The road up to the hills felt pretty empty. Adrian Cole was sitting behind the wheel of a black SUV, just the engine humming away in the dark night. Out there, everything looked washed out. Clouds had eaten up the moon. Bare trees stood along the cracked road, almost like they were watching some old forgotten thing. His hands squeezed the wheel too hard. The leather dug into his palms. He didn't let go.The coordinates had burned in his mind ever since Jessica had left him the journal. A single line in his mother’s handwriting:“If everything is lost, Adrian……come here.”The old GPS ticked closer to the marked destination. His pulse matched it, steady but tense. For years, he had buried her memory under layers of silence and control. To face it now, to walk willingly into the wreckage of her life’s work was like picking at a wound that had never healed.He should have turned back. But something stronger than reason kept him moving forward. The car came to a stop at last. He just

The ruins were quiet again, but Adrian’s chest wasn’t.He stood there, staring at the cracked floor where the fire had once consumed his mother, where the truth had finally been revealed. His hands trembled, not from weakness but from the sheer weight of choice pressing down on him.Michael Kane had destroyed everything. His mother’s legacy. His marriage. His trust. And for years, Adrian had let silence be his weapon, let patience become his armor. But now the truth was in his hands.The drive was heavy in his pocket. Too heavy.[System: Evidence secured. Multiple pathways available. Do you wish to act?]The words slashed across his vision. He didn’t answer. Not yet. He turned and walked out of the ruins, each step crunching against ash and broken glass. The sky outside was gray, storm clouds rolling in as if the world itself sensed the choice he had to make.By the time Adrian slid into the backseat of his car, his silence had sharpened into steel. He gave a single order to his drive

The flashes came first and fast.Jessica hadn’t even reached the podium when the sea of reporters surged forward, cameras raised like weapons, microphones shoved into her path. Questions ricocheted across the hall, each one sharper than the last.“Jessica, did you know about Adrian’s plans before today?”“Why did you help Adrian Coke with the journal?““Are you benefitting from Quantum Holdings’ exposure of Michael Kane?”“Do you still have ties to Michael Kane? Were you complicit?”Each word hit like a stone. Her heart started beating faster. She held her chin up and her eyes stayed locked straight ahead. Her heels made a quiet click on the stage floor. She stepped right up to the podium made of wood.For a moment, her hand hung there over the microphone.Her breathing was shaky. Her voice came out steady when she spoke.She said, "I'll answer just one question." Her words were calm. They were careful too. "Why did I help Adrian Cole."The whole room froze up. It was like they all s

The rain kept coming down without a break all day.Jessica was right there by the kitchen window. She watched those water drops sliding down the glass. Things were quiet, too quiet. She usually liked it that way. Pregnancy had already changed her nights into long, restless hours where silence was all she had. But this night the quiet weighed on her, like it was waiting for something to happen.The knock at the door startled her.Her hand went straight to her belly, but she even moved. No one was supposed to show up. Most people always texted ahead. She paused, stared at the door for a second, then crossed the room slowly. Her apartment wasn’t big; Every step made the old floorboards groan.Another knock. Steadier this time.She pressed her palm against the wood. “Who is it?”A pause. Then a man’s voice……calm, professional. “Ms. Benson? I’m here on behalf of your late father’s estate. My name is Robert Hale. I was his attorney.”Jessica froze.For a moment, she didn’t breathe.

The prison walls had this ash color to them. Dull and lifeless, they carried the weight of years full of regret. Adrian moved through the checkpoint without a word. The metal detector hummed softly right behind him. Guards exchanged glances as he passed. They knew exactly who he was. They understood the sort of power he held. And they got why a guy like that really didn't fit in somewhere like this. But Michael did. Michael Kane. Once his best friend. Once the man he trusted more than anyone else. Now, nothing more than a traitor in an orange jumpsuit. The guard opened the final door, motioning toward the glass partition where inmates waited for visitors. Adrian’s steps were steady, unhurried. His coat trailed slightly behind him, a shadow stretching across the floor. He looked like a man carved from silence. On the other side of the glass sat Michael. His posture was loose, casual, but his eyes, those restless, scheming eyes lit up when they landed on Adrian. “Well,