The fire spread faster than anyone expected.Not flames you could see.Not something you could touch.But something far more dangerous—Panic.By morning, Alerion City had completely lost its balance. The news from the night before had detonated like a bomb in the financial world. Reports, accusations, exposed structures, hidden debts… and all of it tied back to the Wheeler network. Investors began pulling out aggressively. Partnerships were frozen overnight. Meetings were cancelled. Trust—something that took years to build—was collapsing in hours.Inside Eden Royalty Headquarters, the atmosphere was no longer tense.It was controlled chaos.Phones rang non-stop. Staff moved quickly between departments. Screens updated every second. But unlike the rest of the city, there was no confusion here.Everything was being directed.At the center of it all—Clarice.She stood with her tablet, issuing orders with precision.“Stabilize our unaffected divisions first. I don’t want any spillover p

The balance didn’t hold for long. For a brief moment, it looked like the pressure had shifted cleanly. The investigation had expanded. The spotlight was no longer fixed on Eden Royalty alone. The Wheeler network was now under scrutiny, and for most observers, it looked like Dean had successfully turned the tables.But power didn’t collapse quietly.It adapted.And when it adapted—It struck differently.Inside Eden Royalty Headquarters, the air felt heavier than the night before. Not chaotic. Not frantic. Just… tense. The kind of tension that didn’t come from visible threats, but from the feeling that something unseen was already moving.Clarice stood in the strategy room, her eyes fixed on the incoming reports. They weren’t financial this time. Not entirely.Something else was showing up.Philip leaned beside her, his tone lower than usual. “You’ve been staring at that screen for five minutes straight,” he said. “That’s never a good sign.”Clarice didn’t respond immediately.Because

No one could point to one single event. There were no headlines screaming about violence, no official announcements of conflict. But something had shifted. Deliveries came late. Some services slowed down. A few businesses quietly closed their doors earlier than usual. And among those who paid attention—the investors, the executives, the powerful families—there was a growing realization.Something dangerous was happening.And it wasn’t stopping.Inside Eden Royalty Headquarters, the atmosphere had turned colder. Not tense. Not chaotic.Just… focused.Everyone moved with purpose. There was no wasted motion, no unnecessary conversation. Even the air felt heavier, like the building itself understood what was at stake.Clarice stood in the strategy room, staring at a live update feed. The report from the highway confrontation had already been processed, analyzed, and broken down into patterns. Her fingers moved across the tablet as she adjusted projections, rerouting operations, reinforcin

The night wrapped around the dock sector like a warning.Cold.Silent.Watching.The industrial zone had always been a forgotten part of Alerion City. Old warehouses. Rusted containers. Broken lights that flickered more than they worked. It was the kind of place where things happened quietly—and disappeared even quieter.Tonight, it felt alive.But not in a good way.Inside a moving vehicle, Philip sat in the front seat, one arm resting near the window, his eyes locked on the dark road ahead.Behind him, the team was silent.Focused.Prepared.No one spoke unnecessarily.Because everyone understood—This wasn’t just another operation.Clarice sat in a separate vehicle behind them, her eyes fixed on her tablet. Live tracking, heat signatures, signal patterns—everything she could pull from the area was displayed in front of her.But it wasn’t enough.And she knew it.Her voice came through the comms.“Signal interference is increasing,” she said. “They’re jamming portions of the network

The space between them felt heavier than the rest of the war combined.Dean stood still, his breathing controlled despite the sharp sting at his side. Across from him, Jonathan watched with that same quiet intensity, like everything unfolding was exactly as planned—even now.Behind Dean, the tied man shifted weakly in the chair, a low groan escaping his lips.Time was running out.And both of them knew it.Jonathan took a slow step forward, his shoes echoing softly against the concrete floor.“You came alone to the center,” he said calmly. “Even after realizing it was a trap.”Dean didn’t respond.His eyes didn’t leave Jonathan.“You didn’t hesitate,” Jonathan continued. “Not even when your formation broke. Not even when you were outnumbered.”A pause.“That tells me something.”Dean finally spoke.“You talk too much.”Jonathan smiled faintly.“And you don’t talk enough.”Behind them, gunfire echoed louder again—closer this time.Philip was breaking through.Forcing his way toward the