The cabin still carried the weight of everything that had just been decided.Brad had agreed to leave.Not because he wanted to, but because staying meant becoming another target in a war he was no longer sure he understood. Outside, Ethan’s team coordinated quietly with the escort unit, preparing documents and transport routes under layers of encryption meant to erase Brad’s footprint from the system entirely.Inside, the fire burned low.Jared stood near it, unmoving, his coat still half-damp from the earlier drive. His eyes stayed fixed on the flames, though his thoughts were elsewhere entirely.Brad sat on the couch behind him, elbows resting on his knees, staring at the floor like it might give him answers it refused to offer.The silence between them wasn’t hostile anymore.It was exhausted.Ethan entered a few minutes later, closing the door carefully behind him. The cold air followed him in briefly before the cabin sealed itself again. He looked like he had been working nonsto

The atmosphere inside Diamond Global’s executive tower remained tense even after Jared’s charges had officially been dismissed.Employees moved carefully across the massive trading floors beneath the towering glass ceilings, speaking in quieter tones than usual while media speculation continued flooding financial networks across the country. Security presence had doubled overnight. Analysts monitored internal systems relentlessly while legal teams occupied nearly every conference room inside the upper executive levels.Nobody trusted the calm.Not after the last forty-eight hours.Jared stood inside the executive boardroom overlooking downtown West Angeles, one hand resting against the polished edge of the conference table while financial projections rotated slowly across the holographic display before him.Stock recovery had started.Slowly.But not fast enough.The attempted murder accusations and media frenzy had shaken investor confidence harder than Diamond Global publicly admitt

The executive floor inside Diamond Global remained active long after midnight.Most of the lower departments had already emptied hours ago, but the upper security and intelligence divisions continued operating at full capacity beneath the cold glow of holographic displays and surveillance monitors. Analysts rotated through encrypted data streams while Diamond Security teams coordinated movement schedules for every member of the Diamond family across the state.Nobody treated the situation lightly anymore.Not after Howard Diamond’s convoy had been followed.Inside Jared’s private executive office, the atmosphere carried a quieter tension. The city skyline stretched beyond the massive glass walls while rain drifted lightly across West Angeles once again, turning the streets below into fractured reflections of red and white light.Jared sat behind the dark marble desk reviewing a collection of encrypted reports Ethan had compiled over the last two hours. Most of them contained the same

Becky arrived at Los Angeles University earlier than usual that morning.The campus still carried the soft haze of overnight rain, the stone pathways damp and reflective beneath the rising sun. Students moved in scattered clusters across the courtyards, their conversations light, unaware of the silent tension tightening around the university from forces none of them could see.Becky, however, felt it immediately.Ever since she agreed to Ethan’s plan, nothing about the world around her felt ordinary anymore.She adjusted the strap of her bag while walking past the main academic building, her thoughts looping through everything Jared had told her the night before. Natalie Stone’s file had been burned into her memory more than she cared to admit, not because of who she was, but because of what she represented.A doorway.A fragile one.And someone dangerous stood on the other side.Becky exhaled quietly as she turned down the corridor leading toward the student library wing. Ethan had k

The campus café buzzed with the familiar rhythm of a normal afternoon.Students filled most of the tables near the windows, laptops open beside half-finished drinks while conversations drifted through the warm air in overlapping waves. Outside, sunlight spilled across the university courtyard, turning the damp stone pathways into bright ribbons that stretched between the academic buildings.Near the back of the café, Jared sat across from Becky, stirring his coffee absentmindedly while scanning messages on his phone. Even during quieter weeks, Diamond Global never stopped demanding his attention.Becky, however, looked far more distracted than he did.She had been unusually quiet for the past ten minutes, which Jared immediately recognized as a warning sign. Whenever Becky stopped talking, it usually meant she was busy overthinking something.Sure enough, she suddenly dropped her spoon into her cup with an irritated clink and leaned back in her chair."This is weird."Jared looked up