After Charles hung up the untraceable line, the quiet click of the disconnected call left a silence in the room. Adam looked down at the shivering, bleeding Kian on the lab floor. He was still holding his leather briefcase, quietly crying as the blood from his temple fell on the cracked glass table. Adam realized he could not waste a single second handling this petty academic rival anymore. Kian was completely useless now. He was just a small piece of bait that a more dangerous enemy had used to clear the field.Adam turned away from the kneeling Kian without saying another word. He tapped his phone screen as he walked out into the white corridor, calling Elias, his trusted right hand. Since Elias handled the deep financial logistics for all of Adam's private holdings and knew the dark history of how they had stripped Rick Global’s assets in the past, he was the only one who could help him fight against Charles Rick on such short notice.The call connected on the second ring."Mr. A

Charles shouted into the darkness, his voice echoing off the damp, bare walls of the second-floor office. "Hey! Get up here right now! Check the main breaker downstairs!" He ordered his men.Nothing answered his desperate cries except the heavy sound of the pouring rain and the cold wind rushing through the broken part of the nearby roof. The four thugs he had hired to guard outside were already gone. The professional team Adam brought had moved through the building like shadows, cleanly and silently taking down every single guard downstairs before they could even squeeze a trigger or make a sound.Inside the small office, Charles spun around wildly, the beam of his cheap plastic flashlight cutting through the dust. He looked completely out of control. His expensive clothing from his past life was stained with mud, and his face was slick with sweat despite the cold air entering the room.Seeing Charles completely lose control, Maribel did not stay quiet. She sat firmly in the wooden

The SUV rolled smoothly away from the old warehouse, leaving the harbor district behind as the dark rain continued to slide across the glass. Adam watched the distant city lights blink through the storm. Before striking back against the Veldt family, he had to make sure his lines were fully secured. A commander could not advance while his rear guard remained vulnerable.Thirty minutes later, the vehicle pulled up to the rear entrance of the high-security Vanguard clinic. The building was constructed from solid concrete and reflective glass, standing as a quiet building in the middle of the medical district. Private security guards clad in dark uniforms stood at the entrance gates, their eyes scanning the approaching vehicle before waving it through.Adam stepped out of the car and walked down the brightly lit, sterile corridor of the private wing. The air smelled weakly of antiseptic and fresh linen. He stopped outside Room 402, where two Vanguard security men stood guard. He nodded

The glass doors of the executive office swung open with a heavy thud, hitting the doorstops. Six federal agents stepped into the room, their dark suits neat and their badges clipped to their belts. The lead agent, a silver-haired man with a firm jaw, held a thick paper folder in one hand.Mr. Veldt stood behind his desk, his face pale, but he tried to maintain his composure. He smoothed his tie with a slow hand and reached for his desk phone."This is a private executive floor," Mr. Veldt said, his voice cold and gentle. "You are trespassing. I am calling my legal counsel and the chairman of the regional board immediately.""You can call whoever you like, Mr. Veldt," the lead agent said, walking toward the mahogany desk. "But no one is coming to save you today. I am a Special Agent, from Federal Trade Enforcement. We have a warrant for your arrest, as well as a search order for all electronic devices, servers, and paper records in this building."Mr. Veldt pressed the speaker button

Adam sat at his desk, reviewing the final clearance forms for the harbor terminal acquisition. Across from him, Elias was typing on another laptop, settling the remaining transaction fees.Before Adam could close the file folder on his desk, the monitor lit up. A sharp warning tone echoed through the office speakers."Mr. Adam, we have a problem," Elias said, his hands freezing above the keyboard. "Our harbor license just vanished. The regional trade office flagged our account."Adam looked up at the screen. "On what grounds?""Outstanding debt claims from the capital city," Elias read from the red alert box. "The regional trade office issued an emergency freeze order on all North Ridge harbor licenses. They are claiming our purchase of the Veldt Group's assets violates a senior security lien held by Reign Holdings.""They acted faster than expected," Adam said quietly."It gets worse," Elias added, his voice rising in panic as he opened a fresh feed. "Look at our trading system. I tri