The convoy of black cars cut through the night like a blade. Sirens were absent; secrecy was the armor of power. Inside the middle car, Thomas Bradley sat in silence, wrists still cuffed though he no longer belonged to the prison. His eyes stayed fixed on the blur of city lights outside the tinted window.To the world, he was a disgraced convict just released, To the nation, he was a ghost,its most dangerous weapon.The vehicle pulled into a heavily fortified compound. A pair of steel doors groaned open, and the car rolled to a stop in a dimly lit underground chamber.Thomas stepped out, his every movement calm, precise. Guards in dark uniforms saluted as he passed, not daring to meet his gaze. At the end of a long corridor, the doors to the conference chamber parted.Inside, the air vibrated with authority. A massive holographic projection shimmered into existence, a round table of the highest leaders, faces grave, eyes burning with respect. One by one, they rose to their feet and sa

The suite Clara reserved was perched high above the city, its floor-to-ceiling windows offering a dazzling view of neon streets and endless traffic. Yet Thomas Bradley sat in silence, his eyes fixed on the broken shards of the pendant scattered across the coffee table.The weight of them crushed him more than any battlefield ever had. Mother… I failed to protect even this.“Thomas,” Clara’s voice was soft for once. She crouched beside him, her playful mask replaced by rare seriousness. Carefully, she gathered the fragments and cupped them in her hands.“Don’t look at me like that,” she said, forcing a small smile. “This isn’t the end. I know someone, a craftsman who owes me favors. He can restore it.”Thomas looked at her, his sharp gaze softening just slightly. “It won’t ever be the same.”“Maybe not,” Clara admitted, “but sometimes even broken things can be made stronger.” She pressed the pieces into a velvet pouch, then slipped it into her purse. “Let me carry this for you. I’ll br

The ballroom crackled with unease. A thousand whispers slithered across velvet tables as Katherine’s cold rebuke hung in the air.Thomas Bradley stood frozen, his glass still raised. Her words cut sharper than any blade he had ever faced. “You’ve shamed yourself enough. Must you drag me down with you?”The crowd devoured the drama, their eyes glinting with hunger for scandal.At Katherine’s side, Yan Ming’s smile returned, polished and poisonous. He leaned close enough for her to hear, his tone oiled with false sympathy.“See, Katherine? This is what I warned you about. He’s reckless, thoughtless. Let me handle this.”Before she could respond, Clara Zhao’s chair screeched across marble as she stood. Fire burned in her eyes as she faced the hall.“Drag her down?” Clara’s voice rang like steel, silencing the murmurs. “No, General Bradley drags no one down. He stands higher than any of you could ever dream.”Gasps rippled through the crowd. General? The title slipped like lightning into

The ballroom had never felt so electric. Guests leaned in close, whispering with wide eyes as Clara Zhao, heiress of Zedixon Group, stood beside Thomas Bradley, her fiery gaze locked on him like a lifeline.“Thomas,” she said again, her voice steadier now, though her hand gripped his sleeve with fierce urgency. “I can’t fight this battle alone. I need you.”Every word echoed like a thunderclap. The woman who commanded boardrooms, bowed to by tycoons, turning to a man branded an ex-convict? It defied every rule these people lived by.Yan Ming’s face tightened. His smirk returned, but his eyes burned with unease. “How touching. But Miss Zhao, surely you don’t mean to let him manage your crisis? This man has no degree, no company, no power, unless you mean the kind that lands him behind bars.”Laughter rippled from his cronies. But Clara didn’t flinch. She lifted her chin, her voice sharp. “Laugh all you want. When the dust settles, we’ll see who stands.”Thomas’s gaze swept the hall, ca

Rain lashed against the armored car’s windshield as Thomas Bradley scanned the dossier under the glow of dim light. Each page sharpened his fury.The infiltrator’s trail was clear: offshore accounts feeding back into shell corporations. And one of those corporations was tied directly to MAGETO-Group. Katherine’s company.His hand clenched into a fist around the folder. Coincidence? Or was someone using her family as a shield? Either way, her world was already tangled in the web of his mission.The officer seated across from him spoke carefully. “Sir, shall we mobilize strike teams?”Thomas’s gaze remained locked on the papers. His voice was calm, but it carried the weight of command.“No. Not yet. I want names confirmed before we move. If the MAGETO-Group is being used as a front, we need to know who’s pulling the strings.”He closed the file, the edges digging into his palm. Katherine… even now, our paths cross in ways you’ll never understand. The vehicle surged forward into the stor