The cold rain continued to pour over the city of Cresthaven, but inside the main police headquarters, the air was sticky and hot. Chief Williams was pacing back and forth behind his large wooden desk, his uniform soaked with sweat. He still had his mobile phone pressed against his ear, his face completely pale as he listened to the silence on the other end of the line. Ethan had already hung up.A few minutes later, the heavy frosted glass door of the office did not just open. It flew backward, slamming against the concrete wall with a loud bang that made the glass rattle.Ethan walked directly into the Police Chief's office. He was still wearing his wet white shirt, stained with the red blood of his loyal butler, Thomas. His dark hair was messy from the storm, and his eyes were completely black with an anger that could freeze a man's heart. He did not look like a normal citizen visiting a police station. He looked like a dark god who had come to collect a debt.Chief Williams jumped

The freezing mud felt heavy on Chloe’s skin as she stood up from the hospital driveway. Her mother, Beatrice, was still on her knees in the gravel, her chest heaving as she spat out dirty rainwater. The words about the Governor’s secretary seemed to be their very last lifeline. If they could not use this old favor tonight, the Miller name would be completely erased from the history of Cresthaven Metropolis by morning."Are you sure about this, Mother?" Chloe asked, her teeth chattering violently from the cold. Her expensive evening dress was soaked through, clinging to her skin like a cold, wet sheet. "The Governor is a powerful man. Why would his secretary care about a favor from a dead businessman?"Beatrice pushed herself up, wiping the wet gravel from her palms. Her face was twisted with a desperate, ugly determination."Five years ago, your father hid a massive illegal campaign fund for that secretary inside our corporate accounts. If that information ever leaked, the secretary

Chloe shivered on the cold marble floor, her hands pressing hard against the polished stone.She looked up at Ethan's custom black suit, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and wild desperation. The silence in the long corridor of the State Capital building was thick and heavy. The high ranking government ministers stood behind Ethan like a row of dark stone walls, their faces completely empty of any human emotion as they stared down at her."Ethan, please," Chloe whispered, her voice cracking as she tried to crawl an inch closer to his polished black shoes. "You can't do this to me. We are still legally married in the city records. You owe me half of everything you have. You can't just leave me in the dirt while you walk around with ministers."Ethan did not move. He did not step back, and he did not lean down. His dark eyes remained perfectly calm, staring at her face like a scientist looking at a tiny bug under a glass lens.When Chloe saw that her tears and her begging were doin

The underground parking garage was completely freezing and smelled of rubber and cold concrete. Chloe crept along the dark wall, her bare feet making a tiny slapping sound against the floor. Every small noise felt like a giant explosion inside her head. She kept her right hand hidden beneath the wet plastic rain poncho, her fingers sweating as they gripped the heavy brick of illegal contraband.She looked around the vast, empty space of level four. The giant concrete pillars cast long, creepy shadows across the rows of expensive cars. Just as Mr. Donald had promised, the area was totally quiet. The security guards were supposed to be changing their shifts right now, leaving the VIP bay completely unprotected for five short minutes.At the far end of the level, under a dim yellow bulb, sat the massive black luxury limousine. The gold dragon emblem on the front grill glittered faintly in the dark.Chloe’s heart was hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. She took five quick, sl

Chloe stared at the heavy black brick in Ethan’s hand, her breath completely stuck in her throat. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it would bust through her ribs. She looked into his dark eyes and saw no mercy, only a cold, calculated plan. She had no choice. If she said no, Ethan would hand the video tape to the police, and she would spend the next ten years of her life rotting behind gray iron bars."I will do it! I will do it, Ethan!" Chloe screamed, her voice shaking as she raised her hands to take the heavy package back. The black plastic felt twice as heavy now, like a ticking time bomb wrapped in tape. "Just promise me you will delete that video! Promise me you won't send me to prison!"Ethan did not give her a promise. He just stared down at her with total indifference."You have exactly twenty minutes before the secretary leaves his office. My men will be watching your every step from the shadows. If you try to run, or if you try to warn him, the police will arrest