Night blanketed the city in shadow, only broken by the rhythmic flash of red emergency lights pulsing against the rain-slicked windows of Tianhu Corporation’s headquarters.Alarms wailed. Loud. Piercing. Like a war cry tearing through the silence of the after-hours.Inside the towering skyscraper, a figure sprinted through the corridors—Liam. His black suit was disheveled, shirt partially unbuttoned and sticking to his skin with sweat. His once-polished shoes now slammed against the marble floors, echoing with desperation.In his hand was a pen—or so it looked. But beneath its sleek exterior, it housed something far more valuable: a USB drive containing secrets that powerful people had killed to protect.Liam (breathing heavily, muttering):"I knew it… I freaking knew it. I should’ve stayed out of this mess."Shouts rose behind him."He's heading for the CEO’s office!""Don’t let him upload it—GO!"His legs burned, lungs heaving as he pushed through the pain and rounded a corner.Liam

Later in the evening, as the city retired to its bed, its streets pulsed to a new rhythm. The last light of day off the great skyscrapers painted them a blue hue, but the peace of dusk was quickly overtaken by the day's noise. Strangers hurried down sidewalks, clutching briefcases, grocery cartons, or steaming coffee cups. The roads were filled with cars, their horns blaring as irate motorists weaved in and out of the congestion in an attempt to make it home before dusk.Street vendors bellowed with enthusiasm, each of them fighting to top the other's pitch over his unbeatable bargains. A newspaper vendor sped across the street as it handed out paper, shouting and following the people for them to buy so that the vendor could finally retire.The vendor moved to stop a passerby but nearly missing a bicycle by the narrowest margin, as a busker performed a cheerful tune on his guitar, struggling to be heard over the din of the city.Liam soaked it all up from the driver's seat of his batt

Trumpets blared on the coming of a new day. The airport was a cacophony of sound and movement: waves of passengers streaming through the terminal, footfalls pounding off brilliant floors, and overhead booming announcers rumbling through loudspeakers. Outside, engine rumblings mingled with travel voices; intermittently, cries of infants erupted in the tumult that typified the boisterous city center. Outside the glass doors, horns beeped in rhythm of frustration, and the wheeling of suitcases echoed back behind their bearers.Through it all, Liam steered his delivery cart, filled to capacity with boxes of every size and shape, through the mess. He ducked his head, his cap low over his eyes, his mask covering the rest; this made him a ghost in the crowd."Excuse me, coming through!" he yelled, skillfully dodging a frazzled woman juggling coffee cups and a screaming toddler.He exhaled, the sound muted behind his mask. This city never stops moving, and neither do I. His bitter reflection

The air in the hospital room was thick with the sterile scent of antiseptic and the quiet hum of medical equipment. Lucas lay motionless on the hospital bed, his chest rising and falling in a slow, almost fragile rhythm. The oxygen mask on his face made him seem even more distant, as though he were already slipping away.Madam Maeve stood beside him, her sharp eyes fixed on the machines that monitored his condition. Her grip tightened on the silk scarf draped over her arm, the fine material crumpling under the pressure of her fingers.The doctor’s words still echoed in her ears."The poison had already reached his heart before we could extract it. His body shut down on its own. Now, all we can do is wait."Wait? Wait?Madam Maeve’s lips curled into a bitter smile. How laughable. The enemies who dared to do this—did they truly believe she would simply sit and wait?Behind her, Miss Charlie stood in silence, sensing the storm brewing in the older woman’s mind. Mr Nolan, her long-time ai

Later that day in the Tian Mansion.Lucas' room was eerily silent, broken only by the rhythmic beeping of the monitors connected to Lucas’s unconscious body. The once-powerful heir of the Tianhu Group now lay motionless, his usually sharp features pale and weak. The air was thick with the scent of disinfectants and medicine.Mr Nolan stood by the window, his arms crossed tightly over his chest, his mind heavy with worry. The stillness of the room was only disturbed when his phone vibrated in his pocket.He barely glanced at the caller ID before answering."What is it?" His voice was clipped, impatient.The employee at the other end of the line hesitated before speaking."Sir, we just wanted to inform you that the CEO personally visited the company earlier today… disguised as a delivery person."Mr Nolan froze.His fingers gripped the phone tighter as he slowly turned his head to look at the real Lucas—lying unconscious in bed."Say that again?" His voice lowered dangerously."The CEO