Kael’s POVThe docks looked dead from a distance—too dead. Rain lashed across the industrial district while cargo containers towered like dark walls beside the flooded roads leading toward Pier 19. No workers, no ships moving, no normal traffic, just silence. The kind of silence that usually came before people died.Adrian killed the SUV headlights two blocks away from the pier. “We walk from here.” Nobody argued.I stepped out into the freezing rain and immediately spotted the floodlights glowing faintly across the harbor ahead.Pier 19.Lucien was waiting.Marcus adjusted his ruined suit slowly beside me. “You still have time to reconsider this.” I almost laughed. “Really? That’s your advice now?” “I’m serious.” “So am I.” I looked toward the harbor. “He took people I care about.”Marcus’s expression darkened slightly. “Yes.” “And everybody keeps acting like I’m supposed to think strategically while people keep bleeding around me.” “That’s exactly what power requires.” I turned towa

Kael’s POVLucien’s gun stayed pressed against Selena’s head. Rain slid down the barrel slowly. Nobody moved, nobody breathed.I could hear the ocean crashing beneath the pier and my own heartbeat hammering against my ribs. “There it is,” Lucien repeated softly. “That little monster Father buried inside you.” I stared at him coldly. “Move the gun.” Lucien smiled faintly, "Interesting. Not mocking, but interested." Like he was studying something.Hale stepped forward carefully beside him. “Everybody needs to calm down.”Lucien didn’t even look at him. “That’s the problem with federal men,” he murmured. “You mistake tension for danger.” Then his silver eyes locked onto mine again. “But danger is much quieter than this.”Selena was shaking hard now, tears mixed with rainwater across her face.“Kael.” I kept my eyes on Lucien. “Let her go.” “And then?” His voice stayed calm. “You shoot me?” “I don’t need to.” That earned a small laugh from him. “You’re learning.” God, I hated how much he

Kael's POVThe rain suddenly felt colder. My pulse slowed. Not because I knew the answer, Because I didn't. I stared at Chairman Moretti."Who?"For the first time all night, nobody looked amused. Nobody looked arrogant. Nobody looked in control. The council members exchanged quick glances. Something was wrong. Something big.Moretti studied my face carefully, searching and measuring. Then his expression hardened. "You truly don't know." It wasn't a question.Lucien's eyes narrowed immediately."Elena Luca." The name sounded familiar, not familiar enough, just enough to make something itch in the back of my mind. Like a memory refusing to surface.Moretti turned toward Lucien. "When was the last confirmed sighting?" The woman from the Council answered. "Eight years ago." Eight years. The number landed strangely. Then another realization hit. My stomach tightened. Wait, eight years ago?That was around the time Alessandro disappeared from my life completely. In the same period, everyth

Kael's POVThe explosion lit up the skyline. For a second, nobody on the pier moved. Orange fire erupted above the distant city buildings, cutting through the storm clouds like a second sunrise.Then the shockwave arrived, not strong enough to reach us directly. Strong enough to make everybody stare, Including Lucien, Including Moretti, Including the Council, And that scared me more than the explosion itself. Because powerful people only looked surprised when something truly unexpected happened.The phone line crackled once, then Elena was gone. Silence. Rain hammered the pier; nobody spoke. Finally, Moretti turned toward one of his guards. "Find the source." The guard nodded instantly and ran toward the SUVs.Lucien never took his eyes off the burning skyline. Interesting. He looked annoyed, not shocked. annoyed. Like somebody had interrupted his plan.Hale noticed too. "What happened?" he demanded. Nobody answered him. The Council woman from earlier stepped forward. "The financial d

Kael's POVNobody liked the silence that followed because this wasn't speculation anymore; it wasn't a theory.The Council knew, and once people like Chairman Moretti knew something valuable existed, they didn't stop until they owned it.Marcus grabbed his phone immediately. "Move every safehouse."Adrian looked up. "All of them?"Marcus was already typing. "Burn locations. Empty accounts. Relocate personnel." The scout nodded and rushed back out.Elena looked sick, actually sick. I hadn't seen that since she arrived. "What exactly happens if the Council gets me?" I asked; nobody answered immediately.That was becoming a bad habit. Finally, Elena spoke. "They won't kill you." Somehow that sounded worse. "Why not?" "Because dead people can't unlock archives." Fair point.Raven crossed her arms. "So they'll keep him alive."Elena nodded. "Until they extract everything they need." The way she said "extract" made my skin crawl.Adrian looked toward me. "Congratulations." I frowned. "For w