The blaring siren echoed off the cold steel walls. Thick red emergency lights flashed across the underground room. The sound was loud enough to make a person dizzy. George Edward pressed his back against the open metal box. His breathing grew rapid and shallow. He looked at the armed guard with wide terrified eyes.The second vault guard held his gun straight at Arthur. The guard's hands were shaking. He was just a standard security worker. He wasn't trained to handle a billionaire stealing old documents."I said step away from the box!" the guard yelled over the noise.Arthur didn't raise his hands. He didn't show an ounce of fear. He just stared at the guard with cold calculated eyes. He knew Hoffman would press the panic button. He expected it. A good player always plans three moves ahead of his opponent."You don't want to pull that trigger," Arthur said. His voice was calm and smooth. "My name is Arthur York. I am the Chairman of Apex Horizon. If you shoot me, my company will bur

The rain poured heavily against the thick glass windows of the Zurich hotel. Midnight approached with a heavy quietness over the city. Arthur York stood in the center of the dark living room. He wore a crisp dark shirt and a tailored suit jacket. He knew Senator Sterling would strike tonight.Elias watched the digital monitors on Jax's table. Jax typed quietly on his glowing keyboard. The young hacker had tapped into the main security feed of the hotel building. He controlled the cameras on every floor.Seraphina and George rested safely in the master bedroom behind a locked thick wooden door. Arthur made sure they were completely protected. He would not let the enemy get anywhere near them.Marcus walked into the room. His face showed pure determination."The traps are ready," Marcus reported in a low voice. "My men are positioned at both ends of the hallway. We disabled the main elevators. If they want to reach this floor, they have to use the emergency stairs.""Good," Arthur repli

The private jet cut through the cold night sky. Arthur sat by the window. He watched the dark clouds pass below them. He didn't sleep at all. His mind was too busy piecing together the broken puzzle of his past. He thought he knew his own life story. He thought he was just a hardworking man who clawed his way up the corporate ladder. Now, he realized his entire life was shaped by invisible hands. His grandfather built an empire, and the people who stole it were terrified of Arthur taking it back.Elias sat across from him. The lawyer reviewed the flight plan on his glowing tablet. The cabin was quiet except for the low hum of the jet engines."We'll land at a private airstrip just outside of Paris," Elias said quietly. "Jax wiped our names from the flight manifest. The local authorities won't know we are here. But the high council has eyes everywhere. We need to move very fast once we touch down."Arthur nodded. He touched the inner pocket of his dark jacket where he kept his heavy re

The private jet touched down quietly on the asphalt of the capital city's secondary airstrip. Rain was falling in heavy sheets. It blurred the city skyline in the distance. Arthur York stood up from his leather seat. He buttoned his dark coat. He carried a small leather briefcase containing the three journals and the rolled parchment maps.Elias walked down the aisle right behind him. "Jax secured a fresh fleet of untraceable vehicles for us. Marcus and his security detail are waiting at the hangar.""Good," Arthur replied smoothly. "Is the safe house completely locked down?""Yes, Chairman. Seraphina and George are tucked away in the mountain compound outside the city limits. Nobody enters or leaves without Marcus's personal approval."They walked down the aircraft stairs and stepped into the cool, wet air. Three dark luxury utility vans sat idling inside the open hangar. Marcus stepped forward from the middle vehicle. His posture was stiff, but his expression showed visible relief u

The deafening roar of automatic gunfire chewed through the wooden walls of the shop. Wood splinters, glass dust, and brass clock gears rained down over the mahogany counter. The thick white smoke from the tear-gas canister spread rapidly, turning the interior of the shop into a blinding, suffocating trap.Arthur kept his heavy body pressed against the floor, pinning Samuel Vance securely beneath him. The old man was coughing harshly, his hands covering his head as more clock faces shattered above them."Cover your face!" Arthur shouted over the noise. He pulled a clean silk handkerchief from his breast pocket and pressed it over Vance’s nose and mouth.Arthur pulled his heavy revolver from his inner jacket pocket. He checked the cylinder with a fast, practiced flick of his wrist. Six heavy rounds were loaded. He knew he could not engage a squad of automatic rifles in an open shootout while protecting an eighty-year-old man in a burning building. He needed to move fast before the attac