The garden was silent.Shattered wood, broken armor, and the crushed body of the Black Serpent scout lay at Ethan’s feet. The porch light flickered above him, casting jagged shadows across his face.Lila stared at him—eyes wide, chest rising and falling fast.This wasn’t the Ethan she knew.This wasn’t the quiet, obedient, overlooked husband.This man looked like a weapon.A storm.A warning.Her voice trembled.“Ethan… what… what did you just do?”Ethan didn’t answer.He turned instead—slowly, controlled—and locked eyes with Riker’s operative who had taken cover behind the torn doorframe.“Report.”The operative stood at once.“Sir! Two scouts down. One escaped toward the east block.”Hale’s voice burst from Ethan’s earpiece.“Sir! We have visual on the runner—Slate’s men are initiating Phase Two. They’re retreating to regroup.”Ethan’s eyes narrowed.“Not on my watch.”⸻THE ONE WHO ESCAPEDThree blocks away, the surviving Black Serpent scout sprinted across rooftops, armor sparking

The Dawson house was too quiet.Too still.Too heavy.Lila stood in the middle of the living room, the broken door replaced temporarily by Riker’s men, the shattered glass swept away, the blood stains scrubbed clean.But the silence remained.The kind of silence that sits on your chest.The kind that changes something.She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling the cold settling into her bones. Every few seconds she replayed the moment Ethan walked away. The way he didn’t look back. The way he spoke as if he were someone else. Someone she didn’t know.Someone she might never have known at all.Riker cleared his throat behind her.“Ma’am,” he said gently, “the perimeter is secure.”She didn’t turn.She didn’t trust her voice yet.A moment passed, then another.“Ethan… he’s gone to fight that man, isn’t he?” Lila said softly.Riker hesitated.“Specialist Cole is responding to a breach. That’s all I can say.”“That’s not an answer,” she whispered.“It’s the safest one I can give.”Lila

The house smelled like smoke and gunpowder.Shattered glass clung to the floor. Bullet holes pocked the walls like black scars. Riker’s surviving operatives swept the area, voices low as they gave final clearance reports.But Lila barely heard any of it.Ethan hadn’t moved since the fight ended.He stood in the center of the destroyed living room, shoulders tight, chest rising and falling slowly. His eyes stayed on her—sharp, dark, unreadable.Lila’s breath caught.He was watching her like he was waiting.For what?For her to speak?For her to run?For her to break?She didn’t know.Riker approached cautiously from the side.“Sir,” he said, “HQ confirms Slate’s signature on the attack. He personally authorized Phase Two. And… there’s more.”Ethan slowly tore his gaze from Lila, though his attention didn’t fully leave her.“What?”Riker swallowed.“A new order was posted on the dark channel.”Ethan’s expression didn’t change, but the room felt colder.“What order, Riker?”Riker hesitat

The night didn’t settle.It pressed in—heavy, alert, waiting for the next strike.Emergency drones blinked above the Dawson house, scanning for movement as Ethan guided Lila toward the armored SUV parked at the curb. She moved silently beside him, still shaken, still trying to process everything she had just witnessed.Riker jogged up behind them, one hand pressed to his earpiece.“Sir, Hale’s relaying an urgent update. Black Serpent chatter is spiking. They’re regrouping.”Ethan didn’t slow.“They always regroup.”“But this is different,” Riker added. “They’re not pulling back. They’re converging.”Ethan opened the SUV door for Lila.“On what location?”Riker swallowed.“Us.”Lila froze.Ethan’s hand brushed her elbow. “Inside.”She climbed in, heartbeat uneven.Riker continued once Ethan shut the door.“Hale intercepted a short-range encrypted ping—local, within five miles. Someone is coordinating every remaining Black Serpent unit in Lagos.”Ethan’s eyes narrowed.“Slate?”“Possibl

The air outside felt sharper.Colder.As if the entire city sensed what Ethan Cole was about to become.Lila followed him out of the dead-signal building, her steps quick, her pulse racing like it wanted to escape her body.“Ethan—wait.”He didn’t.He walked straight toward the SUV with that lethal, controlled stride—the one that meant nothing and no one could stop him.Riker jogged after him.“Sir, we need a coordinated plan. If Jaxon Ward really is alive—”“He is,” Ethan said quietly.“And if he’s leading Black Serpent—”“He is.”“Then—dammit—he’s ten times smarter than Slate! He’ll anticipate every move we make!”Ethan stopped.He didn’t turn around.He just stood there under a flickering street lamp, shadow slicing across his face.“He won’t anticipate me now,” Ethan said.“Not anymore.”Lila approached him slowly.“Because you’ve changed,” she whispered.He finally looked at her.His eyes…God.They weren’t cold.They were focused.Sharpened to a single purpose.“Yes,” he murmure