The morning they were set to leave Rome felt heavier than Eli expected. The sun was soft and pale, dipping the rooftops in gold. From the balcony, he could see the city slowly waking — scooters echoing off cobblestones, café doors unlocking, the faint smell of bread baking somewhere far away from where Leonhart's residence stood.For the first time in months, there was no weight on his shoulders. No schemes waiting to unfold.Just silence — clean, fragile silence.He leaned against the railing, his coffee cooling in his hand. Behind him, Selene’s quiet footsteps crossed the marble floor.“It’s time,” she said, her voice even but gentle.He turned halfway, offering a faint smile. “Already?”She nodded. “You’ve stared at that view for thirty minutes. I think Rome’s said its goodbye.”He looked out one more time, memorizing the light, the hum, the feel of the city that had been both battlefield and refuge. “I’ll come back,” he said. “Maybe not soon, but… I will.”Selene adjusted her scar

The first light slipped through the curtains, pulling Eli from the half-sleep he’d managed to sink into. His body felt heavy, his head still pounding from the night before. For a moment, he didn’t move — just stared at the ceiling, listening to the faint hum of birds outside the window.He’d been awake most of the night replaying the same scenes in his mind — Elara walking out the door, Selva’s trembling voice, the blank screens of his GPS showing “no results.”A soft knock sounded on his door, pulling him back to reality.“Eli?” Selene’s voice carried through the door.He sat up slowly. “Yeah.”The door opened slightly, and she stepped in, a mug in her hand. “Coffee,” she said, stretching her hands towards him.He managed a small smile of gratitude. “You didn’t have to.”“I figured you wouldn’t eat,” she said, setting the mug down on the nightstand. "I just got off the call with some of my investigators and trusted informants, they are already combing through security footage from do

“I have no idea who Elara is, but judging from your tone and the fact that you came looking for me, despite the grudge and hatred you feel towards me, she must be someone important.” Victor chuckled from where he sat, throwing his head back with every bout of laughter that escaped his throat.“What makes you think I will tell you anything even if I knew where she was The sound of his laughter echoed across the small, sterile chamber — a perfect square of metal and glass that seemed to hum with quiet energy. The air was clean, the lighting precise — An environment designed to strip emotion from a person. But it only made Victor look more alive.He sat across from Eli, hands cuffed to the sleek metal table, yet still somehow managing to look like the one in control. His dark hair was slicked back, his eyes gleaming with amusement.Eli didn’t flinch. His tone stayed calm. “You’ll tell me because you know what I can do. You know what happens when I stop playing fair.”Victor tilted his

The flight to Japan was long and silent. Eli spent most of it reading his father’s old notes on the tablet, trying to make sense of the fragmented philosophies Leonhart had left behind — pages about consciousness, legacy, and something he kept calling continuity through code.By the time he reached Kyoto, the sun had started to set, casting a golden haze across the city. The coordinates Selene sent led him away from the crowds, up narrow roads that curved into the hills. When he arrived, the address didn’t look like any of the other Aurelius estates he’d seen.A single gate stood before him — smooth black metal, no guards, no cameras, nothing. Just an emblem etched at its center: two thin circles intersecting inside a larger ring.He paused, scanning the area. No movement. No sign of life. Then his watch vibrated — a faint pulse that matched the glow on the gate.Without him doing anything, it opened.Eli frowned slightly, stepping forward. The air around the place felt charged, as if

The days that followed blurred into one another. Eli moved from one Aurelius branch to the next — New York, then Dubai, then Boston — shaking hands, listening, promising stability he wasn’t sure he still believed in. Each office carried the same nervous energy: board members whispering about market shifts, mid-level managers trying to sound loyal, and the occasional journalist lingering outside the lobbies, waiting for a quote he’d never give.By the time he returned to his suite at the Aurelius headquarters tower, because he was still haunted by Elara’s ghost anytime he went home, the fatigue had eaten deep into his bones. He loosened his tie, checked his phone, and sank into the couch. The skyline stretched beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows. For a few quiet minutes, he allowed himself to breathe.Then came the knock. Two short, one long — deliberate.When he opened the door, the hotel concierge stood there holding a black envelope sealed with a silver insignia.“Delivered for yo