Mr. Rolling arched a silver eyebrow, a dry, amused smirk touching his lips.He unbuttoned his velvet jacket, revealing a remarkably lean, firm torso beneath his fitted vest, the subtle frame of a man who clearly spent as much time with elite personal trainers and bio-hacking therapies as he did in the boardroom."Are you asking because you doubt Caleb is mine?" Mr. Rolling asked, his voice laced with smooth arrogance. "I take exceptional care of my body, stranger. Strict regimen, cellular therapy, optimal nutrition. That is why I look this way. And yes, underneath this tailored suit, I assure you I am in peak physical condition."Without waiting for an invitation, Slayde pulled out one of the heavy, handcrafted leather chairs in front of the obsidian desk and sat down. The wood creaked loudly under his immense weight. Crossing one leg over the other, he rested his large hands on his knee and met the CEO’s gaze dead-on."Is Caleb really your son?" Slayde asked, his voice completely fl

Leaving Caleb stranded in the sleek elevator, Slayde stepped out into the night and made his way back across town to the building he had left earlier.When he pushed the heavy doors open, the room was quiet, except for the desperate, one-sided pleading echoing from the seating area.Ari Mill sat leaning forward, his hands clasped together in desperate entreaty, his face pale and worn. Across from him sat Maya, legs crossed, completely absorbed in her glowing phone screen."Maya, please, you have to listen to me!" Ari begged, his voice trembling with raw emotion. "I swear to you on my life, I didn't abandon you! I didn't leave your mother! I was taken, Maya! They dragged me away, locked me down in that den, and forced me to gamble for them! I was a prisoner!"Maya didn't even look up. Her thumb swiped smoothly across the glass panel as a soft notification chime sounded from her device."Didn't ask," she said, her tone icy, flat, and entirely unbothered. "Don't care.""Maya, look at m

"Y-Yes, Boss!" one of the kneeling thugs squeaked, his forehead glued to the concrete. "He was strong! He wasn't just strong, he was well trained! He didn't even use a gun, Boss, he just—he just broke through us like paper!"The leader blew another ring of smoke, the heavy silence hanging in the room like an executioner's blade."And you let him walk," the leader whispered. "My men... kneeling in my own hall... defeated by one man.""We're sorry, Boss! Please, forgive us!" the lead thug blubbered, his body shaking violently against the concrete. "We tried to stop him! We swear we tried—"BANG.A single, deafening gunshot echoed through the iron warehouse, instantly cutting off the man's frantic pleas.The leader hadn't even looked up from his ledger. His right arm was extended, holding a heavy chrome revolver still smoking at the barrel.The lead thug slumped forward, lifeless, his blood pooling silently over the cold floorboards.The remaining men froze, terror gripping the room as

She took another half-step forward, pointing a sharp finger at his chest."If you think you can just wander around my neighborhood and mess up the life I've built, you're dead wrong. Get out of here before I call the cops myself!"Slayde didn't flinch. He didn't even blink. He simply looked down at her pointed finger, then met her furious eyes with a gaze so hollow and unimpressed it sent a cold shiver straight down her spine."Call them," he rumbled flatly.Without giving her another second of his attention, Slayde turned on his heel and casually brushed past her. His heavy coat caught the light breeze as he walked down the pavement, leaving Harlyn standing alone on the sidewalk, trembling with a mix of fury and unspoken dread.Harlyn stood frozen, her chest heaving as she watched Slayde’s broad shoulders disappear around the corner. The icy silence he had left behind felt heavier than any shout.Furious, her hands shaking violently, she yanked her phone out of her designer bag and

She looked out the high floor-to-ceiling windows, taking in the grand view of their sprawling estate, her confidence rushing back like venom."We framed that muscle-brained idiot once and put him away without breaking a sweat," Harlyn hissed, her eyes gleaming with cold spite as she rocked the sleeping baby. "If he thinks he can crawl out of that cell and threaten our life... we’ll just frame him again and bury him for good."Dominic went quiet for a long, heavy second before a slow, dark grin spread across his face."You're right," Dominic muttered, his voice smoothing out into a sinister calm. "He’s just a broken ex-con scraping for scraps. Even if he survived prison, he has nothing. No money, no allies, no power."He reached out, his hand gently stroking his daughter's soft hair as she slept soundly in Harlyn's arms."Let the judicial guys take two hours," Dominic added, his eyes narrowing into cold slits. "If Slayde escaped, the cops will put him down like a rabid dog. And if some