“What did you say?! Carl Donovan is being released?!” Hubert asked in shock. He shot up from his chair so fast it scraped loudly against the floor. The soldier who delivered the news instinctively stepped back. “Y-Yes, sir. He’s already being escorted out of the base.” Rage exploded inside Hubert. He swept everything off his desk with one violent motion. “That’s not possible! I can’t let him go!” He stormed out of his office. For weeks, he had been closely watching Carl Donovan after the death of Marvin Smith. Now that Carl was finally in his custody, he would not allow him to slip away so easily. He would make sure Carl paid for killing his subordinate. Carl was already near the exit of the building when Hubert spotted him. He was still in handcuffs, with two soldiers walking closely behind him. Hubert marched straight toward him. The guards barely had time to react before he grabbed Carl by the collar. “You! How did you do it, huh?! You’re a nobody!” Hubert snar

Carl didn’t know what to feel after learning that Sophia was married.Shock came first. Then disbelief. Then a dull, aching emptiness that settled somewhere deep in his chest and refused to leave.He tried to talk to her—but she never faced him.There were moments when he saw her from a distance, crossing a hallway or stepping into a car. Every time, just when he was about to call out to her, she would turn away as if she hadn’t seen him at all.As if he no longer existed.One afternoon, he spotted Sophia’s secretary in the parking lot.He didn’t hesitate.“Jessa,” he called, blocking her path.She froze, then slowly turned to face him.“I’m really sorry, Mr. Donovan,” Jessa said hesitantly. “But I can’t tell you anything.”Carl let out a long sigh and ran a hand through his hair.“I just want to know if she’s okay,” he said quietly. “Why did she suddenly fire me? Why did she suddenly get married?”Jessa blinked, clearly caught off guard. Her eyes shifted away, avoiding his.“I don’t

Sophia stood in front of the tall window, her fingers clenched tightly around the white bouquet in her hands.The world outside looked painfully calm.Guests were arriving. Music played softly in the background. The grand hall buzzed with quiet excitement, laughter, and congratulations—but none of it reached her.She was waiting.Waiting for footsteps she knew too well.Waiting for a voice that always grounded her.Waiting for someone she knew would never come.Carl.She had told herself not to hope. Not to be foolish. Not to expect the impossible.And yet… her eyes kept drifting toward the entrance.Maybe he’ll still come, she thought bitterly. Maybe he’ll stop everything.But the doors remained closed.The ceremony happened in a blur.Vows spoken she barely heard. Applause she didn’t feel. A kiss she endured rather than returned. Cameras flashed, smiles were demanded—and she gave them flawlessly, as she always did.Sophia Carson, radiant bride.Sophia Carson, the woman who had ever

Carl kept running toward a small tunnel. The path was dark—so dark that he could barely make out the way ahead. Yet, strangely, after blinking a few times, his surroundings suddenly became visible, as if he were wearing night vision goggles—but sharper, clearer, more vivid.He could still hear voices, echoing and overlapping, coming from directions he couldn’t pinpoint. A few moments later, he saw a faint light ahead. There was a steel barrier blocking his path, but in a single, fluid motion, he shattered it.Carl burst into a garden. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he suddenly stumbled, as if the ground beneath him were shifting. His heart pounded so fast he struggled to catch his breath. Overwhelmed, he pressed his hands to his head as the voices threatened to overlap and drown his thoughts.“What… what is going on?!” he shouted in frustration.When he slammed his fist against the ground, he froze. His hand sank into the soil, cracking the earth as if a minor earthquake had st

“Wait, Carl. I… I don’t understand. Can you slow down?!” Jasmine said, her voice strained.She still couldn’t process everything she had just heard.That place—the basement—she never even knew it existed.Her great-grandparents had owned the mansion, and her family had lived there ever since. She had grown up believing she knew every hallway, every hidden corner. Turns out, the house still had secrets she had never imagined.“Your cousin is doing something,” Carl replied seriously, not even turning back. “Whatever it is, it’s already in my system. And I need answers.”“B-But… Abby…” Jasmine shook her head. “She’s not that kind of scientist. She—”Carl stopped abruptly.“She’s creating something dangerous, Jasmine,” he said, his voice low and firm. “Not just to other people—but to your family as well.”Jasmine froze.She still couldn’t believe it.Abigail had always been kind. Among all her cousins, she was the one Jasmine was closest to. She was also the smartest. Jasmine remembered h