“You’d give up everything for my daughter?”“Yes. Even my freedom,” Adrian replied, his voice steady.Senator Marcus stared at him for a long moment. Then he smiled but it wasn’t warm.“Good,” he said. “Because I’m going to ask you to prove it.”The next morning, Adrian returned to the mansion. The senator had left instructions.Evelyn wasn’t there. That felt strange.One of the guards met him at the gate. “He’s waiting in the back room.”Adrian followed. The guard didn’t speak. The silence felt heavy.Inside the room, Marcus sat with two other men. One had sharp eyes. The other looked like he’d broken bones for fun.“Sit down” Marcus said.Adrian didn’t sit. “Where’s Evelyn?”“She’s safe,” Marcus replied. “This isn’t about her. Not right now.”Adrian crossed his arms. “Then what is this about?”Marcus leaned forward. “You say you love her. You say you’d give up your freedom.”“I would.”“Then I have a job for you.”Adrian’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of job?”The man with sharp eyes h

"Please! He's innocent!" Evelyn's voice cracked like glass.Adrian turned his head one last time.Two guards yanked him by the arms as she lunged forward, but a third guard stopped her with a firm grip on her shoulder."Don't touch her!" Adrian roared, struggling against his chains."Don't make it worse," one of the guards hissed, tightening the cuffs on his wrist. "You’re already dead. Just not buried."They dragged him through the back door of the courthouse. No goodbyes. No justice. Just silence.Blackstone Camp wasn’t a place you walked into.You were thrown in.And when the gates closed behind Adrian, the world forgot him.They stripped him. His name, his rank, his past. Even his number tag was a joke "404." Like an error code. Like he didn’t exist anymore."We don’t say names here," a guard told him as they shaved his head. "Names are for men. You? You’re nothing."The floors were always wet. Mold ran up the walls like veins. Screams echoed day and night. No one knew whether the

"You lied."The words still echoed in Evelyn's ears as she sat on her vanity table, the black envelope resting silently on her lap. Her fingers trembled slightly but she forced a giggle."Probably some prank" she muttered, tossing the envelope into the drawer. "Who would dare send something so childish before my wedding?"But the chill crawling up her spine said otherwise.Damien walked in just then, fixing the cuffs of his expensive suit. "Everything okay, babe?""Yeah, just some stupid letter. Probably one of those disgruntled peasants jealous of our wedding" she replied with a smile. But her eyes betrayed a flicker of doubt.Once Damien left the room, Evelyn sighed and leaned back, eyes shutting. A memory forced its way to the front of her mind."Evelyn, you don’t have to wait up. I’ll be out late tonight securing the borders.""I don’t care about borders, Adrian. I care about you" she had whispered, hugging him tightly. He smelled like steel and sandalwood."I’ll come back for

“Sir, I already told you. No entry beyond this point without a personal invitation.”Adrian stood still, hidden beneath a black suit and a half-mask that only revealed his eyes. His voice was calm but his fingers twitched with tension.“I was invited. I’m a distant cousin of the groom,” he lied, flashing a forged silver badge.The head guard narrowed his eyes. “We’ve got a list. You’re not on it.”“I traveled across borders to be here. I missed the wedding rehearsal, the pre-events... just let me in for a few minutes. Please.”“Name?”“Liam Vale.”The man squinted, motioned to another guard. “Check Liam Vale.”Adrian’s heart was pounding. He could feel other guards watching now. One already had his hand on the comm unit. His time was running out. If they found out who he really was, this would turn ugly fast.He backed away slowly, raising both hands. “You know what? Forget it. I’ll just send a gift.”“Yeah, you do that” the guard muttered, still watching him.Adrian turned and melt

The morning sun barely warmed the air as a convoy of luxury cars pulled into the marble courtyard of the grand Vale Estate. Hundreds of guests flooded in, cameras flashing, paparazzi hanging off trees just to get a glimpse. Flowers were being placed at every corner, white and gold laced the entire venue.Inside, decorators moved like ants, adjusting drapes, perfecting table arrangements, and coordinating every second of the high-profile wedding.The media called it “The Union of Wealth and Power.” But beneath the veil of beauty and celebration, war was quietly threading its way in.Marcus paced at the front of the estate in a grey three-piece suit, whispering into his Bluetooth headset. "Double security. No gaps. No unknown faces. And I want my private men standing closest to the bride. Understood?""Yes, sir," the head of security replied, already inspecting every entrance point.Inside the bride’s chamber, Evelyn sat in front of a large mirror, her makeup half done. Her long wh