The rain had a way of making everything look dirtier in this city, Not cleaner. Not washed. Dirtier, like it coaxed all the grime to the surface and let it run in thin rivers along the cracked sidewalks.Ethan Cole stood under the crooked awning of Riverside Finance, clutching a plastic bag with all the belongings from his desk, one coffee mug with a chipped rim, two pens, and a tattered notebook.The office door behind him clicked shut, followed by the sound of laughter. His former coworkers didn’t even wait until he was gone to start celebrating.“You’re lucky they didn’t charge you for using the breakroom coffee,” a voice called after him. It was Donald Price, his ex-boss, leaning half out the doorway with a smug, wet-lipped grin.Ethan forced himself to keep walking.Donald didn’t like that. “Hey, I’m talking to you.” He stepped out, pulling a handful of coins from his pocket. “Here. Your severance package.” He tossed them toward Ethan, silver clinking against the wet pavement. A

The gunshot outside the elevator wasn’t close, but it was loud enough to make Ethan’s stomach clench.The man in the suit, Victor Hale, he’d introduced himself earlier in the car, didn’t flinch. He only tilted his head slightly, listening. “Third shot tonight,” Victor murmured, almost to himself. “Busy evening.”The elevator doors slid open. Two armed guards in black tactical gear stood just beyond, weapons raised toward the hall behind them. The sharp scent of gunpowder drifted in.Victor stepped forward, blocking Ethan’s path with one arm. “The button,” he said, eyes locked on Ethan. “Now.”Ethan looked at the remote in his hand. The red light seemed to pulse faintly with every beat of his heart.He glanced at the screen still glowing behind the elevator’s mirrored wall. The man in the chair, pale, sweating, lips trembling, stared back at him. That stare wasn’t a plea anymore. It was defiance.“What happens if I don’t press it?” Ethan asked, his voice low.Victor’s mouth twitched i

The word sister hung in the air like smoke, Ethan’s brain scrambled for something to hold onto. “That’s impossible. My parents”Victor cut him off. “had another child. She’s real, she’s alive, and she’s in the wrong hands.”The Chairman stepped closer, his presence suddenly heavier, as if the whole room tilted toward him. “Your father didn’t tell you because it wasn’t safe. She was raised off the grid, outside the consortium’s reach… until tonight.”Ethan shook his head. “Why would anyone come after her?”Victor holstered his weapon. “Because she’s your blood. And in this world, blood is leverage.”From somewhere down the hall, more boots pounded against marble, reinforcements, moving fast. Victor jerked his head toward the door. “We’re leaving. Now.”Minutes later, Ethan was shoved into the backseat of one of the black sedans from earlier. Rain sheeted down the windshield as the convoy pulled away from Harrington Tower.Victor was in the front passenger seat, speaking low into an ear

The sedan screeched into the turn, tires screaming on wet concrete, Ethan’s shoulder slammed into the door as centrifugal force dragged him sideways. “Victor, she’s playing us!”Victor’s jaw was a clenched stone. “I know.”The tunnel narrowed, the ceiling dripping. Pipes rattled overhead as they sped through, the roar of pursuing engines bouncing off the walls.The girl, his sister looked almost serene in the chaos. “If you don’t trust me, feel free to keep going straight,” she said. “But that ends with you in a box.”Ethan glared at her. “Why are you even here? If you’re working with them”“I’m not working with them,” she cut in smoothly. “I lead them.”Victor didn’t flinch, but Ethan caught the flicker of something in his eyes, surprise, calculation.The driver, knuckles white on the wheel, gunned it through a second sharp turn. Ahead, the tunnel split again, one side marked with faded hazard tape and an overhead sign: MAINTENANCE ACCESS – RESTRICTED.Victor barked, “Take it!”The c

The bed was too soft. The sheets smelled faintly of lavender. His shoes were gone. So was his watch. A set of folded clothes sat neatly at the foot of the bed, not his own.The room around him was rectangular, walls paneled in smooth dark wood. There were no windows, only a single brass door. A muted lamp glowed on a low table beside the bed.It didn’t feel like a cell. It felt like a hotel room in another century, He swung his legs over the side, the cool floor sending a shiver up his spine. The door opened before he could even approach it.A woman entered, moving with the deliberate grace of someone who had spent a lifetime in high society. She wore a black dress with a thin silver chain at her throat.Her hair was streaked with grey at the temples, though her posture was ramrod straight. “You’re awake,” she said.Ethan stared. “Where am I?”“You’ll have your answers,” she replied smoothly, “but first, you’ll have breakfast.”A second person entered, pushing a cart. The scent of fre