"Tell me where she is."Ryker loomed over Patriarch Chen while the humid air of the banquet hall carried the scent of spilled champagne. On the floor nearby, Flint and Danny rolled on the stone, their hands clutching their bruised throats as they wheezed for air.Ryker ignored the two gasping men and focused his gaze on the old aristocrat. The Patriarch clutched his silver cane, his knuckles stark white against the metal. Despite the carnage surrounding him, the old man kept his chin raised to preserve the last shred of his pride."I gave you a command," Ryker stated. His voice held a flat, terrifying resonance."You are a ghost, Ryker Zhao," the Patriarch spat, his voice trembling with a mixture of rage and fear. "You think you can waltz into my city and demand secrets from the Chen dynasty? You possess nothing but the violence of a street thug."Ryker took a slow step forward. The golden fire in his eyes flared, reflecting off the polished marble floor."I am the consequence of your

"Breach the ceiling."Ryker issued the command through his throat microphone while the roar of the gunship rotors swallowed the screams of the city elites. The glass canopy of the banquet hall disintegrated into a million falling diamonds as explosive charges pulverized the structural supports.Dust and debris rained down on the polished marble floor. The wealthy guests covered their heads and dove under banquet tables to escape the falling shards. Commissioner Reed stood paralyzed as black ropes dropped from the hovering beast of steel.Vanguard operatives descended the cables with speed. They hit the floor and fanned out into a circle of suppression. Their rifles remained fixed on the police squad and the remaining private bodyguards."Lower your weapons," the Vanguard Lieutenant commanded. His voice boomed through the helmet. "The Sovereign is on the floor."The police officers looked at the black steel barrels aimed at their chests. They looked at the gunship hovering like a venge

Rain lashed against the towering windows of the Chen estate. The drops sounded like gravel hitting the reinforced glass.Patriarch Chen sat in a high backed leather chair in the center of the grand mourning hall. He stared at the temporary mahogany casket resting on a velvet pedestal. The massacre at the gala had stripped every ounce of arrogance from his posture. He looked ancient and completely defeated.The lid of the casket remained tightly sealed. The estate morticians refused to open it. Ryker Zhao pulverized the skull of the young heir on the plaza stone. There was no face left to display to the province.The old aristocrat felt an ache grip his chest. His breathing arrived in shallow, ragged hitches. He clutched his silver cane with trembling hands.He took everything from me in a single breath, the patriarch processed the terrifying reality in the silence of the hall. I built an empire of currency and politics. He walked in and broke it with his bare hands. He is not a man. H

"Who struck my employee?"Chloe kept her finger pointed directly at the bureaucrat sitting behind the desk. Her voice held a cold edge forged in the fires of the previous night.Director Ray leaned back in his high leather chair. He did not look intimidated by the two shadow operatives flanking the young CEO. He steepled his manicured fingers and offered a smug grin. He believed his government title provided an impenetrable shield against street violence."Your assistant resisted provincial authority," Director Ray stated. "She attempted to steal confiscated government documents. My security staff merely restrained her to maintain order.""She brought legal papers to register a corporate transfer," Chloe corrected him. "You stole the deeds to my fleet. You seized my shipping containers without a warrant."Director Ray sighed and adjusted his silk tie. He dropped the pretense of a polite public servant."Victor Chen called me this morning," Director Ray revealed the source of his arrog

"This submission is unacceptable."Chloe stopped walking the moment they reached the polished marble lobby of the Trade Commission. She dropped Ryker's sleeve and turned to face him.Tears of frustration welled in her eyes. The adrenaline of the extortion attempt faded and left behind a crushing wave of panic. She looked at the two silent shadow operatives standing near the exit and then focused her gaze entirely on her husband."You just handed a corrupt bureaucrat fifteen million dollars," Chloe said. Her voice echoed off the high walls of the empty lobby. "You surrendered our capital without a fight. You let him treat us like beggars."Ryker stopped and looked at her. He maintained the hollow posture he carried out of the office. He looked like a man standing on the edge of a deep cliff."The money will keep your fleet moving," Ryker replied. His voice sounded brittle and distant. "The transaction is done.""The money will bankrupt the Lin family by nightfall," Chloe corrected him.