Derek shifted in his chair. Uncomfortable. "And me? What happens to me when this is over? After Morrison. After everything?""That depends." Marguerite turned back. "Someone destroyed your family. Your company. Your father. Your entire legacy. You know that, don't you?"Derek's expression darkened. Bitter. Angry. "I know someone did. The timing was too perfect. Too coordinated. Federal charges appearing out of nowhere. Assets frozen overnight. Someone with serious power wanted us gone.""And you suspect Morrison.""I know Morrison's involved somehow. He went from weak dishwasher to Sora Chen's pet attack dog in months." Derek's lip curled. Sneering. Mocking. "Superhuman abilities. Vast wealth. Access to everything at Titan. And we all know how he got there, don't we? Fucked his way up. Sugar mommy Sora Chen took a liking to the poor dishwasher and now he's untouchable."Derek's hands clenched into fists. Knuckles white. "I beat him half to death almost a year ago. He was nothing. Nobo

"Probably not. But we need to know your maximum capacity. Need to understand what you're capable of when you're not holding back." Marcus leaned forward in his wheelchair. "We'll monitor vitals. Stop you if things get dangerous. But Jake, understand this. Marguerite won't care about safe limits. Victor won't hold back. When you face them, you'll need everything. Every advantage. Every bit of power."Jake nodded. Focused. Let all three Hearts respond simultaneously.The sensation was overwhelming. Dragon's strength flooding his muscles. Midnight's perception expanding his awareness. Time slowing. Details sharpening. Crimson's energy building in his core. Ready to explode.He moved. Faster than before. Faster than thought. The world became slow motion. He could see individual dust particles floating through air. Could count ceiling tiles while crossing the room. Could process everything at speeds that shouldn't be human.His fist glowed red. Energy condensing. Building. He punched the r

Three days later. Jake was still in recovery.The vision incident had scared everyone. Marcus insisted on complete bed rest. No training. No stress. Just monitoring and medication until his body stabilized.Jake hated it. Hated feeling weak. Hated lying in a hospital bed while the war continued without him.But he also understood. Push too hard again and he might actually die. The Hearts were powerful. But his human body had limits.The medical wing was quiet. Morning sunlight streamed through the windows. Clean white walls. Beeping monitors. The smell of antiseptic and something floral from the flowers Sora had sent.Jake stared at the ceiling. Bored out of his mind. He'd read every magazine in the room. Watched every show on the tiny TV. Counted ceiling tiles twice.'This is torture,' he thought. 'Actual torture. I'd rather fight Victor again than stay in this bed.'His phone buzzed. Message from Elijah.{How you feeling? Bored yet?}Jake replied: {Beyond bored. If I see another soa

Derek settled into his chair. Got comfortable. Like he was about to have a friendly chat with an old buddy instead of manipulating someone's friend.Lily kept her laptop open. Hands on the keyboard. Ready to close it and leave if this went south. "Clock's ticking. You said five minutes.""Right. Straight to business. I like that." Derek pulled out his phone. Started scrolling. "Look, I know Jake probably told you I'm the bad guy. That I'm terrible. That you shouldn't trust anything I say.""Pretty much.""Fair enough. We had a falling out. Got physical. I'm not proud of it." Derek's expression shifted. Regret. Shame. Well-practiced shame. "I was going through stuff. My family was falling apart. I took it out on the wrong people. Including Jake."Lily didn't say anything. Just watched him. Waiting for the catch."But here's the thing." Derek leaned forward. Lowered his voice like he was sharing a secret. "Even after everything. Even after our fight. I still care about what happens to h

"Lily is new. A recent friendship. Tommy Owen is foundational. Brotherhood forged in shared trauma. That kind of bond runs deeper than blood." Keys clicked. Marguerite typing something. "We force Tommy out of hiding. Make him visible. Make him vulnerable. Then we use him." Derek shifted uncomfortably. "Victor already tried kidnapping him once. Morrison destroyed twelve armed men to save him. What makes you think trying again will work?" "Because last time Victor used brute force. Crude. Predictable. Expected." Marguerite's voice held amusement. Dark amusement. "This time we'll be smarter. We won't kidnap Tommy. We'll give him a reason to come to us. Willingly." "How?" "His family. Tommy Owen has a cousin. Wife. Two children. Emma age seven. Lucas age four. All currently safe. All currently alive. All currently unaware they're being used as leverage." Derek felt cold. Actually cold. Like ice water in his veins. "You want to threaten children?" "I want to threaten the possibility