The Cole Tower’s upper suite was alive with motion. Maps spread across polished oak tables, red markers circling warehouses along the docks. Dozens of men in sharp suits and tactical gear stood at attention.Marcus pointed at one warehouse in particular. “Intel confirms movement here tonight. Damian’s crew has eyes on every road in, but…” He smirked. “…they didn’t account for you.”Adrian leaned over the table, gaze razor-sharp. His voice cut through the room. “We go in silent. No mistakes. Elena’s alive, I want her back without a scratch. Damian…” His lips curved into a cold line. “…is mine.”A ripple of tension ran through the men. Gerald, leaning on his cane by the window, spoke quietly, but firmly: “Remember, Adrian. Rage blinds. Use it, but don’t let it use you.”Adrian nodded once, jaw tight. “I’m not here to rage, Grandfather. I’m here to end this.”Elena woke to damp stone and rusted chains. Her wrists ached, bound tightly, and the cold seeped through her thin dress. The air s

The scream ripped through the Cole estate like a siren. Adrian moved before his mind even caught up, his body a weapon honed by instinct.He stormed the staircase two steps at a time, Marcus and three armed guards on his heels. Elena’s door stood ajar, shadows writhing beyond it. “Adrian!” she cried again.He crashed through the threshold. A masked intruder had her pinned against the wall, blade pressed to her throat. She trembled, eyes wide, hands clawing at the man’s arm.The attacker hissed, “One more step and she dies”The words hadn’t left his mouth before Adrian’s gun barked once, twice. The intruder’s body jerked, blood blooming across his chest. He crumpled to the floor, knife clattering against marble.Elena stumbled into Adrian’s arms, her entire body shaking. “He, he was going to”Adrian steadied her, his voice steel wrapped in velvet. “Not while I’m breathing.”But his gaze snapped up, already sharp. “How the hell did he breach my walls?”Marcus stormed in, face pale with

The shard of glass slid deep, and Adrian’s body jolted with the shock of it. Heat blossomed in his side, thick and wet, his shirt already clinging crimson. Damian’s grin widened as he twisted the jagged edge, savoring the pain.“Now you bleed,” Damian hissed, his voice ragged with triumph. “Now you know what it means to lose.”Adrian’s teeth clenched against the groan threatening to escape. He gripped Damian’s wrist, veins straining with the effort, and slammed his forehead into Damian’s nose. Bone cracked. Blood gushed.Damian reeled back, cursing, but Adrian didn’t hesitate. He ripped the shard from his own side, ignoring the fresh gush of blood, and drove his fist into Damian’s jaw.The warehouse floor echoed with the brutal symphony of flesh and bone colliding. Elena screamed from the chair, her voice breaking. “Adrian! Stop, please!”But neither man heard. They were beyond words, beyond reason. There was only rage, history, and blood. Adrian straddled Damian, fists raining down.

Elena’s pulse thundered as Gerald’s words cut through the room. “You will either stand aside… or you will stand with me.”The machines hummed steadily beside Adrian’s bed, proof of his fragile grip on life. His chest rose and fell in shallow rhythm, pale and unmoving.Elena stared at Gerald, horror and fury clashing in her chest. “He isn’t dead. You can’t talk about him like he’s already gone.”Gerald leaned heavily on his cane, his silver eyes cold. “Look at him, girl. He’s not leading anything. If he doesn’t wake soon, his empire will fracture, and the Grants will devour what’s left.”Her voice broke with rage. “He bled for this empire! He bled for me! And you’re ready to throw him into the grave before his heart even stops?”Gerald stepped closer, his shadow falling over her. “Don’t mistake sentiment for loyalty. I built this dynasty long before Adrian drew his first breath. I won’t watch it crumble because you’ve turned him soft.”Marcus entered then, his face taut, his eyes flick

Gunfire split the air. The Cole estate trembled as explosions ripped through its gates, walls crumbling beneath the Grants’ assault.Smoke choked the marble halls, flames licked the night, and the screams of soldiers echoed through the corridors.Inside the throne room, Adrian Cole stood, pale and bleeding, his grip tight on Gerald’s shattered cane. The firelight painted his face in shades of war, half shadow, half steel.Elena clung to his arm, terror flashing in her eyes. “You can’t fight like this”“I don’t have a choice,” Adrian rasped, his voice hoarse but unshakable. “They’ve come for my empire. For me. If I don’t stand now… everything falls.”Marcus burst into the room, his pistol drawn, his suit streaked with blood and smoke. “The east wing’s gone. They’re flooding the courtyard. We’ve got minutes before they’re in this hall.”Adrian’s lips curled into something that was almost a smile. Cold. Dangerous.“Then we’ll make those minutes count.”The doors shuddered with the impact