The night settled over Connor’s house like a velvet curtain. The city lights below flickered like a scattered constellation, but inside the glass-walled sanctuary, tension wound through the air like an unseen thread. None of them would admit it, but all three were too wired to sleep.Kirra had refused to leave Selene alone.Connor had refused to let Kirra go anywhere without him.Selene had refused to show even a single crack in her composure.And thus, fate threw the three of them together under one roof—an awkward triangle of stubborn pride, too-raw vulnerability, and unspoken fear.Connor’s penthouse was normally silent, its order precise, its boundaries clean. But tonight, the air felt heavy, as if the place itself were waiting for something to go wrong. Connor double-checked the locks, the cameras, the hidden panels, the emergency protocols. He checked them again. Kirra watched him from the sofa, chin on her knee, pretending she wasn’t impressed by the way he moved—efficient, fo

The estate that Titan once gifted Selene as a symbolic “welcome to power” felt anything but welcoming today. Its manicured gardens, marble fountains, and glass-panel hallways were meant to display dominance and elegance, but to Selene, they felt like a battlefield she had been cornered into. The old shareholders had insisted she host them here, claiming they needed “a private environment to discuss Titan’s stability in light of recent disturbances.”Everyone understood what they really meant: they wanted to corner her away from the public eye and tear her apart politely.Kirra stepped out of the car first, eyes sweeping the estate grounds. “Why do rich people build houses that look like they want to swallow you whole?” she muttered.“Because they do,” Marcus said cheerfully, patting her shoulder. “Try not to set anything on fire.”“I make no promises.”Connor’s only reply was a light, warning glance in her direction, one Kirra defiantly ignored.Inside, the shareholders awaited like

The penthouse was unusually quiet. Rain hammered against the floor-to-ceiling windows, a relentless drum against the dark skyline. Connor sat by the sofa, gun on his lap, eyes tracing every shadow. Kirra, still recovering, was perched on the edge of the armchair, knees drawn up, arms wrapped around them, refusing to sleep. Selene stood near the window, her posture rigid, hands clasped so tightly that her knuckles whitened. None of them spoke, yet the air was thick with unspoken tension.Kirra’s instincts twitched. She knew danger was close; she could feel it in her bones. Slowly, carefully, she rose, keeping her movement minimal. She paused near the corridor, her eyes scanning the dim hallway. Then she froze. A glimmer caught the corner of her eye, a faint reflection of titanium, almost imperceptible, on the coffee table.Connor’s gaze snapped toward the table, his body taut as a coiled spring. He didn’t need to be told twice; someone had been here. Someone had walked through his pe

The ride back to Titan Tower felt unnaturally long, as if the city itself was holding its breath to see what the next steps were going to be. The sniper’s bullet had barely grazed the air an hour ago, but the true wound was the badge now lying in Connor’s gloved hand, a badge that never should have existed outside Titan’s deepest archives.Selene kept her silence throughout the drive. Kirra kept glancing at both of them, her instincts circling like a cornered wolf. Something about that badge had shaken Selene more than the gunfire… and something about Connor’s reaction had unsettled Kirra far deeper than any enemy sniper.When they arrived at Titan Tower, Selene didn’t go to her office. She didn’t call a meeting. Instead, she strode straight to the elevators and pressed her palm to the biometric scanner for the restricted floors.“Vault level,” she said.Kirra blinked. “We’re going underground? Now?”“Now,” Selene replied. Her voice was calm, but something sharp pulsed beneath the st

The skybridge swayed slightly under the night wind, a narrow ribbon of steel suspended above the restless sea. Connor’s hands gripped the railing, knuckles white beneath the leather gloves. Kirra stood a few steps behind him, silent, watching the water churn like the storm in his mind. Selene’s voice came softly over the comm-link, distant but firm: “Connor… remember, don’t act out of fear for Kirra. Let reason lead you.”He clenched his jaw. Fear? There was no fear here. Not for Kirra. Not for anyone. There was only control. The Architect had thought he could manipulate him by targeting the people he cared about, by turning concern into hesitation. But Connor did not yield to psychological chains. He never had.The footsteps echoed along the steel walkway. Connor’s eyes narrowed. Draven Hale appeared at the far end, unassuming yet radiating the cold, precise energy of a man who had spent years planning his chess moves in silence. There were no theatrics, no masks, no cryptic riddles.