The road stayed quiet for a while after that.Only the sound of the engine filled the car.Elsa kept both hands tight on the wheel like she expected another demon to jump out at any second.Honestly—So did Ethan.He leaned back carefully against the seat, breathing slower now.Trying not to pass out.Elsa glanced at him again.“…Don’t sleep.”“I’m not sleeping.”“You literally just closed your eyes.”“I was resting them.”“That sounds fake.”Ethan almost smiled weakly.Almost.Then his phone started ringing again.Elsa jumped slightly.“…Please tell me that’s not another demon.”Ethan pulled the phone out slowly.One of his men.His expression changed slightly.He answered immediately.“…Yeah.”A man’s voice came through quickly.“Boss, we found something.”Ethan straightened a little despite the pain.“…About what I asked?”“Yes.”Elsa glanced at him briefly but stayed quiet.The man continued:“We checked the old records and the names you gave us. There’s definitely a connection.”

The thing wearing Karpeta’s face smiled.Outside, the dragging footsteps multiplied.One.Five.Ten.Dozens.Something slammed against the front door below.Then another.BOOM.BOOM.BOOM.The entire house groaned.Elsa’s voice cracked.“…Ethan, please tell me you have a plan.”Ethan’s feet finally touched the floor as Karpeta held him against the wall.His face was turning red.Breathing harder.Weak from blood loss.Exhausted.But his eyes never left the creature.And suddenly—The fear disappeared from them.The creature noticed.Its smile faltered.“…What?”Ethan’s hand slowly slipped into his jacket.The creature laughed.“…Still reaching for weapons? Pathetic.”Ethan’s voice came out strained.“No.”His fingers closed around something.A small metal object.Ancient.Blackened silver.The creature’s eyes widened instantly.For the first time—It looked afraid.“…Impossible.”Ethan smiled.This time it wasn’t a pleasant smile.It was the smile of someone who had finally found exac

Several weeks later.The house had been repaired.The nightmares were gone.The strange voices had stopped.For the first time in a long time, things felt normal.Almost.Ethan was sitting at the kitchen table one morning.His shoulder was healed.The cuts on his arms were fading.He still had scars.But he was alive.Across from him, Karpeta was eating breakfast.She looked healthy again.No black veins.No shadows under her skin.Just Karpeta.Which made everyone happy.Elsa walked into the room carrying coffee.She looked at Ethan.“You’re smiling.”Ethan immediately stopped smiling.“I wasn’t.”“You were.”“I wasn’t.”“You absolutely were.”Karpeta laughed.“He was.”Ethan pointed at her.“Traitor.”“Gladly.”Norka walked in a few seconds later.One hand on her stomach.Her pregnancy was going well.Very well.The baby would arrive soon.Everyone was being careful around her.Especially Ethan.Which annoyed her.A lot.Norka sat down.“Ethan.”“You absolutely are.”“I’m just makin

“…No promises.”Elsa closed her eyes.“Of course.”Karpeta immediately looked concerned.“What does that smile mean?”“It means,” Linda said flatly, “he’s already decided.”“I prefer the term prepared.”“You had another plan?” Norka asked.Ethan leaned back in his chair.“I had several.”Everyone groaned.He slid another folder across the table.Unlike the previous reports filled with clinic statistics and supply numbers, this one was thicker.Much thicker.Linda opened it first.“…Oh.”Elsa narrowed her eyes.“What?”Linda slowly turned another page.“Oh no.”Karpeta looked between them.“What?”Norka reached over and took the folder.The silence lasted nearly ten seconds.Then she looked up.“You want to manufacture medical equipment.”“Not just manufacture it,” Ethan corrected.“We redesign it.”The room became quiet.“Redesign?” Karpeta repeated.“Most hospitals overspend on basic necessities,” Ethan explained.“Diagnostic equipment.”“Portable imaging devices.”“Monitoring system

Nobody disagreed.The polished meeting room had gone completely silent.Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city continued moving as usual.Inside, however, panic was slowly spreading.The analyst adjusted his glasses.“We’ve looked into every obvious lead.”“And?” the older man asked.“And there aren’t any.”One of the executives slammed his hand against the table.SLAM.“That’s impossible!”“Companies don’t just appear out of nowhere!”“They don’t grow this quickly!”“They don’t steal contracts from us!”The analyst took a nervous breath.“They aren’t stealing.”Several people turned toward him.“…Excuse me?”He swallowed.“The hospitals chose them.”“They offered lower prices.”“Faster delivery.”“Better customer support.”“The equipment passed testing.”“The medicines passed inspections.”“Their emergency response teams performed well.”One woman rubbed her forehead.“Stop defending them.”“I’m not defending them,” the analyst said quickly.“I’m explaining why hospitals are