The sound of twisting metal and shattering glass filled the air. The car was thrown sideways, sliding across the wet pavement until it slammed into a brick wall. The bumper crumbled, and the airbags deployed with a deafening pop.Silence followed for a heartbeat, broken only by the hissing of the radiator. Inside, Thomas was slumped over the steering wheel, unconscious. Clara was huddled on the floorboards, her white dress stained with dust and a small trickle of blood on her forehead."Thomas?" she whispered, her voice tiny. "Wake up. I don't like this game. Wake up!"The doors were suddenly ripped open. Four men wearing black tactical gear and dark masks surrounded the car. One of them reached in, grabbing Clara by the arm and dragging her out onto the cold asphalt."Check the target," a deep, gravelly voice commanded.One of the men grabbed Clara’s chin, forcing her to look at him. She looked back with wide, watery eyes, her lower lip trembling. "It’s her," the man confirmed. "L

Clara sat in the center of the container, sobbing quietly, looking harmless and innocent. But to the goons, she now looked like a sleeping volcano."Don't go back in there," the leader whispered, his voice shaking as he helped his broken men to their feet. "Don't you dare go near her again."The tense standoff was interrupted by the low growl of a powerful engine. A sleek black Jeep with tinted windows pulled up to the edge of the pier, its tires crunching over the gravel. The door opened, and a man in a sharp, expensive suit stepped out. He didn't look happy. In fact, he looked like a man who was ready to kill."Which one of you idiots called me?" the buyer demanded, his voice cold and sharp. "Do you have any idea what is happening out there? The entire country is on lockdown!""Every bridge is blocked, every port is crawling with private security. I had to go through four different checkpoints to get to this dump!"The leader of the goons stepped forward, trying to hide his tremb

"I've got you, Clara," Adrian whispered, his voice breaking. "I've got you. Nobody is ever going to hurt you again."He reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a small, silver injector—the specialized cure he had used years ago to bridge her mind. He pressed it against her arm. Clara let out a soft sigh, her eyes fluttering shut as the medicine began to soothe her fractured brain. She fell into a deep, healing sleep.Gently, as if she were made of the finest glass, Adrian lifted her from the Jeep. He carried her to his own car, placing her in the back seat and covering her with his own coat.Adrian was so focused on his sister that he had forgotten about the men in the shadows. But the goons who had kidnapped her were not about to let thirty thousand dollars walk away. They stood by the shipping container, their faces red with fury."Hey! You bastard!" the leader of the goons shouted, stepping forward with his gun raised. "Who the hell do you think you are?! That’s our prize yo

Adrian’s entire body suddenly erupted in a blinding flash of violet light. The energy surged from his arm and into the buyer’s body. The man’s eyes widened, his mouth opening for a final scream that never fully escaped his throat.The man’s body began to glow from the inside out, his skin turned white before disintegrating into gray flakes. In less than three seconds, the screaming stopped. The man vanished.Adrian opened his hand. A small cloud of fine, gray ash drifted away on the sea breeze, leaving nothing behind but the empty, charred shoes of the man who had dared to put a price on Clara's head.Adrian stood alone on the pier. The violet glow slowly began to tinge his skin.He took a deep, shuddering breath and turned back toward his car.Behind him, the pier was silent. The only evidence of the carnage tonight was the scorched concrete and the cracks in the earth. Adrian climbed into the driver's seat, looked at his sleeping sister in the back, and drove back home The tire

"Yes, I have a lead I need to check out urgently."Adrian didn't wait, he walked out into the cool morning air, the gravel crunching under his boots. He climbed into his black car, the engine let out a low, aggressive growl, and he sped out of the gates, heading toward Myria's base.Adrian finally reached the dense, overgrown path that led to Myria’s base. It was the same hidden cottage where Bianca had plotted to eliminate Clara.As he pulled up, two men in heavy tactical gear stepped out from behind the trees. They were Myria’s elite guards, hardened mercenaries who knew exactly who the man in the black car was. To them, Adrian Lancaster was the Great Destroyer, Myria’s own worst enemy.Myria had shown them his pictures every single day and told them that if he ever came anywhere close to here he should be shot on sight."It’s him!" one of the guards shouted, his voice cracking with fear. "The Lancaster is here!""Myria said shoot on sight!" the second one yelled, his hands shakin