The silence following Slayde’s words was thick and suffocating.For a few long seconds, the high-society elites stared at him as if he were a madman. Who was this unlisted stranger to command a room of billionaires to shut up? Where did he get the audacity to look down on tier-one security experts while his own background check came up completely blank?Brec Elsher stood perfectly still, her sharp eyes studying the unshakeable line of Slayde’s jaw. She weighed the situation. On one hand, trusting a stranger was a massive gamble. On the other hand, did it really matter if he tried?She flicked her gaze back to the tech terminals, noting the sweat-drenched, pale faces of her hired analysts. They had been trying for thirty minutes, and with every frantic keystroke, the red error logs only multiplied. Things were already worsening under their care.If this stranger tried and failed, her maritime logistics empire would still end up in the same catastrophic position the hacker promise

Faced with Slayde’s terrifying aura and Garrick’s undeniable authority behind him, Kili's defiance shattered. His hands shook so violently that he almost dropped the chassis before slamming it onto the desk. With trembling fingers, he ejected the primary hard drive and placed the cold rectangle of metal into Slayde’s open palm. Slayde took the drive without a word, dropping it carelessly into his jacket pocket.Before Kili could step away, an emotional cry erupted from the center of the alcove. The ruined real estate tycoon, who had been weeping on the white marble moments prior, stared down at his vibrating phone with wide, bloodshot eyes."It's back..." the man whispered, his voice cracking as he looked from his screen to the massive monitors. On the wall display, his parent conglomerate's ticker surged into the green, reversing a -35% flash crash in seconds. "The routing numbers... the offshore accounts... it’s all restored! Everything is back!"He scrambled to his feet, tear

"A businessman! I love it!" Walter cheered, slamming his palm onto the table. "But God, you should have seen what that bastard did to the shipping sector before you stepped in. It wasn't a standard hack, sir. It was a circus!”His eyes narrowed. “Last month, the phantom hijacked the automated cranes at the southern harbor. He rerouted forty-two containers filled with luxury vehicles and parked them in a perfect, massive smiley face right on the primary tarmac!""It's true!" the second investor, a venture capitalist named Sterling, chimed in. He leaned over his plate with an animated grin. “The harbor master almost had a stroke! And that's not even the best part. The kid left a digital post-it note on the main manifest terminal: 'Your logistics are a joke, but thanks for the BMWs.' The maritime insurance companies are still weeping in their boardrooms!""Oh, but Walter's flash-crash tonight took the cake," Sterling continued, gesturing with his fork in a dramatic sweep. "The hacker

Crack!The sheer force of the impact sounded like a car crash. The man was lifted clean off his feet and launched backward across the room, tearing through a rotting wooden partition before slamming heavily into the far brick fireplace. He collapsed into a groaning, broken heap, coughing up blood as the air was driven completely from his lungs.The young girl gasped, scrambling back against the wall. Her wide, tear-filled eyes darted from her attacker to the towering stranger in the midnight-black suit.A suffocating glare settled onto Slayde's face. He stood in the center of the wreckage, his hands loose at his sides, his chest barely rising as he looked down at the scum who had dared to touch his pseudo-family.From the shadows of the adjacent hallway, three more heavy-set men armed with iron pipes and hunting knives rushed into the room, drawn by the sound of their leader shattering the wall. They took one look at their broken boss spitting blood by the fireplace and turned fu

“Grandma, no! Stay down!” the younger woman cried, frantically trying to hold her back as the old woman struggled against the wall. “Don’t move, you’re badly hurt!”But it was no use. Driven by a wave of maternal instinct and disbelief, the elderly woman gathered what strength remained in her frail body. She pushed the girl’s hands away, forcing her trembling legs to stand. Dragging herself from the safety of the corner, she staggered across the splintered floorboards toward Slayde.Two steps in, her knees gave out. She gasped, tilting forward.Before she could hit the ground, Slayde moved. He crossed the distance in a split second, his powerful arms sweeping out to catch her. Gathering her lightweight frame against his chest, he held her with a gentleness that completely contradicted the violence he had unleashed moments before.Slayde looked down at her weathered, bleeding face. For the first time since leaving his maximum-security cell, his cold mask cracked. A heavy pain f