Morning came to the capital city, casting a light gray glow through the thin curtains of the hotel window. The morning sun brought no real warmth to the city. Instead, it lit up the cold steel and concrete of the tall buildings outside.Inside Room 402, the room was quiet and filled with the uncomfortable feeling leftover from the night before.Sophia was already awake, standing in the small kitchen area. She held a fresh cup of coffee, watching the steam rise slowly in the dim light. The anger and hurt pride she had felt hours ago were gone, replaced by a calm and quiet look. She set her cup down on the counter, walked over to the desk where Adam sat, and looked him straight in the eye."I went too far last night," Sophia said directly. Her voice was gentle, showing no sign of defensiveness or emotion. "I let my personal feelings mess up my judgment, and I brought useless problems into our work. It will not happen again."Adam looked up from his notebook. He did not show off or lectu

The small freight elevator shook as it carried them up. It passed floor after floor of bare concrete walls before slowing down to a stop.The metal doors slid open with a heavy thud, showing the dim, concrete inside of a utility loading dock on the ground floor of a nearby business building.Adam looked out through the narrow gap first. The loading area was completely empty, except for a few old wooden pallets and a parked repair van.By using this extra back shaft, they had completely skipped Reign Holdings' main front lobby and all the guards watching the streets outside."The alley behind this dock leads straight to the west avenue," Sophia whispered, stepping out of the elevator. She turned back to look at Adam, her eyes going wide as the harsh overhead lights hit his face. "Adam, your jaw."Adam stepped out, his movements stiff.The right side of his jaw was visibly swollen, and a dark streak of blood stained his collar from the deep cut inside his cheek.In his eyes, his system

Adam kept his back straight and walked with slow steps all the way through the soft halls of the club, down the glass elevator, and across the smooth marble floor of the lobby. Beside him, Sophia walked at the same calm pace. She held her head high as they passed two Reign guards standing near the front doors.They stepped outside into the bright morning air. A black car was waiting at the side of the road. Adam opened the back door, waited for Sophia to get inside, and climbed in right behind her.The moment the heavy car door shut tight, hiding them inside the quiet blacked-out room of the car, Adam lost all his strength.The tough posture holding him up disappeared in a single second. He sank heavily into the soft leather seat. His head fell back as a rough, painful breath broke from his throat. The energy that had hidden his severe physical pain vanished, leaving him helpless against the terrible aches running through his body.The right side of his jaw throbbed with a sickening,

The car moved smoothly down the ramp and into the cold underground garage of the safe house. Heavy steel doors closed behind them with a loud slide, blocking out all the noise from the busy streets outside.When the driver turned off the engine, the car was filled with silence. Adam tried to open his door to step out, but his body would not move the way he wanted it to. The strong energy that had kept him standing all morning was completely gone, leaving him with deep pain and total tiredness. The moment his shoes touched the smooth floor, his knees gave out beneath him.Sophia moved very fast. She stepped out from her side of the car and caught him around the middle before he could hit the hard floor. She pulled his arm over her shoulder, holding up as much of his weight as she could."I have you," Sophia whispered, her warm breath resting close against his neck. "Take it easy. Just take one step at a time.""I can walk on my own," Adam grunted, but his feet dragged heavily as they

They took the back elevator down to the bottom basement, avoiding the main parking garage. A plain work van was waiting in the loading area, driven by one of Sophia's trusted safety drivers.They slid into the back quietly. The van drove out into the rainy evening, avoiding the main roads and moving through narrow factory streets toward the water. Through the dark glass, Adam watched the city lights blur in the rain.Twenty minutes later, the van slowed down, passing through a side gate at Pier Fourteen. Tall metal cranes stood over the dark water, their dark frames showing against the rainy clouds. The air smelled like salt water, engine oil, and wet iron.The driver stopped near the back of a worn iron cargo ship. Massive black metal walls rose out of the dark sea water, marked with lines of rust.The side metal stairs were lowered down. An older man wearing a heavy rain coat stood at the top fence, looking down into the dark pier."Captain Damien," Sophia called out quietly as the