Mara sat tied to a metal chair in the dimly lit back room. The air smelled of dust and cheap cigarettes. She glared at the four men guarding her and refused to stay quiet.“Hey, hey, jerks!” she snapped. “You guys must think you’re so tough, huh? I bet none of you have sisters. If you did, you wouldn’t treat a princess like this. Look at you fools, hiding behind guns because you can’t handle one girl running her mouth. Your mothers must be so disappointed right now. Bet they raised you better than this weak gangster circus you’re putting on.”One of the men burst out laughing, loud and mocking. “Princess my foot! If you want to be treated like a princess, you should have stayed in your father’s house. Or maybe your boyfriend can give you that service.”Another guard jumped in. “Nah, remove the father part. She’s an orphan. Her dad died two years ago. Sorry, not just died. He was murdered because he kept poking his nose into affairs way above his pay grade.”Mara’s eyes burned with ang

Ethan lay on the soft bed in the safe house, fresh bandages wrapped around his shoulder and leg. A drip hung beside him, feeding medicine into his veins. The room was quiet except for the soft hum of the air conditioner.The moment he opened his eyes, Mara spoke. “Who’s your friend?”“You’re still here,” Ethan replied as he slowly sat up, ignoring her question.“You lied to me,” she shot back. Her face stayed unreadable.“I lied to a lot of people,” Ethan said without any remorse.“Why did you leave the organization?” she asked suddenly.“My personal reasons.”“You are safe now. You should get going,” Ethan added.“Yeah, I really wanted to leave, but I can’t.” Mara’s voice grew quieter. “I want to hate you so much, but I still can’t.”“Why is it so hard to hate someone?” Ethan replied, sounding unbothered.Mara’s eyes stayed fixed on him. “Why did you come for me? Why did you save me? Why did you defend me like your life depended on it?”“I made a promise to protect you,” Ethan answer

“No, you can’t,” Tony murmured, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he fought off the cyber attack. Sweat beaded on his forehead while lines of code and warning alerts flashed across his screens.Mara stepped into the room behind him and stopped in awe. The space looked like a military operations center. Large monitors covered the walls, displaying live maps, moving files, security feeds, and streams of data that she couldn't count. It felt alive with information.“Do you control everything?” she asked.Tony barely glanced at her. He stayed locked in battle, blocking the breach with fast, precise keystrokes.Ethan walked in with Keon, who moved carefully on crutches. “What’s happening?”“Ghost Elite is trying to locate our position,” Tony replied without looking away from the screens.Keon’s eyes widened in surprise. “They don’t know about this safe house?”“No, they don’t,” Ethan said, glancing at both Keon and Mara. “Nobody does except you two.”Mara frowned. “Why are they loo

“Ethan, I’m so sorry,” Damien begged, still on his knees. “I didn’t know you were part of that organization. I swear I will never repeat such mistakes again. Please, just spare me this one time.”Ethan smiled, but it was a cold, cocky smile. He leaned back in the chair like he owned the room. “I’m no longer a member of that organization,” he said casually, as if he couldn’t care less. “So you shouldn’t be afraid of me. You haven’t done anything yet that would make me want to hurt you. Just answer my question truthfully and we won’t have any problems.”“I don’t know the lady,” Damien replied quickly, words tumbling out. “We only did one business deal a long time ago. That’s it. I swear.”Ethan picked up a small metal card from Mr. Vancroft’s table and flicked it toward Damien with a casual snap of his wrist. The card flew past Damien’s face in a blur. For a split second, Damien felt nothing. Then a thin line of blood appeared on his cheek and started dripping down.“That was your last

Ethan, this is your last warning. You are only an agent of the organization. We will not treat you special or give you any favors because of your past commitment. The elders accepted your retirement and granted it. So don’t make the organization your enemy.Ethan smirked. “Enemy, you say? The moment you all pointed your rifles at me, you already declared me your enemy. I am only waiting for your men to empty their magazines.”“Celeste,” a voice called out from inside the house.Everyone shifted their gaze. Keon stepped out slowly on his crutches.Celeste looked shocked. “Keon? You! How on earth are you still alive?”“It doesn’t matter,” Keon replied. “The boy you are looking for is not here. Ethan also doesn’t know his whereabouts. Just like you, he had no idea what the boy did until now. And he has run away.”“You expect me to believe you?” Celeste shot back. “You used death to hide from the organization. Too bad, because I saw your files. It is among the leaked data. And you expect