Denial. She saw the lines of exhaustion etched deep around his eyes. She saw the absolute ruin in his posture. But she knew the truth was a trap door, and they were already standing on it.She whispered the one thing she knew would break him.“If you insist he’s Aaron… even when you know he’s not…”Damien froze at the door. His entire body went rigid, his hand stopping an inch away from the brass doorknob. He didn’t turn around. He didn’t move a single muscle.Amelia’s eyes filled with tears, blurring the sharp outline of his back. “Then what happens to the real Aaron?”The words seemed to hang in the air like smoke.Damien did not yell. He did not slam his fist into the drywall. He reached out, turned the knob, and walked out.The door stayed open a few inches. The soft click of his boots on the hardwood hallway grew fainter and fainter until it vanished entirely.Amelia stood frozen in the center of the utility room. The small blue-threaded letters on the collar seemed to burn a

The 'Untouchable' Abel RodriguezThe morning sun came up slowly, clearing away the dark rain clouds. Inside the safe house kitchen, Amelia stood by the stove, slowly stirring a bowl of warm oatmeal for Eli.The door opened, and Damien walked in, his eyes were washed, and his eyes were calm. The broken look from the balcony was gone. He was the steady Sovereign once again.Damien knelt next to Eli’s chair. He placed a large, gentle hand on the boy's shoulder. "Eli, I am sorry about yesterday. I was sad because I miss my own son. It was not your fault. You are safe here, and we will protect you."Eli blinked, then gave a happy nod, the fear leaving his small face.Suddenly, Marcus ran out of the tech room with a tablet. "Damien, the tracking signal did not fail. The enemy used a decoy truck. But I just traced a massive money transfer sent to Donald Su last night. It came from Abel Rodriguez."Amelia frowned. "Abel Rodriguez? He is a very arrogant shipping tycoon. He thinks his billions

The dark car moved swiftly through the clean streets of downtown Oakhaven. Damien kept his eyes fixed on the road, his hands tight on the steering wheel. On the seat between him and Amelia, the digital tablet stolen from Abel Rodriguez flickered with a steady green light. The address was locked into their screen: Vanguard Private Medical Bay, Sector 4.Amelia looked out the window as the high-rise buildings began to change into large, private estates hidden behind thick concrete walls. "The Vanguard facility is not a normal hospital, Damien. My father used to send his private security guards there whenever they got hurt in street fights. It is a fortress disguised as a luxury care home for the richest people in the city.""It doesn't matter what they call it," Damien said, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous tone. "Marcus, give me the layout."Marcus’s voice came clearly through Damien’s earpiece from the safe house. "The main building has three floors above ground, but Sector

The drive back from the Vanguard medical facility was completely silent. The heavy rain continued to pour down, drumming a steady, loud beat against the windshield of the black car. Damien kept both of his hands locked onto the steering wheel, his grip so tight that his knuckles were entirely white. He stared straight ahead at the dark highway, his eyes cold and fixed on the road.Amelia sat in the passenger seat beside him. Her wet clothes clung to her skin, shivering slightly from the cold breeze coming through the vents. She kept turning her head to look at Damien, wanting to reach out and touch his arm, but the dark, heavy aura surrounding him kept her back. The intense sadness from the empty roof had turned into a thick, suffocating frustration. They had been so close, yet they were left with nothing but a piece of wet paper in his pocket.Damien pulled the car into the quiet driveway of the safe house and shut off the engine. The headlights died, plunging the inside of the vehi