Brian shook his head stubbornly, his small jaw setting into a tight, hard line. He didn't look like a helpless child anymore; he looked like someone driven by pure survival. "No, Clara," Brian whispered back, his voice remarkably steady despite his small frame. "I am the only one who has actually seen his face. I am the only one who will be able to tell if it is truly him. If you go in there alone, you might look right at him and never even know it."Clara opened her mouth to argue, but the words completely caught in her throat. She looked past Brian’s shoulder, staring out the window toward the grand, towering entrance of the central museum. He was right.She thought about the King. The man was incredibly wealthy, powerful, and ruthless. He had the resources to wear a flawless disguise, to blend perfectly into the massive crowd of tourists and upper-class citizens.Butcher was already a completely paranoid maniac who threw away his own phone based on a tiny hunch; imagine what the Ki

Every single section of the massive central museum went into a complete, high-security shutdown mode immediately. The electronic heavy doors locked open, and the automated security gates began to slide down with a loud, metallic grind. Over the loudspeakers, the chilling mechanical message kept repeating itself over and over again, echoing off the high marble walls."EMERGENCY. GAS LEAKAGE DETECTED. PLEASE PROCEED TO THE NEAREST EXIT IMMEDIATELY."The words struck absolute terror into the hearts of the hundreds of people inside. The atmosphere instantly dissolved into total chaos. In the minds of the frantic tourists and local citizens, the next terrifying thing after a major gas leak was a catastrophic gas explosion. Nobody in that building wanted to wait around just to get blown up into tiny pieces.People screamed, dropping their bags and programs as they scrambled toward the main doors. A massive wave of panicked human bodies suddenly surged forward like a tidal wave. Clara desp

Valthera looked over the bleeding, broken men with a cold, uncaring gaze. "What the hell happened to you guys?" she asked dryly."We were completely ambushed," Thomas muttered, coughing as he helped a wounded soldier to the ground. "The whole thing... it was a trap."Suddenly, the squeak of rolling wheels echoed through the tense silence of the tent. Alberto was rolled into the center of the room by one of his personal bodyguards. He looked down at his men limping, bleeding, and hurrying to get medical treatment, and he felt a deep ache in his chest.But Alberto was a cold, calculating leader. In his mind, this was just the cost of doing business. It was just a few necessary sacrifices. When he finally took over the entire city, his ultimate reward would be much higher than a few dead soldiers.Alberto slowly turned his head toward Valthera, his face twisting into a deep, furious frown."Where the hell were you?" Alberto demanded, his voice trembling with anger as he stared at her. "W

Clara did not knock. She threw her entire weight against the heavy oak door, slamming it open so hard it bounced violently against the wall.Inside the dimly lit, lavish office, the air was thick with the scent of expensive liquor and cheap perfume.Butcher was caught completely off guard, instantly scrambling away from a young woman who was sitting on the edge of his massive mahogany desk. The woman let out a sharp gasp, her eyes widening in pure terror as she frantically grabbed her discarded silk jacket, trying her absolute best to cover herself up.In a split second, Butcher’s instincts kicked in. His hand blurred as he reached into his waistband and pulled out a long hunting knife. He lunged forward, stopping just inches away from Clara’s face."What the hell, Clara?!" Butcher roared, his voice shaking with a terrifying, wild rage. "Are you completely out of your mind?! Do you have a literal death wish or something?!" He pressed the tip of the blade closer, almost touching the

"You know, meeting the King is an incredibly rare privilege, right?" Butcher said as they walked toward a set of massive, reinforced steel doors. "Most people live and die in this Syndicate without ever hearing his voice.""Well, I have definitely earned it," Clara reminded him sharply, her voice dripping with ice. "I literally gave up my own mother for this.""But your mother is still at large," Butcher countered, narrowing his eyes.Clara shot him a cold, mocking look. "Well, it is certainly not my fault that your men are simply not good enough to catch her."Butcher’s jaw tightened in pure frustration, a vein pulsing in his temple, but he chose to keep his mouth shut. "Right this way," he directed grumpily.He swiped a security card through an electronic scanner. They passed through two more heavily armored doors before finally reaching the grand entrance of the main office. Butcher stepped aside, remaining out in the hallway. He didn't dare step inside with her.Clara took a deep