"These are things you shouldn't worry about, Elena," Liam said as he crouched down beside her. His hand settled gently on her shoulder, warm and reassuring. "Remember that I'm your senior, and I'm here to keep you safe. Nothing will happen to your family. You just have to trust me."He paused, letting his words sink in before continuing."Creating fake identities for your family won't be an issue. Mr Khan has already contacted his man at the airport, and he'll arrange everything else. You don't have to burden yourself with these matters."Elena closed her eyes, and for a moment, her face seemed to relax despite the pain. "Okay. Okay."Her voice was barely above a whisper, but there was something fierce beneath it."I'm finally free from all his harassment and maltreatment. I swear that I'm going to kill him myself when the time comes. I'll do to him everything he did to my family and me, and he'll regret being born into this world.""Yes, you will," Liam responded softly. He placed hi

The door closed softly behind Mr Bason, leaving Ryker alone in his office once more. The silence that followed felt different now, heavier somehow. The tension from the earlier misunderstanding still lingered in the air like smoke after a fire.Ryker remained standing for a long moment, his eyes fixed on the door. He replayed the entire exchange in his mind, analyzing every word, every gesture. Mr Bason had been terrified, genuinely believing that his life was about to end. The man's fear had been real, raw, and Ryker couldn't shake the image of him on his knees, begging for his life.It was the kind of fear that Ryker had seen many times before in his line of work. The kind of fear that came from looking death in the face and believing there was no escape. But this time, it had been unintentional. This time, Ryker had caused that fear without meaning to, without even realizing what he was doing.He moved slowly back to his desk and sank into his chair. The leather creaked beneath him

Mr. Ryker moved before anyone could react. In one swift motion, he crossed the room and snatched up the severed hand from the floor, his face twisted with rage and desperation."Get out!" he roared, his voice echoing off the walls with such force that everyone flinched. "All of you! Get out of my office right now!"But it was too late. The damage had been done. More people had appeared in the doorway—other employees from neighboring offices, drawn by Mr. Bason's screaming and the commotion. They crowded around the entrance, craning their necks to see what was happening inside."Is that a hand?" someone whispered from the back of the crowd."Did you see it? It looked like a real hand!""There's blood on the floor!"The murmuring started low but quickly grew louder as more people joined in, their voices overlapping in a cacophony of shock and speculation."Mr. Ryker was holding something!""What's happening in there?""Call the police!""Is that man okay? He's covered in vomit!"Ryker c

Stevens' eyes widened at Ryker's threat, but before he could respond, the murmuring from the crowd grew even louder, drowning out any possibility of private conversation."I definitely saw a hand! I'm not crazy!""It was pale, like really pale!""There was blood on it!""Someone needs to call the police right now!""I already told you, I'm calling them!"The voices overlapped, creating a chaotic symphony of fear and excitement. More employees had joined the crowd, pushing and jostling to get a better view of what was happening inside Ryker's office. The hallway was packed now, shoulder to shoulder with people who should have been at their desks working but were instead witnessing what might be the biggest scandal to ever hit the company."Is that man dead?" someone asked, pointing at Mr. Bason who was still curled up on the floor."He's moving, so probably not.""But he looks terrible!""What did Mr. Ryker do to him?""Maybe he's a witness!""A witness to what?""To whatever made that

The slap echoed through the hallway like a thunderclap, and for one frozen moment, everything stopped. Stevens stood there, his head still turned to the side from the force of the blow, his hand slowly rising to touch his reddening cheek. His eyes were wide with shock, disbelief, and something else—something that looked like the death of loyalty.Then the moment shattered, and chaos erupted."Oh my God, did you see that?""He hit him! He actually hit him!""That's assault! That's assault!""Everyone saw it! It's on camera!"The crowd surged forward, a wave of bodies pressing closer to get a better view, phones held high like torches in the darkness. The soft clicks of camera shutters became a constant background noise, punctuated by the occasional flash. Every angle was being captured, every moment documented in excruciating detail.Ryker's hand was still raised, trembling now not just from rage but from the realization of what he'd just done. He'd crossed a line, transformed himself