The warehouse erupted into chaos at exactly 3:47 AM.Erik's team struck the building from three angles simultaneously. The roof entry team dropped through skylight glass. The front breach came through the doors. The rear team materialized from shadows so quietly that the guard stationed there didn’t realize he was surrounded until a hand clamped over his mouth.Lawrence followed the front breach team, wearing tactical gear that felt foreign against his suit-trained body. His heart hammered against his ribs.The first guard inside barely had time to reach for his weapon before Erik put him on the ground . The second guard tried to shout a warning, got three syllables out before another operator’s hand found pressure points that shut down his voluntary muscle control like flipping a switch.The third guard was smarter or more cowardly. He dropped his weapon and raised his hands before anyone approached, eyes wide with terror."Clear!" Erik’s voice cut through the chaos, his team moving

Rebecca stood in what the landlord called a living room, staring at the walls. The space was maybe a quarter the size of her old bedroom, with linoleum floors peeling at the corners and windows overlooking an alley where garbage trucks make collections at five in the morning.This was home now.Her mother sat on a sagging couch, crying quietly into her hands. Her father stood at the window, staring at nothing.Three days since they signed Lawrence’s documents. Three days since the Edwards family mansion was seized, their cars repossessed, and their bank accounts drained to pay creditors circling like vultures, waiting for the corpse to stop twitching.Everything was gone except what they could carry and the weight of humiliation shadowing them with shame."I can't live like this," Stella whispered, her voice breaking on the last word. "I can't. James, we have to do something. Call someone. There has to be a way to fix this.""There's nothing to fix," James said flatly, still staring o

Lawrence stood at his office window as dawn broke over Zurich, painting the Alps in shades of gold and amber.His reflection in the glass stared back at him, overlaid against the city like a ghost haunting his own life.This was supposed to be a victory, wasn't it? The Edwards family has been destroyed, Jordan has been ruined, Rebecca has become poor, and Dr. Hart has been rescued.All his enemies have been dealt with. And at least, he's supposed to feel happy and elated.So why did it feel like he was standing at the edge of an abyss instead of on top of a mountain?The office door opened without a knock. Lawrence didn't turn around, already knowing who it was from the footsteps."Sir, we've identified the last of the men from the photograph," Kent said."Tell me," Lawrence replied, still staring at the city.Kent moved to stand beside him, tablet in hand displaying a file.“His name is Viktor Kaine. Former intelligence operative for agencies we haven't officially confirmed exist. We

Volkov's compound looked like a fortress.Lawrence's car passed through three separate checkpoints before reaching the main estate. Cameras tracked their progress from different angles.The compound itself sat on twenty acres of pristine Swiss countryside, surrounded by razor wire disguised as decorative fencing and guard towers positioned to look like architectural features.Kent had objected strenuously to this meeting, arguing that walking into Volkov's stronghold is a grave mistake. But Lawrence had insisted, and now as guards escorted him through the hallways, he wondered if Kent had been right about the stupidity of trusting a Russian oligarch with rumored connections to organized crime.Dmitri Volkov was waiting in his study. Monitors displayed security feeds from every angle of the compound, and the desk between them was positioned so Volkov could see both Lawrence and the door simultaneously. The man himself looked exactly as dangerous as his reputation suggested."Mr. Stiff,

"Then you will go into the dirt and find the rest. You will track down the surviving participants and you will squeeze them until they talk. You will rebuild the puzzle from the debris." Volkov reached into his desk and slid a heavy, cream-colored folder across the polished wood. "This is your starting point. These are the names of the individuals who facilitated Sentinel in different sectors. Many are dead or have vanished into the wind. But a few are still active, still breathing, and still very much afraid of their past."Lawrence opened the folder and flipped through the pages of names. "Why give this to me? If you are on the list as well, helping me only draws the focus of Kaine toward your estate.""Because I am a man who pays his debts," Volkov said simply. "During the height of the Sentinel operation, a deal went sideways. The buyer was a deep-cover operative. Your father had every opportunity to let me take the fall. He could have used my corpse as a shield to protect his own