The cool night rain washed smoothly over the tall glass windows of the grand executive office inside the top floor of the Vance Group Headquarters building. Deep inside the room, the dim yellow lamps cast a soft, warm glow across the polished mahogany floorboards. Ethan Vance stood tall by the massive window, looking down at the quiet city streets far below. He wore a crisp white dress shirt with the top button undone, his long sleeves rolled up to his forearms. His handsome face was completely calm, free of the dirt and dark blood from his past fights. He took a slow breath of clean air, resting one hand inside his trousers pocket while holding a warm mug of black tea in the other. For the very first time in three long, painful years, the city felt completely still. The greedy relatives who had mocked his poverty were gone. His ex-wife Chloe and her wicked mother Beatrice were locked behind heavy iron bars inside a state police cruiser, heading straight for a maximum-security prison

The cold rain kept falling hard from the dark night sky, splashing loudly on the wet gravel courtyard. The bright white headlights from the five heavy black SUVs cut through the thick mist, making every single drop of falling water look like tiny silver needles in the air. Ethan Vance stood completely still in the middle of the yard. His face was cold and calm, showing no fear at all as he looked up at the massive mercenary captain standing right in front of him. The giant man grinned widely, showing two missing front teeth, and raised his heavy iron-studded glove to throw a fast, powerful punch straight at Ethan's jaw. The throw carried enough force to shatter a thick wooden door into tiny splinters. Ethan did not back down or jump away. The very millisecond the heavy fist came flying through the cold air, Ethan ducked his head down fast. The massive glove whistled right over his dark hair, hitting nothing but wet air. Before the giant captain could draw his heavy arm back, Ethan s

The thick grey smoke from the small flashbang cylinder slowly drifted away into the dark night sky, washed down by the steady, cold rain that kept pouring over the mountain. The red taillights of the heavy black getaway SUV blinked brightly through the thick pine trees as the vehicle tore down the narrow dirt path, kicking up mud, wet leaves, and loose stones in every direction. Inside Ethan Vance's chest, his heart beat like a loud iron drum. He had seen the limp, motionless figure wrapped tight in that heavy grey blanket lying across the rear seat. He believed with every single fiber of his soul that the bleeding mercenary captain had somehow snuck into the safehouse during the chaotic brawl and dragged his sick, helpless little sister Lily out of her bed. The mere thought of those filthy, blood-stained hands touching his innocent sister made a wild, burning fire erupt inside his veins. "Lily!" Ethan roared into the cold night air. He did not wait for Thomas to run out of the dar

The cold mountain wind howled like a wild beast around the dark body of the flying helicopter. High above the deep canyon, giant iron blades cut through the thick night air with a loud, deafening roar. Below the aircraft, hundreds of feet down in the pitch black shadows, the icy waters of the mountain river crashed violently against sharp black rocks. Cold rain beat down hard against the slick metal skid where Ethan Vance hung suspended over the empty air. The bleeding mercenary captain leaned out of the open cabin door, his face pale and twisted with pure hatred. He raised his heavy, steel-toed combat boot high above his head, aiming the thick iron edge of his sole directly down at Ethan's fingers. His bloodshot eyes bulged wide in the dim cabin light as he brought his heavy foot stomping downward with all the strength left in his body, desperate to crush Ethan's hand and send him plummeting down into the raging river below. "Die, you monster!" the captain screamed into the stormi

The loud, terrifying noise of breaking metal and snapping tree branches finally died down into the deep, dark night. The forest returned to a strange, heavy quiet, broken only by the steady slaps of cold rain falling through the torn leaves of the tall pine trees. Deep inside a muddy hollow on the steep side of the mountain ridge, the heavy body of the black aircraft lay resting on its side. It was completely wrecked. The long iron blades that used to spin high in the sky were gone, snapped into tiny sharp pieces that lay scattered all over the wet ground. The front glass window of the pilot cabin was shattered into thousands of tiny clear pebbles, and thick grey smoke was already beginning to roll out from under the twisted metal hood of the main engine block. Small yellow flames licked at the torn black paint, glowing brightly against the dark green pine trees surrounding the crash site. Inside the dark, crooked passenger cabin, everything was upside down and silent. A heavy meta