.Didn’t give notice.She’d just walked away from everything.From her job.From The Order.From him.And it was destroying him.The weight of it pressed down on his chest constantly, making it hard to breathe, hard to think, hard to focus on anything else.But he had to keep going since he had responsibilities.So here he was, standing in the chamber, preparing to initiate three new members into The Order, even though the one person he wanted here more than anyone was gone.Theo stood to his right.Marcel and Max stood to his left, their eyes scanning the three candidates who stood in a line before Ethan.Dr. Amara Osei was a tall woman with warm brown skin.She wore a dark blouse and slacks.N

Amara’s, Dmitri’s, and Sofia’s hands and legs were tied up.And right in the middle of everything was Theo.He was crouched by one of the stone pedestals, his hands moving frantically across the surface like he was searching for something. Papers and old relics were scattered all around him on the floor.Ethan’s heart sank.But he didn’t want to jump to conclusions, so he called out Theo’s name.“What are you doing?” Ethan asked, his eyebrows drawn together in confusion.Theo froze for just a second.Then, slowly, he turned around.However, his face gave nothing away when his eyes met Ethan's.Then Theo bowed.But not to Ethan.To Adrian.“Right on time, sir,” Theo said, his voice steady.The words hit Ethan like a sledgehammer to the chest.His jaw dropped as he realized Lara wasn’t the only one who had betrayed them.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Marcel and Max both stiffened beside him, their eyes wide with shock.Adrian stepped into the chamber.“Have you found it?” he asked calmly, as if this