“Peek?” he repeated calmly, voice low. “That’s what you think this is about?”Jenna met his gaze head-on. Her heart was pounding now, but she refused to look away. “I think you’re asking for access,” she said. “And I don’t like not knowing the price.”For a moment, no one spoke. Ethan stood there, tall and still, his mouth parting just slightly—then closing again. Whatever reply he’d been prepared to give seemed to stall somewhere behind his eyes. Speechless. The silence stretched, thick and uncomfortable. Chris noticed it first. His gaze flicked to Ethan, then back to Jenna. “Young master Ethan?” he prompted carefully. Ethan inhaled once. Slow. Deep. When he spoke again, his voice was quieter than before. Stripped of strategy. Stripped of polish. “That’s… not a word I expected to hear,” he said. Jenna’s throat tightened, but she didn’t back down. “Then maybe you didn’t think hard enough about how this looks from my side.”John leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled, watch

Everyone froze. Jenna stared at him in disbelief. “What did you just—” “I said shut the fuck up,” John repeated, his voice calm but lethal. “You’ve said enough. More than enough.” Her mouth opened, then closed. John rose slowly to his feet, resting both hands on the table. “Ethan Storm is staying here. Whether you like it or not. Whether it bruises your pride or offends your imagination or not.” “That’s not fair,” she snapped. “This is my home too!” “And you are not the head of this family,” John shot back. “Nor the one with enemies circling.” She shook with rage. “So my opinion just doesn’t matter?” “It mattered,” John said coldly. “Until you turned it into slander.” Silence swallowed the room. Ethan stood perfectly still, eyes forward, refusing to escalate further. Internally, he was done. Absolutely done. Jenna’s chest heaved. Her eyes flicked to Ethan one last time—angry, wounded, humiliated. “Fine,” she said through clenched teeth. “Do whatever you want.” She turned

“So I was right,” she said, her voice thick with heat and disbelief. “You weren’t protecting me. You were… watching.” “No,” Ethan said immediately, but the steel in his voice had softened, cracked under her fury. His jaw clenched, and he ran a hand through his hair, wet strands sticking to his forehead, his own skin prickling with embarrassment. “That’s not—” “You came into my bathroom,” she spat, tears stinging at the corners of her eyes, “in the middle of the night, and you think I’m stupid enough to believe this is about some presence?” “I told you—” He took a half step back, trying to ground himself, to meet her gaze, but she was a storm, shaking with fury. His chest tightened, throat dry. “I swear, Jenna… I didn’t—” “You’re lying,” she screamed, hysteria bleeding into her words. “You said it yourself—you don’t need permission. You decide what you want, and you take it.” “That’s not what I meant,” he said, voice barely audible over her roaring anger, his hands curled into fis

“Impossible…!” it hissed. “I am eternal! I am power incarnate! I cannot be stopped by a mere man!” Ethan’s expression remained calm, almost amused. “Yet here we are,” he said. “And your eternity is ending in a corner of a bathroom.” With a final, precise gesture, Ethan extended both arms. Golden light flared like a rising sun, consuming the shadows. The demon screeched violently, claws slashing in desperation, but it was too late. With a high-pitched crack and the smell of ozone, the creature evaporated into black smoke, leaving behind only shattered glass and scorched tile. Silence followed. The bathroom was quiet except for Jenna, still unconscious on the floor. Ethan’s light faded gradually, leaving the room dimly lit by the faint glow of broken glass reflecting the moonlight. He crouched immediately beside her, checking her pulse. Steady. Breathing normal. Safe—for now. His expression softened minutely, almost imperceptibly. “You are very fortunate,” he muttered unde

The Watson family wasn’t just playing in the shadows.They were working with demons.He has known this since but now, It was clear.Supplying resources. Providing cover. In exchange—power, protection, assassins that didn’t exist on any human record.One document caught his eye.PROJECT BLACK VEIL.He read more slowly now.It detailed experiments—humans infused with demon energy. Failures listed coldly. Survivors marked as “assets.”One line stood out.“Low-level possession approved for field operatives. Results exceed werewolf-class entities by factor of three.”Ethan’s jaw tightened.“So that man who fought me and Kasher Watson…” he murmured. “Not unique. Just two of many.”Interesting.Very interesting.He stored everything mentally. Every detail. Every name. Every location.Galaxy would enjoy this.But first—He wasn’t done here.***He moved on.The next corridors led deeper, narrower, the walls closing in. He passed cells—empty cages, rusted restraints bolted into stone. Some sti