The door to the luxury apartment unlocked with a soft electronic click.Kai stepped inside, his posture impeccably upright and refined. He wore a tailored black suit without a single speck of dirt. His leather shoes were polished to a mirror shine, and his aristocratic features appeared impeccably fresh and immaculate. He carried himself as though the bloody slaughter at the hotel last night had never occurred.Audrey Vance was sitting on the living room sofa. She had not slept a single wink.Dark circles shadowed her bloodshot eyes. A cold cup of coffee rested on the glass coffee table in front of her. She greeted Kai's arrival with a piercing, analytical glare."Good morning, Miss Vance," Kai greeted, his voice low and thoroughly professional. "I see you made no use of your flight ticket to Switzerland."Audrey offered no response to his greeting. Instead, she picked up an object resting beside her coffee cup and tossed it onto the glass table.It was a torn scrap of black cloth, he

The crimson folder on the laptop screen opened.Hundreds of files materialized before Audrey Vance's eyes. The bluish glow of the monitor illuminated her deathly pale face. Her index finger trembled over the mouse pad. She clicked on a document archived under classified communications.Kai stood like a statue in the shadowed corner of the safe house living room.He flicked his obsidian lighter, igniting a cigarette. The soft metallic click cut through the stillness of the room as a plume of gray smoke drifted slowly upward. Kai's icy blue eyes remained fixed on Audrey's back, silently observing her every movement.Audrey read the cascade of text on the screen, her breathing shallow and frantic.Her eyes darted rapidly from left to right. Her heart hammered violently against her ribs. The chain of electronic messages consisted of direct correspondence between her father and Isabella Aristhos.Audrey stopped scrolling. She had found a message dispatched exactly one month prior.It was s

Audrey stepped forward toward the mahogany desk, her hands trembling violently. She pulled a crimson folder from her duffel bag.She threw the folder onto the desk. A thick stack of printed papers scattered, covering her father's corporate financial documents."Look at that, Father," Audrey challenged, tears welling in her eyes. "Do not even try to deny it."Richard Vance lowered his gaze, his eyes scanning the rows of numbers and text on the papers. The older man's face instantly drained of color, turning as pale as a sheet of white paper. The veins on his forehead bulged."Where the hell did you get this garbage?!" Richard roared, snatching up the papers roughly. "This is a fake, damn it!""That is authentic data from your classified laptop," Audrey countered fearlessly. "I hacked into it tonight.""You hacked your own father's computer, you idiot?!" Richard bellowed, ripping the papers in half and tossing the shreds onto the floor. "This is all doctored! My corporate rivals manufac

 Richard's index finger pulled the trigger of the revolver with brutal force.The old man's wrinkled face was contorted in pure, unadulterated madness. He refused to be locked away for the rest of his life. He chose to murder his own flesh and blood to protect his fortune.The deafening explosion of gunpowder echoed through the study.A steel bullet tore through the air, its trajectory aimed dead center for Audrey's heart.Audrey could only stand frozen in place. Tears of absolute despair streamed down her face. She closed her eyes, resigning herself to the agonizing pain of death.<

Xavier slowly reached into the inner pocket of his black suit. He withdrew a pitch-black pen carved from pure obsidian. Its tip was filed down to a razor-sharp point.He dropped the pen onto the hardwood floor.The sharp clatter shattered the silence of the ruined study. The pen rolled across the floorboards, coming to a dead stop right beside the contract folder."Use the pen," Xavier ordered. His voice was quiet but overwhelmingly oppressive.Richard stared at the obsidian pen with bulging eyes. His hands trembled violently as he hesitantly picked it up. He tried to drag the nib across the contract, but it left absolutely no mark. The paper remained pristine."This pen is broken!" Richard roared, tears of sheer terror spilling from his eyes. His face was deathly pale as he looked up at Xavier. "It has no ink! How am I supposed to sign this?!""That is no ordinary pen, Mr. Vance," Xavier replied in a voice as cold as ice. "It does not require man-made ink."Richard swallowed agonizin