Dale Truman had already crossed the line before Harrington could stop him.“Are you sure of what you are saying, Mr Dale?” Harrington asked slowly.Dale smiled without warmth. “I am very sure.”“You are angry right now, I believe that it will be better and productive for you if you calm down.”“I am awake,” Dale said. “For four days, my company has been bleeding because one man decided to play god with my oil empire. Send me his picture now.”Dale’s voice carried the frustration of a man losing control for the first time in years. The eastern oil routes were not just business channels to him. They were symbols of power. Every delayed shipment and every frozen transaction felt like someone tearing pieces from his reputation publicly.He had spent years building fear around his name. Port officials obeyed him. Smugglers respected him. Politicians tolerated him because they needed his influence. Now one unseen man had shaken all of it within days.However, Harrington was silent for abou

Dale Truman’s convoy moved toward Avalora like a dark promise.Eight black vehicles tore through the road leading into the half-controlled town. The afternoon sky was dull, and dust rose behind the convoy as engines growled over broken asphalt. Inside the lead vehicle, Dale sat with one hand near the gun inside his coat, his face was hard and focused.His aide sat beside him, staring at a tablet connected to a drone feed.“Sir,” the aide said, his voice was tight, “the drone has reached the Xavier headquarters perimeter.”Dale did not look at him. “Speak.”“The front gate has visible Tribunal soldiers. Around ten or twelve. Two outer checkpoints. Concrete barriers. Light armored cover.”“Only that?”“That is what the drone can see from outside,” the aide said. “The inner compound is blocked from full view. There may be more tribunal soldiers inside.”Dale smiled coldly. “There are always more men inside. That is why we go in hard.”The aide swallowed. “Sir, if Harrington was right, th

Dale waited for Adrian’s answer while gunfire cracked outside his vehicle.Smoke drifted past the windows of the lead SUV. His men were moving deeper into the Xavier headquarters compound, shouting over radios and firing toward retreating Tribunal soldiers. Dale held the secured phone close to his ear, certain that Adrian Cole would understand him better than the cowards who had refused him.“Adrian,” Dale said, his voice was lower now, “this is freedom, I am fighting for our freedom. You know that.”Adrian stood inside his office, staring at the contract on his desk. Two days ago, he had signed away sixty percent of his textile franchise to Ethan Xavier. He had hated every stroke of the pen, but the results had come faster than he expected.Brookhaven export restrictions had eased. Investors stopped calling him with panic in their voices. Three major buyers returned to the table. Two frozen shipment routes reopened. Even Yvonne had spoken to him with warmth again, not because she lov

It was Ethan in disguise.He stood still, calm as smoke drifted past him.The calmness alone felt unnatural.All around him, workers trembled on the floor while armed men shouted and fired deeper into the building. Yet this strange-looking man stood there as if the chaos around him was nothing more than an inconvenience interrupting his workday.One gunman frowned. “Who are you?”The man’s grip tightened slightly around the files in his hands, but his expression never changed.Several nearby workers stared at him in disbelief. Even they could not understand why he was behaving this calmly with rifles pointed at him from around the room.Ethan looked around at the broken glass and terrified staff on the floor. “Someone trying to understand why gunmen entered a business office.”A few of Dale’s men laughed.One of them shook his head mockingly. “This idiot must not understand what is happening.”Another smirked. “Or maybe fear finally broke his brain.”Still, Ethan’s expression remained

Ethan smiled faintly while Dale’s gun remained pressed against his chest.For a moment, nobody moved. Smoke still curled across the corridor behind them. Broken glass glittered on the floor. Dale’s men kept their rifles raised, waiting for their boss to decide whether the strange worker was to live or die.“Tell me where Ethan Xavier is,” Dale repeated, his voice was hard. “Now.”Ethan looked at him calmly. “Fine. I will take you to him.”Dale’s eyes narrowed. “That was easy.”“You asked for him,” Ethan said. “I am only helping you reach him.”One of Dale’s men laughed. “Boss, he folded easily. What kind of an employee is willing to expose his boss to his death.”"The impoverished and useless one."A wave of laughter ripped across the whole place as they made fun of Ethan.Another shoved Ethan from behind. “Move, rat.”Ethan took the push without anger and stepped forward. His files remained scattered behind him, some of them were stained with blood and dust. He did not look back at t