The city did not sleep that night.Braxton Tower glowed against the dark sky like a wounded giant,lights burning on every floor, drones cutting silent paths through the air, guards posted at every entrance. Inside, tension pressed down on everyone like a held breath that refused to release.In the high-level medical bay, machines hummed steadily around Mila Braxton’s still form. Clear tubes ran from her arms, soft lights blinking in careful rhythm. She looked peaceful, almost like she was asleep after a long day.But Ethan knew better.He stood just outside the glass wall, staring at her, fists clenched at his sides. Every beat of his heart felt like an accusation.This is because of me.Leanna stood beside him, silent, watching his reflection more than the girl in the bed. She saw the storm building in him….the same storm she’d seen before battles, before impossible decisions.Victor broke the silence first.“We don’t follow his rules,” he said flatly. “We never do.”Ethan didn’t loo

The containment field around Mila hummed softly, a low, steady sound that cut into Ethan’s chest like a blade. The light inside the chamber cast her face in pale blue, making her look smaller, younger,fragile in a way she had never been before.Ethan took one step toward her.The hum deepened.Korrin raised a single finger.“Careful,” he said lightly. “That field responds to motion,even your concern is dangerous.”Ethan stopped immediately, muscles locked, jaw tight.“You said you’d keep her alive,” Ethan said. “That’s your promise.”“And I am,” Korrin replied calmly. “For now.”He walked in a slow circle around Ethan, boots echoing against the cracked stone floor.“You know,” Korrin continued, “people assume I want revenge,blood,chaos,power.”He laughed softly. “That’s too simple.”Ethan followed him with his eyes, refusing to turn his back.“So what do you want?” Ethan demanded. “Money? Control? Say it.”Korrin stopped directly in front of him.“I want you,” he said.Ethan’s breath

The lights dimmed without warning.For a brief moment, the underground complex fell into near darkness, broken only by thin blue emergency strips along the floor. The hum of machines deepened, slower now, heavier like the breathing of a massive creature settling into sleep.Ethan stood exactly where Korrin had left him.He did not move,he did not speak.But inside him, something tightened.Korrin loved pauses. He loved letting fear bloom in the silence, letting the mind imagine horrors before they were shown. Ethan had learned that much already.Then the lights flared back on.A new chamber slid open to Ethan’s left,and the second test began.The room was larger than the last,wide, clinical, lined with glass walls and suspended monitors. In the center stood a single medical platform, restraints folded neatly at its sides. It looked clean,prepared,too prepared.Ethan stepped forward slowly, scanning every surface, every reflection. His instincts screamed that this room had been designe

Ethan learned the rhythm of the room in the first hour.The lights dimmed and brightened in a slow, almost soothing cycle meant to disorient rather than calm. The hum of the generators shifted pitch every few minutes, masking subtle sounds,the restraints around his wrists and ankles were smart,reactive, adaptive, punishing sudden movement but loosening slightly when he stayed still.Korrin didn’t just lock people up,he studied them.Ethan lay back against the cold metal surface of the holding platform, eyes half-closed, breathing slow and even. To any observer, he looked defeated,exhausted,broken by the weight of everything that had happened.That was exactly what Korrin would expect to see.Inside, Ethan’s mind was sharp,working faster than it had in days.This isn’t a prison, he thought. It’s a laboratory.Every element of the room told a story,the way the cuffs adjusted pressure,the faint vibration beneath the floor,the thin shimmer of energy around the walls strong enough to block

The alarms were silent, but the damage lingered.Ethan lay restrained in the dim aftermath of the third test, chest rising and falling in slow, deliberate breaths. Sweat clung to his skin. Every nerve still buzzed with phantom pain, echoes of the neural assault that Korrin had tried…..and failed to break him.He did not move,not because he couldn’t,but because he didn’t want Korrin to know how much control he had regained.The lights overhead stabilized into a steady white glow. The restraints loosened slightly,standard post-test protocol. Korrin’s systems were cautious now,wary.Good, Ethan thought. Be afraid.A soft mechanical whirr sounded from the wall to his right. A panel slid open just enough to reveal a thin strip of interface lights,blue, green, and one faint, irregular red.Ethan’s eyes flicked to it, then away.There you are.The third test had done more than Korrin realized. By forcing a manual override, Korrin had exposed the deeper architecture of the facility. Safeguard