Six months later. The air was clean, cold, and sharp. Geneva, Switzerland, was a quiet place. High up in the snowy mountains, far away from the dirty streets of the city, sat a massive private medical building. It did not look like a normal hospital. It looked like a fortress made of white stone and clear glass.Inside the largest room, Alex Carter stood perfectly still. He was looking out a huge glass window. The window stretched from the floor all the way up to the high ceiling. Outside, the great Swiss Alps were covered in bright white snow. The sky was a clear, icy blue.Alex looked down at his hands. He slowly closed his fingers into tight fists. He felt the power in his muscles. Six months ago, these hands were burned, bloody, and weak. He had been crushed under a heavy, burning beam. He had been left to die like a trapped rat by his wife and his best friend.But now, he was fully healed. In fact, he was better than healed. The doctors in this secret facility were the best in

Flash! Flash! Flash!Bright white lights exploded in the dark night. Dozens of cameras clicked rapidly, making a loud, buzzing noise like a swarm of angry bees. Reporters shouted over the red velvet ropes, begging for attention.“Lisa! Over here, Lisa!”“Mr. Vance, look this way!” “Lisa, who made that beautiful dress?”Lisa Vance smiled. It was a perfect, practiced smile. She stopped walking on the long red carpet and turned her body so the cameras could get a better angle. She loved the bright lights. She loved the attention. For the first time in her life, she felt like she truly belonged. She felt like she had finally made it. Around her neck rested a massive, glittering diamond necklace. The heavy jewels caught the light of the camera flashes and sparkled like stars. Marcus had bought it for her just two days ago. It cost over two hundred thousand dollars. Every time she felt the cold, heavy stones against her skin, she felt powerful. She remembered her old life with Alex. She

The ballroom was completely silent. Nobody moved. Nobody breathed. The only sound in the huge, beautiful room was the soft dripping of the spilled champagne. The yellow liquid dripped from Lisa’s high heels and tapped quietly against the broken crystal glass on the cold marble floor. The silence was heavy. It felt agonizing. Every single important guest in the room was staring at the man in the dark Tom Ford suit. The Mayor, the Police Chief, the rich bankers, and the famous actors were all completely frozen. They did not know who this man was, but they could feel the heavy, terrifying power coming from him. He stood in the center of the room like a god among insects. Lisa stood frozen in her place. Her mind was spinning in dark, terrifying circles. She looked closely at the man. He had the same broad shoulders. He had the same dark hair. But his face was sharper, harder. His body was much thicker and stronger than before. And his eyes—his eyes were completely different. They were

The morning sun shined brightly through the tall, clear windows of the luxury penthouse. It was a beautiful day in the city, but inside the expensive room, the air was dark, heavy, and full of panic. Marcus Vance paced rapidly back and forth across the soft white rug. He was still wearing the same white dress shirt from the charity gala the night before. The shirt was wrinkled and stained with dried yellow champagne. His expensive hair was messy and wild. He held his thin silver cell phone tightly against his ear. His face was bright red with anger, and he was screaming loudly into the phone. "What do you mean my credit lines are frozen?" Marcus yelled. His voice echoed off the high ceiling. "I am Marcus Vance! I have five hundred million dollars in assets! I am building the biggest real estate project in the downtown area! You cannot just block my credit cards!"Lisa sat completely still on a soft gray sofa in the corner of the large room. She held a cup of hot black coffee in her