Korrin’s private chamber above the Inner Council Hall was drenched in the glow of red lanterns…his preferred light, harsh and unforgiving. Shadows clung to the walls like parasites, mirroring his mood.He paced across the dark marble floor, boots tapping sharp, irritated beats.This was not how the night was supposed to unfold.Ethan should’ve died beneath the flames.He should’ve been a charred corpse pulled,from the wreckage,a tragic accident,a convenient end.But instead….Korrin slammed his fist against the glass table.“HE LIVES.”The words were a snarl.His two attendants..silent, hooded figures flinched but did not speak.Korrin dragged a hand through his hair, pacing again. His mind churned with fury and disbelief.Ethan shouldn’t even exist.A miracle doctor with a past powerful enough to frighten the elite families?A man the Council once considered a threat?A man whose return jeopardized everything Korrin had built?No. He refused to allow it.He leaned heavily against the t

Braxton Tower had grown quieter since Ethan’s collapse,the halls were guarded, doors double-checked, and every shift change observed with strict eyes,yet for someone like Korrin..patient, calculating, and venomous,silence was not a barrier. It was an opportunity.The council had been forced to suspend him from all reconstruction duties pending investigation, but that only fueled his rage.He’d spent years crafting influence, building shadows around himself. And now? One boy…one,threatened it all.Tonight, he decided, the threat would end.It was near midnight when Korrin slipped into the restricted medical wing.He wore a maintenance uniform, cap lowered, steps measured,the guards at the far end were bored, exhausted, and more concerned with their coffee than anything else.Inside Ethan’s room, the lights were dimmed to a soft orange,machines hummed a steady rhythm..Ethan’s pulse, his breathing, the steady drip of his IV.He looked peaceful,too peaceful, Korrin thought.Tragedy should

Korrin ran through the lower sectors of Braxton City, slipping into alleys and service tunnels where the lights flickered and the air smelled of dust and metal. Sirens flashed in the distance…his name already being hunted through every channel.He knew this part of the city better than anyone,he had once patrolled these streets as a loyal enforcer, but now he crept through them as a fugitive.He stopped only when he reached a locked gate hidden behind a rusted vent panel.His shaking hands pulled it free, and he crawled inside the narrow tunnel,darkness swallowing him almost immediately.Only then did he breathe.His voice echoed faintly in the metal chamber.“She won’t stop, will she? That woman…”Leanna’s face burned in his mind…cold eyes, fierce voice, unmovable presence.He had underestimated her.He had assumed she was just Ethan’s protector.But she had become something far more dangerous.“She wants war,” Korrin muttered.“So she’ll get war.”He crawled deeper until the tunnel

Korrin watched from the cracked windows of the abandoned sub-level lab,his new hideout, a forgotten wing of Braxton Tower sealed off after an old reactor leak. The radiation was long gone, but the air still tasted metallic, poisonous in a way that made him feel alive.His last attempt to poison Ethan had failed,Leanna had been faster than he expected. The Council had become suspicious,and Ethan… Ethan was waking.Korrin’s jaw tightened at the thought.He paced slowly, fingers trailing across dusty control panels as he replayed all the moments Ethan had slipped from his grasp like smoke.Not again. This time, he wouldn’t touch Ethan directly. That approach clearly wasn’t working.He needed leverage,he needed pain that struck deeper than any blade.A small holo-screen flickered to life in front of him, displaying dozens of surveillance feeds pulled illegally from Braxton Tower’s internal system.Then he saw her A soft knock had been recorded outside Ethan’s recovery room,the same girl

Her lashes fluttered, but she didn’t wake.One of the medics glanced up sharply. “Sir, please step back.”Victor didn’t move.“What did this?” he demanded.The medic hesitated, scanning Mila’s vitals. “This isn’t natural. There’s a paralytic agent in her system. Fast-acting. Precision delivered.”Victor’s jaw tightened until it ached.“Where’s Leanna?” he asked.Ethan Wakes to the StormEthan woke to noise.Not the soft hum of machines or the steady calm of recovery…but shouting,alarms,running footsteps.The room felt tense, heavy, charged with fear.His head throbbed as he tried to sit up. Pain shot through his ribs, stealing his breath, but he forced himself upright anyway.“What… what’s happening?” he rasped.A nurse rushed to his side, panic clear in her eyes. “Mr. Braxton, please lie back there’s been an incident…..”“My sister,” Ethan said suddenly.The nurse froze.“How…”“My sister,” he repeated, sharper now, dread rising like bile. “Something’s wrong.”The truth crashed into h