The black car pulled into the secure underground parking garage of the penthouse.Griffin helped Nico out of the vehicle. They took the private elevator up to the top floor.Kira was waiting in the massive living room. She had her medical kit open on the glass dining table. When she saw the boy’s bruised face, she cursed under her breath."Sit down, sweetheart." Kira said gently to Nico. She guided him to a soft chair and began cleaning his split lip with an antiseptic wipe.Griffin walked directly to his hidden wall safe. He pulled out his Sovereign terminal. His mind raced with deadly calculations.He had to convince Roth that the billionaire and the anonymous broker were mortal enemies.He needed to start a fake war.He sat down on the leather sofa and opened his encrypted network.He isolated a massive dummy bank account he had created in London. It held two hundred million dollars of his newly acquired wealth.He initiated a brutal, highly visible cyber attack against his own fak

Griffin’s heart hammered against his bruised ribs. He looked down at the glowing screen of his Sovereign terminal.Ninety nine percent.The lock clicked loudly. The heavy wooden door started to swing inward.One hundred percent. Download complete.Griffin snatched the data cable from the scanner. He violently yanked the heavy Persian rug back over the steel trapdoor. He did not have time to stand up. He rolled silently across the hardwood floor and slid directly behind the thick velvet curtains covering the massive windows.He pulled his legs in tight. He pressed his back flat against the cold glass. He held his breath completely.Mr. Kensington walked into the dark study.The billionaire did not turn on the main chandelier. He only switched on a small desk lamp. He looked exhausted and incredibly angry. He held a glass of expensive whiskey in his hand.He paced back and forth across the room. His heavy leather shoes stepped directly onto the Persian rug, mere inches from the hidden t

The grand ballroom descended into absolute chaos.Armed guards stood at every exit. Chairman Roth walked slowly to the center of the room. He pulled a sleek, military-grade signal scanner from his jacket. The small device beeped steadily, searching for unauthorized encrypted transmissions."Line them up." Roth commanded his men. His dead blue eyes scanned the terrified billionaires. "Search every single person. Find the device."Griffin stood rigidly behind Mrs. Kensington. His heart slammed painfully against his bruised ribs. The scanner in Roth's hand was highly advanced. It would easily detect the active Sovereign terminal hidden in his uniform pocket.He could not run. He could not fight thirty armed guards without breaking his cover and getting shot. He had to get rid of the terminal immediately.Mrs. Kensington was shaking violently in her chair. She clutched her expensive designer purse tightly to her chest."Do not let them hurt me." She whispered frantically to her blind serv

The back room of Kira’s tailor shop smelled strongly of copper blood and harsh antiseptic.Nico lay unconscious on the small medical table. Kira worked frantically under a bright surgical lamp. She carefully stitched the deep, ugly gash on the young boy’s forehead.Griffin sat slumped in a chair in the dark corner of the room. He looked absolutely terrible. His face was covered in dirt, sweat, and dried blood. His breathing was shallow and ragged. His ribs were heavily damaged, possibly cracked again from the brutal rifle strike.He stared at the floor. He felt a crushing, suffocating weight on his shoulders.He had always believed his intelligence made him untouchable. He believed he could outsmart the Vanguard Board without ever suffering a real consequence. Tonight, his arrogance had almost gotten his family slaughtered."He is stable." Kira whispered softly. She placed a clean white bandage over Nico’s head. She turned to look at Griffin. Her eyes were filled with deep sadness and

"Why does the invisible broker use your exact personal security code?" Chairman Roth repeated softly.The heavy silence in the titanium vault was absolutely suffocating. Griffin could hear the quiet hum of the massive servers. He could feel the cold, dead eyes of the Chairman boring directly into his soul.Griffin knew he had exactly two seconds to answer before Roth pulled the gun and blew his brains all over the white marble floor. He could not hesitate. He could not show a single drop of fear.Griffin let out a loud, highly aggressive scoff of pure disgust.He turned away from the glass cube. He glared directly at the young hacker."Are you completely incompetent, Julian?" Griffin barked loudly. He injected his voice with the absolute, terrifying arrogance of an insulted billionaire. "Did you skip the basic forensics class when the Vanguard Board bought you?"Julian recoiled slightly behind the thick glass. The hacker blinked in confusion."I am not incompetent." Julian argued defe