Fourteen miles away, Marcus was lying in his expensive bed when his phone rang at two in the morning. The screen displayed an unknown corporate number."Who is calling me at this hour?" Marcus pressed the phone to his ear with heavy irritated eyes."This is the human resources division of the Segreto Corporation." A cold professional female voice filled his ear. "Your employment has been formally terminated effective immediately. Your corporate access card has been deactivated and your name has been removed from every company record.""You cannot fire me in the middle of the night!" Marcus sat straight up in his bed, his face turning bright red with explosive fury. "I am a senior manager! I have powerful connections inside that company! I demand to speak with my direct superior right now!""Your desk has already been cleaned out by security." The voice remained perfectly flat and emotionless. "Please do not attempt to enter the building. Your clearance has been permanently revoked."T

Two hours passed. The rain grew heavier and colder. Her knees began to bleed against the rough wet concrete. The massive iron gates remained completely shut. Not a single light turned on inside the enormous estate.Three hours. Her entire body shook violently from the freezing cold. Her teeth chattered so hard she could barely breathe. Her knees were raw and bleeding. The darkness around her was absolute and suffocating.Nobody came to speak with her. Nobody invited her inside. She knelt there alone in the freezing black rain like a forgotten ghost.Darius sat in his quiet apartment checking his phone for the fourth time. He had called Carina twice with no answer. He sent a text message that showed as delivered but unread. A small knot of concern tightened in his chest.His phone rang suddenly. The screen displayed Caroline's name. He answered with cold suspicion."Are you sitting comfortably in your pathetic little apartment tonight?" Caroline's voice dripped with pure vicious deligh

Derek let out a nervous laugh, but something cold slithered through his stomach as he stared into those flat dead eyes. There was no anger there. No fear. Just quiet absolute certainty."You are a delusional little servant playing pretend." Derek forced his cruel smirk back onto his face, though his voice wavered slightly. "Enjoy your last few nights of freedom, dirt boy."He climbed back into his sports car and sped off through the flooded street, leaving a wave of dirty water in his wake.Darius lifted Carina into his arms and carried her to his car. He drove straight through the storm to the most exclusive private hospital in the city, his jaw tight the entire way as her body trembled violently against his chest.Doctors rushed her into a private room the moment they arrived. She was burning with a dangerous fever, and her knees needed immediate cleaning and stitches. Darius stood at her bedside until the doctors finished, watching her chest rise and fall with each shallow breath.

He turned his head slowly toward his son, who was still sprawled on the floor rubbing his bruised chest. Blind uncontrollable rage exploded across Victor's face."You disgusting worthless fool!" Victor lunged at Derek, grabbing him by the collar and slamming his fist into his son's jaw. "You did this! Your filthy hands and your filthy mouth just sentenced our entire family to complete annihilation!""Father, stop!" Derek raised his arms weakly, trying to shield his face from the repeated blows."You laughed about that girl kneeling in the rain!" Victor's fist connected again, splitting Derek's lip open. "You threatened a man who could erase our entire bloodline with a single phone call! You are absolute dirt, and your stupidity just destroyed everything I built!"Derek curled into a tight ball on the marble floor, blood trickling from his nose and lip. The arrogant smirk from hours earlier had completely vanished, replaced by pure sobbing terror."Please stop, Father." Derek's voice c

His thick powerful legs buckled completely. He dropped to both knees on the hard cold hospital floor with a heavy painful thud. Derek collapsed beside his father, pressing his bruised swollen forehead against the white tiles."Please forgive us." Victor's voice shook with pure absolute terror. His massive shoulders trembled violently as he clasped his hands together in desperate prayer. "I am begging you. Please do not destroy my family. I will do anything you ask.""I was completely blind and stupid." Derek sobbed into the floor, his split lip smearing blood across the clean white tiles. "Please have mercy on us. I will never disrespect you or anyone close to you ever again for the rest of my life.""Everything I own is yours if you want it." Victor pressed his forehead down to the cold floor. "Every building. Every contract. My entire life. Just please call it off before sunrise."The hallway fell into absolute dead silence.Caroline's bright smile melted completely off her face. Ev