RYAN.Five days had passed since we set the plans into motion, and the tension in the safe house was thicker than ever. I sat at the head of the table, papers and reports spread before me, trying to keep my mind sharp.The meeting had barely started before I raised the issue“We should close Cassian Medical for now,” I said firmly“It’s not safe. The dynasty doesn’t play fair and we can’t risk anything happening while we’re in the middle of this war.”Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed. “Close it? Are you scared of the Chinese dynasty, Ryan? That’s why you want to shut it down? No. It stays open. People rely on it.”“It’s smarter to wait,” I said calmly, though irritation threaded my voice. “We don’t know what they’ll do next. We have to control what we can.”Dante scoffed, leaning back in his chair. “You talk too much. Why don’t you just listen for once?”I turned my gaze on him, my tone sharp. “You all remember who I am. I am the heir. No matter what you say, it won’t work against me. As lon

DANTE.I watched the follow-up broadcast, my hands clenched so tightly my knuckles ached. Julian’s face filled the screen, calm, almost amused, as if he were narrating a play instead of delivering a death sentence. “It’s going to slowly take their lives in forty-eight hours,” he said. “When they are gone, maybe it will teach you all not to ever mess with the Chinese dynasty again.”The words sank in like ice water.My stomach twisted, and I realized instantly this wasn’t a simple execution.This was engineered sufferingJulian didn’t just want them dead; he wanted them to feel every second of their fear, every second of helplessness. It was Military-grade psychological warfare.I felt my chest tighten Sweat ran down my temple, soaking the collar of my shirt, I scanned the screen, and then I saw her.My wife.The one person I had erased from every record, the one weakness I had buried so deep no one could ever find her. I had hidden her so well that she might as well have never exi

RYAN.Dante and I were about to leave the safe house,adrenaline coursing through every vein.The plan was simple: move fast, avoid detection, and reach the families before the Dynasty could tighten its gripI had barely taken two steps outside when a sniper’s bullet screamed past us The wind from it rattled my ear, and I felt the pulse of death brush against my skin It didn’t touch us but that near miss was enough.My stomach droppedand instinct kicked in.“Run!” I shouted grabbing Dante’s arm.We bolted back inside, hearts hammering, lungs burning.The moment we slammed the door the weight of what just happened pressed down on me. The sniper had been precise, deliberate someone was watching us, waiting.Mr. Miller appeared alarm etched on his face. “What’s going on?” His tone was calm, but there was a steel edge I couldn’t ignore.“They’re everywhere outside,” I said, my voice tight. My hands clenched into fists. “Too many of them. They’ve blocked every exit. They’re waiting for

RYAN“The Chinese Dynasty won’t let us survive this,” I said, my voice low but shaking. “These people are killers Look at the kind of gas they’re using. They didn’t come to scare us they came to finish it.”The green mist thickened around the room, crawling along the floor and climbing the walls like something aliveMy chest burned just watching it.Mr. Miller didn’t flinch.He stepped forward with a steadiness that made me pause. “We’re here now,” he said firmly. “Nothing will happen to them.”I wanted to believe him. I needed to. But in my head, the thoughts kept coming, sharp and relentless.This won’t end here.Even if we save them, they won’t stop. Where do we hide after this? How long can we keep running?Mr. Miller reached into his old military kit and pulled out a small metal canister attached to tubing and a handheld injector “Chemical neutralizer,” he said quickly. “Old tech. Designed for unstable compounds like this. But once I release it, the gas won’t disappear evenly