The Carson mansion looked beautiful from the outside—white stone walls, tall windows, a driveway filled with expensive cars—but Leon knew better than anyone that a pretty shell could hide the ugliest rot.He stood at the kitchen counter, sleeves rolled up, washing a mountain of plates even though it wasn’t his turn. It was never his turn, but somehow the responsibility always landed on him.“Leon, hurry up!” Olivia Carson’s sharp voice echoed from the living room. “The guests will be here in ten minutes. Don’t embarrass our family like usual.”Leon bit the inside of his cheek. He wasn’t part of their family, not really. Just a son-in-law they looked down on. A stray picked up off the street, according to Olivia.“Yes, Mother,” he answered calmly.“I told you not to call me that,” Olivia snapped. “My daughter might have married you, but you haven’t earned the right to call me anything but Mrs. Carson.”Leon didn’t respond. He just rinsed another plate. Silence was easier—it kept him fr

For a moment, no one breathed.Not Leon.Not Sophia.Not Adrian.Not even Olivia, whose trembling hands clutched the doorframe as though the house itself might give way.Leon’s voice finally broke through the suffocating silence.“Say that again,” he said quietly.Adrian swallowed, phone still vibrating in his palm. “Your father’s vault. They found it. And—sir, they opened it.”Leon’s jaw tightened. A slow, cold heat spread through his chest, something dangerous, something old. He took a step toward Adrian.“How?” Leon asked. “The vault was sealed. Only—”“Only you could open it,” Adrian finished, voice strained. “I know. That’s why this doesn’t make sense.”Sophia looked between them, eyes wide. “What vault? What are you talking about?”Leon didn’t answer. He couldn’t—not until he understood what was happening. He turned back to Adrian.“Who opened it?” Leon demanded.Adrian shook his head. “Unknown. The message came from someone inside the old division. Whoever found the vault didn’

The vault was pitch-black the moment the heavy steel door slammed shut.Sophia’s scream echoed in the darkness long after her voice gave out.“Leon!” She pounded on the metal with both fists. “Leon! Open it! Leon!”But the vault didn’t respond. It was meant to keep entire armies out. Her hands might as well have been feathers.Adrian grabbed her wrists gently. “Stop. You’ll hurt yourself.”“I don’t care!” she sobbed. “He’s out there! He’s with that man— that thing— and you’re telling me to stop?!”Adrian stayed silent, breathing hard in the darkness.Sophia gasped between shallow breaths, trying not to fall apart. “Why did he tell us to close the door? Why would he stay out there alone? He doesn’t even have a weapon!”Adrian exhaled slowly. “Leon doesn’t stay unarmed.”“What does that even mean?”The vault hummed around them, a low buzzing from the ancient generators. A faint glow finally flickered above, weak lights struggling to warm the cold interior. Shadows stretched across the w

The shredded steel door screeched open as Leon forced his way through, his fingers dripping blood, knuckles torn raw. The metal curled around his arm like ripped paper, bending under strength no ordinary man should possess.Sophia froze, breath locked in her chest.Leon stepped inside the vault—slowly, steady, eyes wild with exhaustion yet sharp with awareness. Sweat dripped from his jaw. Blood—some his, some not—streaked across his temple. His shirt was ripped open at the shoulder, revealing deep gashes that were still bleeding.But he was standing.Alive.And furious.Adrian exhaled like he’d been holding his breath for years. “Holy hell… he did it.”Leon’s eyes were fixed on one person only.“Sophia,” he rasped, voice low and strained. “Step back.”His tone wasn’t weak. It was command. It was warning. It was the last thread of control he had.Sophia’s knees nearly buckled. “Leon… you’re bleeding—”“Step. Back.” His voice cracked, pained but sharp.She obeyed, stumbling behind a cra