Dust was still raining from the cracked concrete ceiling when Sylvia raised her gun again.The floor beneath her boots shook violently. Emergency sirens screamed across the underground bunker, painting the steel walls in flashing crimson light.Sylvia didn't look up. She didn't shift her stance. She didn't even blink.Her dark eyes stayed locked on the old man tied to the heavy steel chair in front of her."You think someone is coming to save you?" Sylvia asked. Her voice was colder than the damp concrete floor.The Cross Patriarch stared up at the black barrel of her pistol. Sweat poured down his wrinkled face, mixing with dirt. His lips trembled, but no words came out.Another shockwave hit the room. Dirt loosened from the ceiling vent and dropped onto his shoulders.He flinched. Sylvia didn't move an inch."That's your second mistake today," Sylvia said."Please," the Patriarch choked out. His knees shook against the iron legs of his chair. "Listen to me! I have money! Whatever you

"Hand over the Cross Patriarch and return that damn serum right now, or I will destroy you myself!"Patriarch Pierce glared down at Julian, his face dark with fury."I do not care what excuses you have," the Patriarch growled, his voice heavy enough to shake the walls. "You will return every drop of that medicine to the Cross family tonight. You will free their leader, and you will tear down your pathetic Syndicate before sunrise."Julian pushed himself up from the dark desk, his hands shaking against the polished wood. "Father, you are not listening to me! The Vanguard took them! I do not have the old man or the serum!""Shut up!" his father roared, taking a violent step closer. "Do you think I am an idiot? You started this mess because of that worthless woman in Zenith City, and now you want to lie to my face?"Julian opened his mouth to plead his case, but the Patriarch turned his back on him without another word."You are done," the Patriarch said coldly. "Your foolish games end t

Isabella pressed the single white flower onto the cold white sheet.The cloth did not move. No breath came from under the fabric. Her father lay dead beneath the thin sheet, still and silent on the cold metal table.Cold air filled the private medical room. Late afternoon sunlight slid through the high glass window, throwing long dark shadows across the floor.Isabella pulled her hand back slowly. Her skin felt frozen. Her eyes burned red, swollen tight from hours of heavy crying.Her mother had died when she was born. She never knew her mother's touch or heard her mother's voice. Now her father was gone too, lying cold on a table in front of her. And her only brother, Gideon, was still missing somewhere in the deep southern mountains.She was completely alone.Isabella turned away from the metal table. She walked out of the cold room and closed the heavy door behind her.The long hallway was quiet. Her plain black dress swished against her legs as she walked toward the stairs. Every

"I told the guards to move his body to the preservation room last night, Isabella."Gideon gently held her shaking fingers as he spoke."We could not leave him lying out in the open on a cold metal table," he added, his tone low and steady. "The room was completely unsecured. Anyone in the estate could have walked inside. He is down in the lower vaults now, behind locked steel doors."Isabella let out a long breath. The tight knot in her chest loosened slightly."The preservation room?" she asked, her voice dry."Yes," Gideon said, leaning closer to her bed. "I ordered two senior guards to move him right after I arrived. You were unconscious in this room, and leaving our father unattended on an open table felt wrong."The heavy wooden door at the front of the medical bay clicked open.The family doctor walked inside, carrying a dark leather bag under his arm. He wore a sterile white coat that rustled with every step. He set his bag on the small table near the wall and turned toward th

Zenith City Sarah sat behind her wide, polished desk, her eyes scanning the product blueprint for the new skincare line. She dipped a small plastic tool into a sample jar, spreading a thin layer of white cream across the back of her wrist to test its texture. The office was quiet, filled only with the faint hum of the air conditioner. The glass door swung open. Chloe stepped inside, holding her phone against her ear. "Sarah, the front desk just called. There is a delivery package downstairs for you." Sarah paused, holding the tool still above her desk. "A package?" "Yes," Chloe said, pulling the phone away from her cheek. "The driver says it has your personal name on the label." Sarah set the tool down. Her chest tightened. "Did the driver say who sent it?" "No," Chloe replied, shaking her head. "The receptionist asked, but the courier refused to give a name. He just said it was private." Sarah's breath hitched. Her heart slammed against her ribs. "I didn't order anythin