The rain started before dawn.Not heavy. Not violent.Just steady.Like pressure building.Dean stood in his dressing room, adjusting the cuff of his black suit. The bandage on his shoulder was hidden beneath crisp fabric. The wound still burned, but the pain kept him sharp.Clarice stood by the doorway watching him.“You slept at all?” she asked quietly.“Enough,” Dean replied.“That means no.”He gave a faint smile.Philip entered, tablet in hand. “Security team is in position. The media already gathered outside the Financial Regulatory Authority building.”Dean nodded once. “Let them gather.”Clarice stepped closer. “This isn’t like boardrooms. This is political theater. They’ll try to embarrass you publicly.”Dean buttoned his jacket.“Then I’ll give them a better show.”Across the city, inside a quiet private lounge, Clinton Mercedes poured himself a glass of dark liquor.Pascal stood near the window, watching the rain slide down the glass.“The commissioner agreed?” Pascal asked

The gunshots were still echoing in people’s minds long after the street had been cleared.By the time Dean returned to his mansion, the entire city knew.News anchors replayed the footage over and over.The moment Philip tackled him.The crack of the rifle.The motorcycle vanishing into traffic.“Attempted assassination of business magnate Dean Hawkins.”The words felt unreal. But the danger was not.Inside the mansion’s private security room, the atmosphere was tight and suffocating.Philip stood before a large screen, replaying surveillance footage from nearby buildings.Clarice stood beside Dean, arms folded tightly across her chest.“You could have died,” she said quietly.Dean didn’t respond.His eyes were fixed on the screen.“Zoom there,” he instructed.The image sharpened.The shooter wore black. Helmet. No visible face.Professional.Clean exit route.No hesitation.Philip exhaled slowly. “This wasn’t random. This was planned.”Dean nodded once.“Yes.”Clarice stepped closer

Alerion City never truly slept.. not even when the sun was still hiding behind the horizon. The moment Dean, Clarice, and Philip returned to the mansion, the streetlights flickered as if bracing for impact. Some nights were calm.Tonight wasn’t.The household guards opened the gates quickly, all of them looking shaken. Fresh blood stains were still on the outer pavement, not yet fully washed away.Clarice noticed it first. “Something happened while we were gone.”Philip nodded stiffly. “Shantel called. She said she’d wait inside.”Dean’s steps didn’t slow. He walked in with the same composed intensity he had shown inside the warehouse. Nothing rattled him now. But the deeper they entered the mansion, the more the air thickened.Shantel stood in the living room, hands on her hips, wearing a face that could have cracked stone.“Finally,” she muttered. “I was starting to think you three went skydiving.”Philip snorted. “Close enough.”Dean didn’t joke. “Report.”Shantel sighed heavily an

Alerion City didn’t calm down overnight.It didn’t sleep.It didn’t breathe.It waited.News vans circled the streets like hungry birds. Commentators shouted over each other on live screens downtown. Every major outlet ran the story about Dean Eden’s convoy getting attacked in the heart of the city.But inside Eden Royalty Mansion, the atmosphere was different.It was quiet.Too quiet.Dean stood in the strategy room with Clarice, Philip, and Shantel. The early morning light cut through the blinds, casting sharp lines across the table where files were spread like weapons.Dean didn’t speak for a long moment.He simply stared at a map of Alerion City pinned to the board — red markers showing Clinton’s assets, blue showing Eden’s, black showing danger zones, and yellow showing unknowns.Clarice waited for his orders, her hands resting on the table’s edge.Philip leaned against a pillar, jaw tight, scrolling through the latest news updates.Shantel tapped her pen against her tablet restl

The day after the leaks, Alerion felt different.The city was loud, like electric, buzzing with scandal. Dean could feel it in the air when he stepped into the office early the next morning. The building was quiet, but the tension outside seeped through the glass walls like humidity.Still, Dean didn’t let any of that slow him down.He had something bigger to focus on today.Eden Royalty.His company. His future empire. And to build it, he needed people. Not just any people — talents. Fighters. Minds. Loyal hands he could trust when the war eventually resumed.The moment he stepped into his office, Nova was already waiting.She stood near his desk, arms crossed, tablet in hand, eyes sharp as always.“You look like someone who didn’t sleep,” she said.Dean gave a tired smile. “Sleep can wait.”Nova raised an eyebrow. “And war?”Dean paused. “War can wait too.”That surprised her.She lowered the tablet. “You’re serious?”Dean nodded. “For now, yes. Mercedes is spiraling. If I keep push