Liam's POVThe sound of sirens was getting louder but I stood in the middle of the mess, breathing in all the fumes of our strife and waiting patiently.My body still felt shaky after the gunfight, but the rush of energy was fading. I felt tired now. Really tired. Locke, Sarah, and Hans had left in the van, taking the kids to a safe place. I was all alone, just standing and waiting.The first police car stopped quickly with its lights shining through the night. Two more cars arrived right after. Police officers jumped out with their guns up and ready.“Stop right there! Hands up!” one of them shouted.I slowly raised my hands, showing them I had nothing to hide and I turned to face them.“My name is Liam Carter. There’s been something really bad going on here.”The officer who spoke walked toward me carefully.“We got calls about explosions and gunshots. What happened here, kid?”“It was William Blackwood,” I said, trying to sound calm. “He’s behind an illegal business. He’s been sell

Liam's POV“Finally,” I said quietly as I got out of the car. Carter Enterprises stood tall in front of me in her majestic view of glass and metal but now it felt like a job I wasn’t sure I could handle.Ignoring the cameras outside, I walked through the turning doors and gave a quick nod to the receptionist.“Mr. Tobias is in the lounge,” she said in a flat voice. I gave her a small smile and walked toward the lounge.I saw him walking back and forth like a wild animal. His hair was messy, and his face looked angry.“Liam!” he shouted as soon as he saw me. “There you are! I’ve been waiting forever.”I sighed inside.“Sorry for keeping you waiting Uncle Tobias. Things have been… messy.”“Messy?” He stopped walking and turned to me with his eyes burning. “Messy isn’t a reason to be careless, Liam! This is Carter Enterprises, not a playground. I came with serious things to talk about, and you’re late.”“I understand,” I said, trying to stay calm. “I’m sorry for being late.”“Sorry isn’t

Ryan's POVThe more I thought about it, the more wild it sounded. Father had a master plan at work and he was patiently and calmly executing it too. He had hired Silas Scratch who was on the FBI's most wanted list alongside Rurick the hacker.The wildest part was that he was going to use Scratch to take out Liam once and for all, and everyone else would think that it was Tobias whom my father had secretly bailed out of prison after 25 years to take the fall.I paced back and forth in my apartment with cold sweat dripping down the back of my neck. This was too much, really too much for me to handle.The wall clock ticked loudly in the silence of the night, and I could almost hear my heart beating frantically. Was this fear? Was I suddenly becoming cold feet all of sudden? Whatever the case, I knew that Father had really outdone himself and it scared me to think of the lengths he could go to just to get what he wanted.“Ryan, you fool!” I slapped my forehead in annoyance. “What were you

Ryan's POVI was a fool to have believed him. I really thought that he had truly repented and regretted his actions, but he was only setting up the floor for more damage, typical of Scratch.“Wh… What do you mean? Partners?” I stuttered.“Yes, partners,” he repeated with that grin on his face.“I'm not exactly sure I understand what you mean,” I said.“Let's put it this way.” He shifted in his seat. “Being the heir and only son of your father I'm very sure that even as you're yet to inherit the company, you still receive a hefty sum from Blackwood Corp's profits. I say we divide that up as partners. 50/50. How does that sound?”I couldn't believe what I was hearing! I thought this man was insane but now I was slowly realizing that he was a psychopath!“I think it sounds like bullshit!” I got to my feet once more. “Do you even listen to yourself? Why would I go on and make you my partner?!”The stupid grin on his face disappeared and he leaned back into the chair.“Okay, first of all,

Liam's POV“Here, take care of these.” I handed the bag containing Mom's shopping items to Ms. Sofia and quickly made for the telephone.“Hello?” I called immediately and pressed the receiver to my ear.“Liam?” Tobias' gruff voice came through from the other end.“Yes. What's wrong?” I asked.“I think I picked something up,” he said. “What exactly?”There was a moment's pause before he spoke again.“A charter about what our enemies might be planning.” I sighed and rubbed my temple tiredly.“What's your source, Uncle Tobias?”“You don't believe me?!” He snapped.“What? No,” I replied quickly. “I'm just tired of chasing leads that run to a dead end.”“I think this one is legit somehow.”“And you trust this source of yours that you won't even mention?”“Not entirely, but…”“Can we talk about this tomorrow, please?” I interrupted him. “I believe it'll be best if we talk about this in person. I'm really exhausted and would like to just sleep now.”“Don't you hang up on me, boy! Don't you